Feeling the heat? 4 thirst-quenching drinks for summer

As we all know, water is essential to life and overall well-being. Research has found that even mild dehydration may affect our mood and ability to focus. As water makes up around 60% of our body weight, and is involved in every single process in our body, it’s no surprise that the NHS recommends 1.2 litres of fluid a day.

However, there’s more flavourful ways of meeting our daily requirement than by going straight to the source. Here are a few:

Fresh Juice

Fresh juices can give you a burst of energy and a clear mind. Plus, they’re delicious! Bright and fruity or a simple glass of classic OJ, we believe there’s no better way to start your day than with a cool glass of fresh juice delivered to your doorstep in time for breakfast.

At Foulgers Dairy, we also stock James White Fruit Juices in over 10 flavours! For over 25 years, James White has been tasting, testing and experimenting to bring you their most delicious range of juices yet.

There’s a James White juice for everyone and any occasion. Browse the options for a full range of flavours.

Water

Drinking plenty of water can boost our energy levels, clear your skin, stop headaches and even help reduce wrinkles. When it comes to getting our daily fluids, you may opt for the simple H20 choice to keep things moving.

We stock Highland Spring Still and Highland Spring Sparkling, both delivered to your front door to make drinking water simple!

Fizzy Drinks

We all need a treat every now and then! The good news is that even a glass of fizzy drink will add towards your daily fluid goals. If you’re looking to cut down on your sugar intake and want to be mindful of the calories it contains, we offer Diet Coke as an alternative, as well as R. Whites Lemonade.

Best served in a tall, cool glass with ice cubes.

Shaken Udder

Not only are Shaken Udder Milk Drinks delicious and made with British Milk, but they also boast no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives. Gluten free and suitable for vegetarians, they come in 6 fab flavours: strawberries & clotted cream, salted caramel, vanilla, chocolate, banana and latte.

Enjoy ice cold for a delicious summer’s day treat!

If you’d like to find out more about local delivery in your area, or discuss placing an order with Foulgers Dairy, please call our friendly team on 01473 784999.

The best warm milk drink recipes for autumn

Steamed, frothed, or foamed, hot milk is a key ingredient in many popular beverages all year round, but as the colder weather creeps in these nutrient rich drinks are the ultimate early morning or evening brew.

Although we’re big fans of tea and coffee at Foulgers Dairy, we thought we’d put together a caffeine-free list of top warm milk cuppas suitable for the chilly British weather – an alternative way to enjoy your fresh morning milk delivery.

Spiced warm milk and honey

Drinking milk and honey together is a great alternative to coffee! It won’t get you buzzing (excuse the pun!) like your favourite cup of coffee, but it serves as an excellent sleep remedy for those cold nights, or as a relaxing way to begin your day.

Ingredients:

470 ml whole milk
1 whole vanilla pod
1 whole cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
2 whole cardamom
1 tbsp. Suffolk honey
Whipped cream – for topping (optional)
Ground cinnamon – for topping (optional)

Preparation:

Step 1 – Add the milk and spices into a small pot on a medium-high heat. Heat the milk, stirring, until just under boiling. Remove from the heat, cover, and let stand for about 10 minutes for the spices to infuse into the milk.

Step 2- Mix in a tablespoon of honey. Pour into 2 mugs and serve immediately. Top with whipped cream and ground cinnamon, if desired.

Source: https://butterwithasideofbread.com/hot-vanilla-milk/

Ultimate eggnog

This special eggnog recipe serves 8, so it’s perfect for those family reunions that frequently happen during this time of year. This creamy, sweet and delectable drink is the most indulgent choice for the holidays – just be sure to remove the alcohol for the little’uns!

Ingredients:

700 ml whole milk
240 ml double cream
3 cinnamon sticks
1 vanilla bean pod, split and seeds removed
1 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg, plus more for garnish
5 eggs, separated
130g granulated sugar
175 ml Bacardi Dark Rum, or bourbon

Preparation:

Step 1 – In a saucepan, combine milk, cream, cinnamon, vanilla bean, vanilla seeds, and nutmeg. Bring to the boil over a medium heat. Once boiling, remove from the heat and allow to steep.

Step 2- In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat egg yolks and sugar until combined and thick ribbons form when the whisk is lifted. Slowly whisk in the milk and continue to mix until the mixture is combined and smooth. Add bourbon or rum, and stir. Refrigerate overnight or for up to 3 days.

