Food & Drink notes

Just the tonic; froth 'n' Go; a fair assumption; the local store for local people

Compiled,Caroline Stacey
Saturday 05 November 2005 01:00 GMT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

This election is still a dead heat, according to most polls. In a fight with such wafer-thin margins, we need reporters on the ground talking to the people Trump and Harris are courting. Your support allows us to keep sending journalists to the story.

The Independent is trusted by 27 million Americans from across the entire political spectrum every month. Unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock you out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. But quality journalism must still be paid for.

Help us keep bring these critical stories to light. Your support makes all the difference.

Just the tonic

Diet tonic water is a crime against nature, and even those with sugar rather than sweeteners may have unnatural ingredients that mess with your gin. As the spirit enjoys a revival, at last somebody's turned their attention to mixers. Fever-Tree Indian Tonic Water uses natural quinine harvested from a fever-tree plantation in east Africa. All the other ingredients are natural too. Now Oddbins, Waitrose, Fresh & Wild and Harrods stock it. £2.99 for 4x200ml.

Froth 'n' Go

Forget the cappuccino frother - Magic Self-Stirring Mug froths your coffee or hot chocolate without the need for a fiddly accessory. It's stainless steel with a plastic interior. Simply pour your coffee and milk in, then press the button in the handle to whisk it up. £11.75 from www.efx.co.uk, or call 01789 451204 for stockists.

A fair assumption

The country comes to town today and tomorrow, and many thousands of people are expected to visit Henrietta Green's Food Lovers' Fair in Covent Garden to sniff out the breads, cakes and biscuits, chocolates, meat, fish, game and poultry, cheeses, fruit and vegetables. Just as well the 120 stallholders, who include Flying Fish Feasts, with 10 differently flavoured fishcakes, to Café Spice chutneys from London, are spread over all four piazzas. Entry is free so the least you can do is feast your eyes.

The local store for local people

You may have to battle with your conscience before making the trip to Weeton's, a spectacular new food shop in Harrogate. Set up by the 28-year-old City-savvy son of a Yorkshire dairy-farming family, it sells produce from almost 40 Yorkshire farms and producers. And it may look like a modishly metropolitan grocer but it's still a farm shop at heart. Every product is marked with its food miles clocked up from source to the shop. The butcher's counter sells terrific meat that's travelled only across a county. The way round the shopper's ethical dilemma is simply to make fewer trips and buy more while you're there. With so much glorious food in this hall that shouldn't be hard. Weeton's, 23-24 West Park, Harrogate, Yorkshire, 01423 507100 / www.weetons.com

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in