Natures Purest Nutritional Supplements Articles & Resources

It's real food, pure food."

You can find bee pollen in some healthfood shops, or order it from (01263 761525), a Norfolk business that sources pollen, royal jelly, bee propolis and other bee products from its own hives. It's worth pointing out, though, that if you heat bee pollen, its health-giving properties will be compromised.

Avruga 'caviar'

As the inverted commas suggest, this is not really caviar at all, but a clever substitute. True caviar is the roe (eggs) of the sturgeon, a fish now so endangered that many chefs have removed caviar from their menus as a matter of principle. To answer the continuing demand for little black fish eggs, Avruga was created and has won almost universal approval. It's not the real thing, but very good nonetheless, and about a tenth of the price to boot. Made in Spain, Avruga (which is a brand name, not a generic description) is created by processing herring along with a jelly-like seaweed extract into tiny, glistening black balls. The flavour is smoky, a little sweet, less intensely fishy than true caviar - it reminds me of smoked salmon. It can be used in any recipe where the real stuff is called for - on blinis, with eggs, on buttered toast - and has the advantage of holding to its colour, which some mock caviars do not.

To confuse matters slightly, it looks as though Avruga is set to be replaced on our shelves by a new brand, Onuga, which is a very similar product. This is all to do with the Spanish producers raising their prices and such like - but it's not cause for concern, because Onuga is lovely stuff, too.

Avruga is available from Waitrose, many branches of Sainsbury's, Asda and Tesco, as well as good delis and fishmongers. If you have problems finding a stockist, call the supplier, Land And Sea (0845 4581960). Onuga is currently only in Waitrose, but will be appearing more widely by the end of the year.

Hazelnut and walnut oils

Nut oils are lovely to cook with - although 'cook' is really the wrong word, because heat is their greatest enemy. These are delicate substances with low burn points, which means they become bitter and tasteless if heated too much, so never fry with them. Nut oils also go stale and turn rancid fairly quickly, so buy them in small quantities, keep them in the fridge and use within six months

To get the most out of oils like hazelnut and walnut, use them in dressings and marinades, or drizzle on to soups, vegetables or grilled fish and meat at the last minute before serving.

Walnut oil, which is now in all the major supermarkets, has the unique, almost-bitter walnut flavour you'd expect. It's absolutely delicious in salad dressings, blended with white-wine vinegar, a smidgen of honey and a touch of garlic - especially if you use the nuts themselves in the salad. Or fold the dressing into cooked lentils when they're still warm to create a delicious side dish. Walnut oil can hold its own with robust vegetables such as red cabbage and its slight bitterness is great with cheese, too - try it with blue cheese and pears.

Hazelnut oil is a little harder to come across - some delicatessens will sell it, but I got mine by mail order from .uk . A beautiful, sweet, fragrant thing, it's great in delicate dishes - drizzle over steamed asparagus or boiled new potatoes just out of the pot. It's also good for puddings when you want a rich, hazelnut flavour - try sprinkling it over pancakes along with a little sugar.

Barley

There are two types of barley available. Whole, pot or Scotch barley has its inedible husk removed but, apart from that, is unprocessed. It's packed with nutrients and fibre, but is pretty chewy, takes a long time to cook and is rather hard to find. Pearl barley, on the other hand, is further polished to remove its bran layer. It is by far the most common and is readily available in supermarkets and healthfood shops. It loses quite a lot of its nutritional value through the polishing process, but is still wholesome, sustaining and easy to cook. When a recipe simply calls for 'barley', it almost certainly means the pearl kind.

This is an ancient grain that has sustained people for millennia. It's more adaptable than almost any other cereal, growing in an enormous range of climatic conditions. Nowadays, most of the barley grown in the UK is used by the brewing industry. But this grain also represents peasant food at its finest. It's a fabulous thickener - slow-cooked in soups, casseroles or stews until plump and soft, it releases its starches to thicken the liquid it's cooked in. But it can also be boiled and drained just like rice and then used as a side dish. It doesn't have a great deal of flavour of its own, so lace it with herbs and fried onions, or use it as the base for a hearty salad. It also makes a delicious risotto - cook it in exactly the same way as you would risotto rice. Generally, pearl barley needs to be simmered for a good 25 minutes, but if you soak it overnight first, it will cook more quickly.

