Health knowledge made personal
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Hello all - hope you had a lovely Easter break. One of my earlier childhood memories related to food is making Easter Biscuits with my Nan. I remember them being huge pale golden biscuits - crumbly, sugary, full of dried fruits and with an amazing flavour. I've spoken of these Easter biscuits a few times with friends - many of whom had never really heard of them. It transpires, after a little research, that these Easter biscuits may be local to the South West of England and indeed to the Avon and Somerset region - where I am from originally (I'm a Bristolian girl). What made these biscuits so special was that amazing flavour and the spicey scent that permeated the whole house when they were baking. I can also remember my Nan teaching me very carefully to add just a few drops of the precious scented oil to the biscuit dough and handling it very carefully. I don't know why after many many years I thought back to these biscuits this particular year. A wave of nostalgia for some reason and a desire to make these lovely treats again. I knew I needed an oil but couldn't for the life of me remember the name of it - but again a little internet surfing and it all came flooding back - Cassia oil. It's an essential oil that few people have heard of. I think you're not even supposed to ingest it - but it certainly did us no harm and its taste transports quite a humble biscuit into something divine (maybe that's the idea?). Turns out that this oil is quite hard to get hold of. It can, of course be purchased online (only in a few places though) and various independent pharmacies may stock it in the run-up to Easter. I've also heard of it being for sale in Tescos - but when I tried, it proved to be somewhat of an urban myth (something muttered about health and bloody safety?! I couldn't get this early foodie memory out of my head. On an impulse this holiday Monday, Dave and I set off to good old Weston-Super-Mare. I grew up in this town - from 4 to 21 years old - with some very fond memories indeed. And I secretly hoped that our day out might also yield a bottle of this rare oil. Success!!! Boots the Chemist - W-S-M - on the counter, along with an Easter Biscuit recipe. Clutching my little bottle of happy childhood memories I didn't care about the traffic on the M5 on the way back home - I had a little piece of baking heaven to look forward to... Recipe to follow. In plenty of time for next year - but why not make some this weekend? Happy baking. Chantal xxx |
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