The Killer Ketchup!

I have read about the benefits of tomatoes and tomato sauce. Tomatoes have lycopene, a powerful antioxidant.
Seemingly, eating tomato sauce twice a week could reduce the risk of men developing prostate cancer by up to a third, according to new research.

Today I watched Jeff putting ketchup on his pasta, only to sit and pick out the pasta without ketchup and discard any with the tiniest trace of the red stuff. ‘I just can’t eat it,’ he said, ‘it’s far too sweet.’

This led me to look at the ingredients label on the side of the bottle.

5 g of sugar per 15 mL of ketchup

There’s 750 mL of ketchup in the bottle, so !!!!! 50 X 5g in the bottle!

That makes a total of 250 gm of sugar or 1/4 of a Kilo or almost 9 oz!!!! I have checked this and rechecked it as I just can’t believe that this is true.

This is what 8 oz of sugar looks like. Can they really have put this amount of sugar into this little bottle?

I went to the cupboard and got a tin of tomatoes to see the information on it.

2 g per 125 mL. The tin contains 796 mL.

So 6.3 X 2g = 12. 6 g of sugar. That amount looks like this. Not so bad.

I wrote to General Mills about their Oatmeal Crisp breakfast cereal being so sweet we couldn’t eat it. Their reply was that they only make what the customer requests!

So, what is the answer? Surely when diabetes is the biggest growing disease in the world, food companies should be forced to look at the ‘sugar problem.’

I suggest everyone looks at the sugar content on labels and boycotts the foods that are poisoning us.

From now on I will make my own ketchup – without any sugar!

Grand Pre Winery, Nova Scotia

Many people find it difficult to believe that Nova Scotia is a producer of wines, thinking that we are in deep snow all year. But  Nova Scotia is on the same Latitude as parts of France and Italy and so is perfectly capable of growing grapes.

On Sunday we headed to Wolfville, having been given a wonderful gift of a tour of the Grand Pre Vineyard, a meal at Le Caveau Restaurant and a night’s stay at The Lantern Inn.

We were very fortunate indeed to be able to still see the grapes on the vines, next week-end would probably be too late.

The bunches of grapes were hanging at the bottom of the vines; the foliage around them had been removed to allow the sun to ripen them. The grapes which form in the upper parts of the vine are also cut off to allow the lower grapes to get all the nutrients from the soil. Netting is hung on each side of the grapes to protect them from the birds.

Another bird deterrent is a tape recording of hawks and birds of prey.

Our tour guide explained about Ice Wine and how the grapes must be picked from the frozen vines to make this sweet dessert wine. If the grapes are picked before they are frozen then it cannot be called an Ice Wine. At Grand Pre Vineyard, locals actually volunteer to go out in the dark in December, to pick the grapes!

The wine tasting was a lot of fun, learning how look at the wine, smell it, taste it and listen to it – well, she was only kidding about listening to it. Seemingly some people hear the sea, or the wind in the vines ….!

The Castel is a rich ruby red wine, with aromas of caraway and black pepper.

The tasting concluded with a sample of the Pomme D’Or, the best apple juice I have ever tasted.  At 10%  perhaps a bit more than apple juice.

We had a difficult decision, choosing our favourites, but we have something very special for Christmas Day.

Ironworks Distillery, Lunenburg

There is an interesting old building in Lunenburg.

A marine blacksmith’s shop since 1893, it produced ironworks for shipbuilders all along the South Shore. The Walters  family made anchors and chains, and anything that could be hammered into shape on the anvil. They also produced hardware for the Bluenose 1 and 2 schooners as well as the HMS Bounty for the Hollywood film.

After lying empty for a few years it has been given a new lease of life.

Yesterday, as I walked through the door I was hit by the most amazing smell – hot gingerbread….caramel….baking Christmas cake….hints of the Caribbean….

For Lynne MacKay and Pierre Guevremont have started a small distillery in our town, which they have aptly named, Ironworks.

The old forge lies empty, but is a reminder of the buildings past history.

In the opposite corner stands a very proud, German still.

It was producing a batch of rum, which explained the aromas.

The process will be explained at the end of this Blog.

Information cards explained how each spirit was produced.

The Pear spirit looked exciting.

When hurricane Earl approached Nova Scotia in September, Lynne and Pierre decided to harvest the pears.

Some of the pears were  small compared to the others on the same tree, but many were exactly the correct size for the width of the bottles. Forty two of eighty pears, were excellent – a good first time success rate.

The pear mash was fermented for 4-6 weeks, then double distilled to produce a clear and aromatic Eau-de-vie. The  bottles with the pears, were then filled with the Eau-de Vie – a very unique looking bottle of spirit!

The ruby red Cranberry liqueur is made from cranberries farmed at Heckman’s Island, just along the road.

The bottles on the left are Vodka made from apples from the Annapolis Valley.

For a really special gift, you can buy one, two or three bottles in a wooden box, stamped with the Ironworks logo.

I wish Lynne and Pierre, ‘All the Best’, in their new venture, but judging from the response so far, I’m sure it’s going to be a great success.

Lobster Fishing Season at Lunenburg

Before the lobster season, the lobster traps are stacked on wharfs, in sheds or beside houses, ready for the next lobster harvest.

Yesterday was the first day of the lobster fishing season here at Lunenburg. The lobster men were off at sunrise, out to claim the best spots for their traps and the wharfs were cleared of lobster pots.

Today, the boats were back out for their  first pull.

Some fishermen have little fish stores that sit out on the rocks, like the ones at Blue Rocks.

When the lobsters are landed, they go off to various shops, restaurants and processing plants.

I think we’ll be having fresh lobster soon.