Agen prunes

All prunes begin life as plums, which are then dried to a wrinkly blackness. However, all prunes are not the same. If your experience of the fruit is limited to tough, dry nuggets, turn to pruneaux d'Agen and the scales will fall from your eyes. These fat, luscious, velvety fellows are grown in south-west France. The variety was taken to America in the 19th century and many of the California prunes we now buy are descended from them. But they still don't quite measure up to the French originals. Amazingly moist and packed with rich, plummy flavour, they are simply the best, whether you're eating them neat or cooking with them. They are particularly delicious when steeped in liquid - especially armagnac, which is produced close to Agen. But you can also soak them in tea, fruit juice or just water, partially to rehydrate them. If you're cooking them in a saucy dish, this plumpening up will happen anyway, so there's no need for pre-soaking.

These dark beauties are also a veritable superfood. In America, they rate fruit and vegetables on something called the Orac scale, according to the level of health-boosting antioxidants they contain. Prunes top the table by miles. They're versatile, too, being as much at home in savoury dishes, such as devils on horseback, as they are in boozy puddings. You can even use a prune purée - made by soaking then liquidising the fruit - to replace the fat in cakes and muffins. It's surprisingly effective.

Agen prunes are available in most large supermarkets, from healthfood stores or by mail from /gb.

Chanterelles and girolles

These two names refer to the same mushroom - girolle being the French name for the common chanterelle, Cantharellus cibarius. Delicate in flavour and texture, the chanterelle is one of the most prized and widely used of all wild mushrooms. Treat it simply - sauté and toss into a warm salad, bake in a savoury tart, or simmer with wine and cream and spoon over roasted meat - and you can't go wrong. The important thing is to clean the mushrooms well first. A small brush is the ideal tool, because you want to avoid washing them if at all possible - they soak up water like little sponges.

Like many fungi, chanterelles have so far thwarted attempts to cultivate them, but they grow wild in many parts of the world, including the British Isles. They can appear as early as May in damp, woody areas, and their season extends to October. However, it's only in Scotland that they grow in sufficient quantity to be harvested commercially, and even then they rely on the right weather conditions, so most chanterelles you buy will be imported from Iberia or eastern Europe. High-end green-grocers such as Harrods will have them now, some of the bigger supermarkets sell them, too, and it's worth asking your greengrocer if they can be ordered, because most wholesalers will have access to them. Alternatively, order them by mail from The Mushroom Basket on 01530 415862. If you can't get hold of fresh, dried chanterelles are a pretty good substitute. Sainsbury's sells them, or go to .uk for mail order.

Vanilla pods

Vanilla is such a voluptuous spice, so lusciously sweet and intensely perfumed, it seems fitting that it's sourced from a delicate orchid which is capriciously difficult to cultivate. Long, dark, sticky vanilla pods are the seed cases of the Vanilla planifolia plant. It is native to Mexico where it grows in tropical forests, opening its blooms in the morning so it can be pollinated by particular types of bee and hummingbird, then closing them again. In the 1500s, the vines began to be exported to other regions, but it was discovered that pollination would not occur naturally anywhere else. Eventually, artificial methods were developed, and now most of the world's vanilla comes from Madagascar.

The pendulous fruits that grow after pollination are cured by being steamed, then left to ferment until black, wrinkly and headily fragranced. To use them, split them down their length with the tip of a small knife, then scrape out the thousands of sticky black seeds within.

At around £2 a pod, vanilla pods are not cheap, but they do give you the purest, richest vanilla flavour possible. To make them go a little further, don't discard the pod after one use. After you've scraped out the seeds, bury the pod in a jar of caster sugar, to which it will transfer its gorgeous aroma - there's nothing better to sprinkle on fruit or use in cakes. You can also use the pod to infuse a custard, and after that you can even rinse the pod, dry it, then use it again in the same way.

Vanilla pods - also sometimes called vanilla beans - are available from all the big supermarkets, as well as delicatessens, while does them by mail. If you're looking for alternatives, forget anything called vanilla essence or flavouring. Pure vanilla extract, on the other hand, is good