Step 3 – Before serving, beat the egg whites in a large bowl or stand mixer until soft peaks form. Gently fold into eggnog until combined. Serve and garnish with freshly grated nutmeg.

Source: https://www.jamieoliver.com/features/best-eggnog-recipe/

Delicious hot vanilla milk

The finished product may look like just a regular mug of milk, but this incredibly simple beverage is quite different! A cosy drink that is bound to fill you with warmth on these dark, dreary evenings.

Ingredients:

240 ml whole milk
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
1 tbsp. sugar

Preparation:

Step 1 – Warm milk in the microwave or on the hob.

Step 2- Add vanilla and sugar.

Step 3 – Optional: top with whipped cream, cinnamon, or chocolate sauce!

Source: https://butterwithasideofbread.com/hot-vanilla-milk/

Add the delicious, fresh milk you need to complete your hot beverages to your doorstep delivery from Foulgers Dairy today. If you have any questions about submitted your order, please contact our customer service team on 01473 784999.

5 Health Benefits of Milk This World School Milk Day

World School Milk Day is annually acknowledged in over 40 countries around the world on the last Wednesday of September, it celebrates the health benefits of providing milk to schoolchildren. The first World School Milk Day was celebrated in September 2000!

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How Do You Make Homemade Hot Chocolate?

An old-fashioned hot chocolate is a delicious drink for keeping toasty on those autumn and winter nights. This creamy hot chocolate is easy to make with the kids, and has an intense chocolate flavour – a perfect chilly weather treat for the whole family!

Keeping Warm

There’s lots of homemade recipes to prepare the perfect smooth cup of hot chocolate but this version is a real treat for chocolate lovers! Choose either rich milk chocolate, creamy white chocolate or, if you’re feeling daring, 70% cocoa solids to add.

For the freshest and most tasty result, use local whole milk from Marybelle Dairy, delivered to your front door by Foulgers Dairy!

Did you know… Hot chocolate dates back thousands of years – historians credit the Olmec civilisation of southern Mexico as being the first to roast the fruit from the cacao tree and consume it in liquid form!

This simple, easy to make recipe will prepare 4 mugs or 6 cups of hot chocolate goodness for you and your family and will only take 8 minutes to prep and cook. As well as the optional extras below, feel free to consider cinnamon, or even amaretto or bourbon for a boozy addition for the adults!

Ingredients

600ml Marybelle whole milk
142ml pot of Marybelle double cream
100g chopped chocolate
½ teaspoon of vanilla
Optional: marshmallows, whipped cream, freshly grated nutmeg

How to make it

Step 1 – Place the milk, double cream and chopped chocolate into a pan. Bring gently to the boil, whilst stirring until chocolate melts and the mixture is well blended.

Step 2– Stir in the vanilla; pour the hot chocolate into mugs and top with a spoonful of marshmallows or whipped cream and finish with a dusting of nutmeg, if desired.

Make the smoothest, freshest hot chocolate with Marybelle milk and double cream, visit our Milk & Dairy section to add to your next delivery.

If you’d like to find out more about local delivery in your area, or discuss placing an order with Foulgers Dairy, please call our friendly team on 01473 784999.

5 Delicious Lunch Ideas to Beat the Back-to-School Blues

A Summer of BBQ’s may be coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean that a daily dose of deliciousness has to be missed out on! In a bid to beat the back-to-school blues for your child (and, you!) we’ve popped together 5 tasty ideas for their next lunch box.

An Important Meal…

Lunch is an incredibly important point in the school day and should aim to provide at least 1/3 of your child’s daily requirements. A tasty, well-proportioned lunch can help your child stay motivated and concentrate in the afternoon – ensuring that they’re getting the best from their class!

Fun fact: Only 46% children’s lunch boxes in the UK in 2017 contained a bottle of water. Water gives the brain the electrical energy for all brain functions, including thought and memory processes… Remember to keep hydrated!

Before you tackle the lunchbox, you may face another challenge. Is your child a selective eater? If so, read on for three useful tips to get your child excited for lunch.

Learn where food comes from together… Learning about plants, farming and fishing can be a great way to get your child excited about food! By nurturing this process with them, you’re leading them through the journey of how their food gets on their plate – education is a perfect catalyst.

Get them involved… Of course, you’ll be there to ensure that they don’t just pack in pizza every day! But, by getting your child involved in the meal preparation they’re invested in their own lunch box, and it can work wonders to stimulate their appetite for it the next day.

Talk with other parents… How do your child’s friend’s parents ensure a well-balanced lunch for their little one? Catch-up with them for helpful hints.

