MAKE FRIENDS WITH SALAD

Q: What makes a salad, a salad? 

Simon George & Sons knows how to make friends with salad. Our new range of ‘fine’ salad mixes from Victorian supplier, Hussey & Co offer chefs a convenient salad base that is tender, colourful and packed full of flavour. The finer leaves make it possible to deliver a salad with the full complement of flavours and a gourmet look, no matter how small the serving.

FINE ASIAN MIX: (Mizuna, Mibuna, Tatsoi)

Tulira Jett Photography

The Asian Mix is a fantastic staple for the kitchen. The Japanese leaves deliver mild mustard, peppery flavours while the Tatsoi adds a creamy texture. Many chefs customize this mix by tossing through various hydroponics.

FINE MESCLUN MIX: (Red and Green lettuce lines, little mustard and curly leaves)

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At only 5 or 6 cm, the leaves in this mix enable you to offer a full salad experience in one handful. With up to 16 varieties this mix is a flavour hit.

FINE SWISS CHARD:

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At it’s peak over the next two months, the fine chard mix is delicious, colourful and fresh.

SNOW PEA TENDRILS:

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These tendrils have a stunningly delicate appearance and a lovely crunchy texture. Boasting a subtle pea flavour, they can be used in either a salad mix or to dress a dish

ARUGULA ROCKET:

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While many chefs opt for the stronger heat of Wild Rocket, Arugula is fast gaining popularity with those seeking a milder pepper hit, tender leaves and a softer look on the plate

According to history, it’s the dressing. The word ‘salad’ originally derived from the Latin ‘salata’ or salted things, which refers to the practice of eating raw vegetables dressed with salt, oil and/or vinegar.


LOST IN TRANSLATION

Q: Peter Piper picked a peck of ‘mangoed’ peppers? 

 The influence of Asian ingredients and cooking methods has brought an exciting complexity to Australian Cuisine. To prevent these unique flavours getting lost in translation, it is important to learn how to recognise and prepare the varieties of Asian inspired produce increasingly available at the markets.

 The green mango is a delicacy in Asia and serves as an example of how an exotic fruit can have varieties that look very similar but have strikingly different uses and flavours. Green eating mangoes can be grated fresh in salads, salted and dried, sliced in vinegar or fish sauces or eaten as a fruit.

 Green Mangoes come in two categories: immature and mature. ‘Immature’ green mangoes are picked early and never ripen or become sweet. The skin, flesh and soft stone are all edible and are often used in pickles or chutneys. In contrast, the ‘mature’ green mango is allowed to fully ripen on the tree. The skin thickens and becomes inedible, the flesh becomes firm and the stone develops a hard shell. When mature the flavour and texture is similar to a crisp, tart green apple.

 Here is a snapshot of some of the Green Mango varieties available in Australia:

 

 

 

Keow Savoey (Thailand)

Traits: oblong, dark green fruit. Green when ripe with semi-translucent pulp

Use: Considered the best green eating variety in Thailand. Used in salads, curries and chutneys because of its sweet-sour taste and firm texture.

 

 

Nam Doc Mai (Thailand)

Traits: almond shaped fruit with white green skin, develops a pink blush when exposed to sun. Green fruit is about ¾ of the size of the ripe fruit

Use: Generally not eaten green in Thailand, Nam Doc Mai in Australia is sold as a mature green or ripe fruit.  At its best when the skin takes on a whitish green hue, it has a mild sweet taste, though it can be quite sour when green

 

 

 

Falan (Thailand)

Traits: green, oblong shape fruit with no blush

Use: milder flavour than Keow Savoey and is generally eaten sliced in vinegar or fish sauces

 

 

 

Xoai Tuong- Elephant Mango (Vietnam)

Traits: Oblong shaped. When eaten green, the pulp is crisp with low fibre and is covered with a medium-thick green skin without any blush

Use: The fruit has a strong, sour flavour and is the most popular green eating variety in Vietnam

 

 

 

 

Raed (Thailand):

Traits: Oblong with a small pointed knob, the ripe fruit and flesh are light yellow

Use: Dual-purpose variety, being eaten green or ripe as a fruit. Rad has a slight sour flavour when eaten green and is very sweet as a ripe fruit

 A: When mangoes were first brought from Asia to the American colonies in the 17th Century the lack of refrigeration meant they had to be pickled to survive the journey. Over time, other pickled fruits (especially capsicum) became known as ‘mangoes’. This was so widespread, that by the 18th century the word mango started to be used as a verb meaning ‘to pickle’.