Christmas Food Hygiene and Safety Messages

FSA Scotland is reminding consumers that, unless they take care, food poisoning can be an unwelcome Christmas guest.  The Agency has a range of information to help, including tips for preparing and cooking your turkey. But keeping Christmas dinner safe is not just about taking care with turkey. Recent Agency research found that consumers are aware of the risk of harmful germs from raw meat, but are less aware of the risks from raw vegetables.

Jacqui McElhiney, food safety expert at the Food Standards Agency in Scotland, said: 'Preparing Christmas dinner can be a challenge, as most of us aren’t used to cooking for so many people. It can be easy to make mistakes in the kitchen that increase the risk of food poisoning.

'One of the main rules to remember is to avoid cross-contamination from raw meat or poultry on to other foods. Keep all raw food, whether it’s your turkey or vegetables, separate from ready-to-eat foods. Always wash your hands before and after handling food but don't wash your turkey, as that will only spread germs. Instead make sure that it gets cooked properly, and that means right the way through.'

It is estimated that around a million people suffer from food poisoning in the UK each year, but following some simple steps in the kitchen can help protect you and your family. For advice and information on preparing a safe Christmas dinner, go to the links below.

special Christmas party

Christmas food is something unique and different from other times of the year, because of the many efforts that go into making varieties of rich dishes for people at home and for Christmas parties. You can find many recipes for food exclusively meant for this festive time of the year.

Christmas food is best enjoyed when shared with close members of your family or your loved one. Cookies, Pies, Christmas cakes, Chocolates, Different Bread varieties and much more are all laid out in their full aroma on the laid, waiting to be enjoyed by everyone. Christmas food can bring back memories of happy Christmas time spent during childhood and are one of the most cherished aspects of Christmas time next to presents

If you are going to have a special Christmas party, you need to include favorites amongst the list so that you don’t disappoint anyone. So, make a list of what you think people would most likely to enjoy and then go about cooking them or arranging for them to be delivered to your home.

Christmas Food Fayre

A Christmas Food Fayre is coming to Gunwharf Quays this weekend, 10th and 11th December.

From mulled wines to award winning liqueur and ginger wines, fine cheeses, award winning sausages, local chutneys and jams, you can sample and buy for Christmas in Gunwharf's festive Marquee. 

Many of the restaurants and stores are also getting involved over the weekend with special offers and more opportunities to taste their wares.

Plus on Saturday 10th December The Bossard Quartet will be playing from 11am - 12pm in the marquee, and on Sunday Lydian Strings will be playing from mid-day onwards.

10.00am - 5.00pm daily. 

Inside the Marquee...

Emily's - Christmas Cakes, Gingerbread Houses & Men, and mince pies

Hebridean Liqueurs - flavoured spirits

Riverford Organics - arrange your organic vegetable delivery for Christmas and buy a Christmas Pudding!

Gransteads Ginger - non-alcholic ginger wine, and other ginger goodies!

Olives & Things - olives, biltong, vine leaves and gherkins.

Thunder Toffee Vodka

Simply Gorgeous Foods - fill your own hamper with festive cheeses

Mr Pickles - spicy chutneys & preserves    

Premier Preserves - homemade fruit jams & tea cosies!

Brasserie Blanc - selling Maman Blanc products

Water Margin - sampling Oriental bites from their menu, and handing out free drinks vouchers if you dine over the weekend.

Plätzchen

These represent a variety of delicate Christmas cookies: rolled dough cookies such as Springerle, hand-formed cookies such asVanillekipferl, or piped cookies known as Spritzgebäck. The ever ubiquitous Christmas Spekulatius, a kind of spicy pastry dough cookies, is made using cinnamon, cardamom, and nutmeg. Spekulatius is available in many forms and flavors, including almond, butter, and chocolate varieties. These are often baked during the Advent season or store bought.

Other types of Christmas cookies include: Dominosteine (layered gingerbread, jam, and marzipan enclosed in a chocolate shell),Zimtsterne (cinnamon stars), and Pfeffernüsse (spicy gingerbread cookies).

Marzipan

While not a German invention, marzipan has become inextricably linked with Christmastime in Germany. This sweet treat made from almonds and sugar first came to Europe from the Middle East during the 14th century as a delicacy served at the table of the nobility. Mass production eventually allowed for greater distribution. 

Laws govern the kinds and proportion of ingredients allowed in authentic marzipan. It must contain two parts almonds to one part sugar, and rosewater is the only flavoring ingredient that may be added. Once made, the marzipan may be molded into numerous forms, which are then often iced or decorated or dipped in chocolate. 

Apart from the common loaf-shaped Marzipanbrot and the spherical Marzipankartoffeln, it can be found in every form imaginable - from fruits, vegetables, and animals to hearts, stars, buildings, and figurines. The most famous of German marzipan hails from the city of Lübeck, particularly from the producers Niederegger and Carsten's.

Lebkuchen - German-style gingerbread

Gingerbread, also called Pfefferkuchen (pepper cake) due to the pungent, oriental spices it uses - cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom, coriander, and anise -- is baked without the use of yeast and is sweetened with honey. Lebkuchen has existed in German-speaking regions since at least the turn of the 14th century. Because its production required the use of ingredients that had to be imported, the first Lebkuchen was baked in cities that were centers of trade. One of these was Nuremburg. In the mid-1600s, the city instituted strict regulations governing the production of the confection.

Until the advent of industrialization, Lebkuchen was made by hand. Even today, many bakeries hand-create these specialties. The recipes used have been passed down from generation to generation. Main ingredients include honey, flour, sugar, eggs, nuts, candied citrus fruit, marzipan, and a variety of spices.

Modern-day variations may include almonds or other nuts, orange or lemon zest, or a chocolate covering. Lebkuchen also takes the form of the edibleHexenhaus (witch's house), also known as Hansel and Gretel's house after the famed Grimm's fairy tale of the same name.

Dresdner Stollen

This famous fruitcake -- though not exactly what English-speakers associate with "fruitcake" -- is closely associated with the Christmas holiday because it was originally produced as food to be eaten during the Advent fast. The first Christstollen, named such because it was meant to resemble a swaddled baby Jesus, appeared in Naumburg (Saale) in 1329. Stollen has been sold at the Dresden Christmas market since the 15th century. It took several decades before the bland, baked oat, flour, and water mixture was transformed into the light, hearty loaf we know today. Butter, raisins, and lemon zest are mixed into a yeast dough and the bakedStollen is dusted with powdered sugar. Variations include the addition of marzipan, poppy seeds, dairy products or various nuts.

Each year the city of Dresden puts on a Stollen Festival to celebrate the food that takes its name from the Saxon city. In imitation of the gigantic Stollen baked in the city in 1730 on the occasion of Augustus the Strong's grand festival of baroque proportions, each year the bakers of Dresden produce a 3000 to 4000 kg stollen. It is cut into half-pound sections and served to the festival visitors. The following recipe won't supply an entire city but the two 12-inch loaves it produces will feed a good-sized family.