Make It Tasty…

Be flexible with your lunch box choices. You’ll want to engage your child, as well as fill ‘em up with all the good stuff, including proteins, veg, fruit and fibre. These 5 delicious lunch ideas will help your kid kick the back-to-school blues and stomp on high fat, salt and sugar content!

Food is tastier on sticks. FACT. We’re sure your kids will agree! Treat them to deli meats and Suffolk Gold cheese kebabs. A great way to make lunch a little more engaging!
Has your child got a sweet tooth? Pop together peaches, strawberries, blueberries and basil, then add a dash of maple syrup, lemon juice and a dollop of balsamic vinegar for contrast. The antioxidants in blueberries also help to boost concentration and memory!
Satisfy your kid’s appetite with a perfect pasta salad. There’re tons of combos you can try, and we’re sure you’ll find your favourites! We’d recommend opting for chicken, cucumber, cherry tomatoes and Wyke Farms mild cheddar.
Feeling inspired? Treat your kids to a Mexican classic… Wyke Farms mature cheddar quesadilla, guacamole, salsa and a side of tortilla chips.
Take a bread break, serve up a little tub of hummus with fresh broccoli, raw carrot, green pepper or cucumber sticks – the perfect dipping partner!

We hope that these 5 alternative lunch box ideas will inspire you to create more tasty treats. If you have any particularly popular lunches with your kids – do share them over on our Facebook Page!

Don’t forget to stock up on delicious, seasonal fresh fruit and vegetables to pack out your creative lunch boxes. They’re all available to order for delivery to your door…. You’ll never need to run short again!

Local honey creates a buzz!

It’s estimated that about 1/3 of all human food supply depends on pollination and without bees the process of pollination would be very long winded and time consuming. It’s no wonder then that there is worldwide concern about the decline in our bee population.

Pollination happens when the bees are out and about on their everyday duties collecting nectar with their long straw-like tongue called a probiscus. Whilst they are transporting the nectar back to the hive, their bodies break down the nectar in to two simple sugars – fructose and glucose. Back at the hive, the nectar is deposited into the honeycomb cells and the bees beat their wings to fan and thicken the liquid. When the honey is just perfect, the bees seal the honeycomb with beeswax which is when it will be collected for consumption.

Of course, this time of year particularly is when we’re most likely to see bees going about their daily ritual from one blossom to the next and it’s important that we know how to protect them so that we can continue to enjoy fresh produce let alone the delicious honey they provide!

How can you help protect bees?

With a little work in the garden, we can all help provide a fantastic environment for a wide range of bees throughout the year.

Planting a diverse range of nectar-rich flowering plants and shrubs that bloom at different times of the year. Great choices include borage, cornflowers, seedum, sunflowers, ivy, Aubretia, scabious, hebe, winter flowering crocus and winter flowering hellebore.

Making a nesting site encourages solitary bees to nest. There are several options you can buy at the garden centre or you can make your own with a plastic bottle and garden canes! Hang your nest from a tree branch in a sheltered sunny spot to encourage our bee visitors in.

Bees also need a drink! A simple shallow pot sunk into the garden or birdbath with a few submerged rocks will do the trick and enable the bees to reach water without drowning.

Try to avoid using pesticides or fungicides on your plants. Instead, encourage natural predators to deal with any unwanted garden pests.

Enjoy honey from local sources!

Kevin and Julie Thorn run Stour Valley Apiaries and are passionate about bee conservation and educating the next generation of bee keepers.

Their pure honey has all the good bits left in and is produced from apriaries around Lavenham. We are proud to support Kevin and Julie by stocking their set and runny honey in 4oz or 12oz jars for local, doorstep delivery along with your regular order.

If you would like to add Pure Suffolk Honey to your next order please visit our website

Bee Fast Facts:

You can find honey bees on every continent except Antartica!
Honey is between 80-95% water and the rest sucrose
Over 270 species of bee have been recorded in Great Britain
Bees have 5 eyes and 6 legs!
Male bees in the hive and are called drones, they do not have stingers

Is Raw Milk for You?

There are many reasons why people might choose raw milk over pasteurised milk, and different people will resonate with different reasons, ranging from nutritional to ethical to environmental.

One thing is clear though, the raw milk debate still continues to divide opinion.

What is Raw Milk?

The vast majority of milk consumed in the UK (and worldwide) is pasteurised; heat treated to kill off harmful bacteria such as Ecoli and Salmonella. Put quite simply, raw milk on the other hand goes straight from the udder to a bottle. The taste changes from season to season and cow to cow even as where the herds graze has an effect on the final bottled flavour.

