I’m quite keen on the idea of a regular fish box delivery after watching Monty Hall’s excellent TV programme The Fisherman’s Apprentice. The ideas of buying more directly from the producer, having really fresh food, and supporting our coastal fishing fleet are all very appealing. So I thought I’d find out just how easy or hard it would be to get a regular fish box of seasonally caught fish.

We both love fish and Andy, being an adventurous cook loves the challenge of cooking something new so we are quite happy to have a really mixed selection. Most of the suppliers I found also do more specific orders if that’s what you want.

First up, though hardly local to anyone outside Cornwall, is Wing’s of St Mawes, The Cornish Fishmonger. They do a monthly fish box delivery scheme to most of the mainland UK. The fish is delivered on the first Thursday of each month by courier. The best deal seems to be the Cornish Seafood Selection:

Fish box delivery from The Cornish Fishmonger

This box will include 10 portions of fresh fish and shellfish, ideally including oily fish, white fish and shellfish; the variety will depend on quality and availability. Normally we would hope to include a dozen cleaned king scallops, wild black mussels, oily fish fillets, filleted flat fish and white fish. If you any species you dislike please note them in the comments box at the checkout.

10 portions costs nearly £50 once you’ve covered your delivery costs. It is all ready to freeze so it should take care of your fish needs for the month. They do bigger boxes too if you need them.  They have a commitment to freshly caught fish, landed in Cornwall.  Looks good and I might have to try it! (The thought of those scallops, mmmm….)

Next, I looked at Martin’s Fish for Thought site. They offer a wider variety in a way but the only one I was interested in was the Local Frozen Fish Box, 14 portions this time for £50. Martins have a great reputation but the selection was disappointing. It is Cornish landed fish but they don’t do a fresh local fish box only the frozen one. Also the frozen fish box is a bit pedestrian & I worried that it always includes cod, haddock and plaice. They do have Marine Stewardship Council accreditation and a sustainability commitment but still not right for me.

Finally I looked at Fish in A Box, which definitely seems to do what it says on the tin. They are an online fishmonger but they have a commitment to fresh fish deliveries in most of the UK mainland. The box I looked at was their Large Classic Box, 12 portions for just over £50 with free delivery. Now this looks very interesting. You get a selection from the following:

Hake, Loch Duart Salmon, Cod, Red Bream, Organic Salmon, Rainbow Trout, Pollack, Smoked Haddock (naturally oak smoked NOT DYED), