Im all for knowing the provenance of ingredients, as Ive written about many times before. I like to know where my beef comes from, both the breed and the farm (where possible) and where my chicken has been reared and how it has been treated. But this information is being taken to a ridiculous degree by the Herberts who work in the marketing departments of some of our bigger brands and retailers.
Take this bottle of dressing, for example. Im perfectly happy knowing that it is made from, not just any old mango, but Alphonso Mango, and contains 25% of said fruits puree. But why do I need to know that the lime juice is from Brazil? How is Brazilian lime juice any better than non-specified lime juice? Come to that, why havent I been told the country of origin of the main ingredient? India, perhaps? It doesnt say.
This is just a marketing gimmick, as we know. Brazilian sounds sexy and exotic (if you veer away from the bikini-line connotations) but perhaps Mahrashtra Alphonso Mango doesnt have the same ring about it?
Anyway, this is just a small example of this irritating trend, the worst of which can be found on Walkers crisps. Cheese & Onion flavour is described as being made with Somerset Cheddar; Roast Chicken as Made with Free-Range Chicken from Devon; Prawn Cocktail has Vale of Evesham tomatoes in it; and the best of all, Salt & Vinegar contains Real British Vinegar.
*slaps forehead*
Regardless of what it says on the label, whats the stuff like in the bottle of the mango dressing Ive just tried?
Well, its rather lovely. Very fruity with a lovely hot kick from peri-peri chillies (country of origin, unspecified) and a zippy zing from that citrus fruit from one of the countries in South America (I forget which).
It was perhaps a little too runny more like a marinade than a dressing but it worked fantastically with roast chicken and salad leaves.
Im going to try it next to marinate some chicken wings, which I think will work a treat. Give it a go.