What are the risks?

Safety fears around the consumption of unpasteurised dairy products are largely as a result of scaremongering by various agencies and the government itself.

In actual fact the risk of developing a serious illness (i.e. requiring hospitalisation) from consuming raw milk and raw milk products is miniscule: about 1 in 6 million. Modern farming practices have lessened the dangers further.

According to the Food Standards Authority, there has not been a single reported illness associated with drinking raw milk in the UK in over 16 years. Since then, in excess of 10m litres has been drunk.

What benefits does raw milk have over pasteurised milk?

Health

Raw milk has been said to be easier to digest, help with strengthening natural immunity and also improve illnesses like asthma and eczema and certain allergies.

Nutrition

Raw milk is higher in nutritional content than it’s conventional, pasteurized counterpart as the pasteurisation process reduces the nutritional quality of milk products.

The butterfat present in raw milk is rich in natural fat-soluble soluble vitamins, such as vitamins A, K and E. Raw milk is also rich in vitamin C and B-complex vitamins. These vital vitamins and minerals added back in once pasteurisation has taken place. Milk from grass-fed animals is also rich in fatty compound called Conjugated Linoleic Acid or CLA (classified as a good transfat!) which has extremely positive benefits for those who consume it. Research indicates that CLA is known to fight cancer (particularly breast, intestinal and bone cancers), hypertension and obesity.

Tolerance

Many people experience digestive and other problems when they consume pasteurised milk, but have no trouble with raw milk. It’s not entirely clear why this is the case. It’s likely that raw milk contains probiotics and other qualities that make it easier to digest than pasteurised milk.

Flavour

Those how consume raw milk say that it has a far superior flavour and texture to pasteurized, homogenized milk. They often use words like “fresh”, “real”, “alive” and “rich” and “silky” to describe it.

We know from our many customers who choose to drink raw milk, that the significant flavour differences between raw and conventional milk are particularly evident.

Community

Raw milk is exclusively produced by smaller, local farmers in the UK and with a growing segment of the population choosing to support local, family farms and businesses over multi-national conglomerates, there are significant economic benefits to the local producers and potential in the direct sales of milk from the smaller farms. The direct sale of raw milk allows farmers to set a price that allows profit for the farm and equals the fair market value of the product for the consumer. This way, farmers are able to cover their costs while still earning a living to support themselves and their families. Consumers are reconnected with their food supply, and farmers are held accountable for their products, allowing for the stimulation of the local economy and the promotion of sustainable farming practices.

A personal decision

Any one of these reasons might be enough justification for choosing raw milk for a given individual or family. But when viewed together, it’s easy to understand why raw milk consumption has increased so significantly over the last two decades.

Consuming unpasteurised milk and dairy products has several positive benefits that, for many people, may outweigh the possible risks. You must consider both the positive and negative qualities of raw milk consumption when deciding for you and your family.

Where can I buy raw milk?

If you are in England or Wales, you can order raw milk, butter and cheese products from our website:

http://www.foulgersdairy.co.uk/product-category/national-delivery/

Easter is a time of celebration and that calls for cake!

Easter is all about three things; family, friends, and food! Okay, so it’s not just about these things, but they play an important part in our Easter celebrations.

Whether you celebrate Easter for its religious roots or you simply enjoy the sentiment of Easter, you’re going to need a delicious cake recipe up your sleeve, ready for when your friends and family gather.

The Easter bunny may bring chocolate, but there’s always room for cake!

Frosted White Chocolate Easter Cake

Ingredients

250g butter, plus a little extra for greasing
140g white chocolate, broken into pieces
250ml milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
250g self-raising flour, sifted
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
300g caster sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

For the frosting

300g tub Philadelphia cheese
85g butter, softened
100g icing sugar, sifted
Cadbury’s Mini Eggs to decorate (or use 50g/2oz chopped hazelnuts)

Method

Heat oven to 160C/Fan 140C/Gas 3. Grease a deep 23cm cake tin and line the base with greaseproof paper.
Place the butter, white chocolate, milk and vanilla extract in a small saucepan, then heat gently, stirring, until melted.
Combine the flour, bicarb and sugar in a large bowl with a pinch of salt, then stir in the melted ingredients and eggs until smooth.
Pour the batter into the tin, then bake for 1 hr, or until the cake is golden and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin. Once cool, the cake can be wrapped in cling film and foil, then frozen for up to 1 month.
To make the frosting, beat together the Philadelphia, butter and icing sugar until smooth. Spread over the cake, then decorate with mini eggs.

If you have little people helping you bake this Easter or if they will be coming to visit then we are sure these bunny biscuits will have them jumping for joy.

Bunny Cookies and Milk

Ingredients

150g butter, softened
165g caster sugar
125ml sweetened condensed milk
1 egg
260g plain flour, sifted
150g self-raising flour, sifted
2 cups white chocolate chips, melted
2 tsp vegetable oil
1-2 drops pink food colouring
Milk, to serve

Method

Preheat oven to 180ºC/160ºC Fan. Grease and line two oven trays with baking paper.
Beat butter, sugar and sweetened condensed milk until creamy; add egg and beat until just combined. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Fold in sifted flours, mix to firm dough. Roll out dough between two sheets of baking paper to 5mm thickness. Using a template cut out ears (don’t forget the slots for them to go on your glass!); place on prepared trays; bake for 15 minutes. Cool on trays.
Whilst cookies are cooling, using half of the melted chocolate chips; place them into a piping bag and pipe the outer rim of ear. Place the remaining white chocolate chips into a bowl with the oil and pink colouring. Stir to combine; place into a clean piping bag and fill in the ear colour
Serve cookies in your favourite glass filled with milk and enjoy!

We’re pleased to tell you that you don’t need to worry about your delivery dates being changed over the Easter weekend – all deliveries will be made as normal!

Everyone here at the Dairy wishes you a very Happy Easter.

Foulger’s Dairy acquires a well-known Suffolk & Norfolk delivery service!

Milk and groceries delivered direct to the door has been a tradition for centuries in the UK, and perfectly epitomised by the excellent services provided by Cundy’s Dairy for many decades past.

With the company’s routes set in dairy farming and our historical good relationship, Foulger’s Dairy saw the acquisition of Cundy’s Dairy as a fabulous opportunity. The similarities of both businesses were uncanny, and the opportunity for us at Foulger’s Dairy to spread our network further, and service the people of North Suffolk and South Norfolk was a natural expansion and progression for the business.

The acquisition of Cundy’s delivery rounds has given us new opportunities to not only expand our demographic, but also to build further density within our rounds with more and more people now coming back to the doorstep delivery service.

The integration of Cundy’s Dairy rounds will take a little time, but it is most certainly business and service as usual. The infamous clink of glass milk bottles to coincide with the break of dawn will still be a familiar tone in the towns and villages of Suffolk and Norfolk for many decades to come, and Foulger’s Dairy looks forward to serving our new customers, and hope our newly acquired customers wil enjoy the service we have been providing to the region for the past eighty years or more!

World School Milk Day

World School Milk Day is held all over the world on the last Wednesday of September every year to celebrate the benefits and success of school milk programmes. The first World School Milk Day was celebrated in September 2000 and has since become an annual event promoted by the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).

The History

In the UK, our history of school milk spans back over 100 years to the Provision of Meals Act 1906. This recognised that the provision of school food would allow needy and undernourished children benefit more from education. Also that milk was a food that could be provided to children to prevent poor nutrition.

After the Great Depression and the World Wars malnutrition among children was a great concern. So school milk schemes were introduced and developed. Throughout the 20th century, the provision of milk to school children has helped combat under nutrition in times of scarcity.

Why Milk?

Milk and dairy foods provide calcium and protein for growing bodies and help protect teeth against dental cavaties.
A small carton of semi-skimmed milk can provide 42-52% of 4-10 year olds recommended daily intake for calcium and 24-35% of their recommended protein intake.
Another important nutrient, iodine, is found in significant amounts of milk – it is needed for growth and brain development in children and a glass of milk provides about 52-57% of their recommended intake.

World School Milk Day celebrates the part that milk programmes have played in children’s health and educational development in times of food insecurity and in times of plenty for the UK!

Today

The Government have given assurances that until we leave the EU we will continue to participate in the European school milk scheme, through which over-fives can receive a subsidised portion of milk. Schools and parents look forward to hearing further information or assurances about the future of subsidised school milk for children over five?

The Nursery Milk Scheme is operated by the Nursery Milk Reimbursement Unit (NMRU) on behalf of the Department of Health. It does still entitle children under 5 years who attend approved day care facilities to receive 189ml (1/3 pint) of milk each day, free of charge.

World Milk Day is celebrated this year on Wednesday 27th September 2017.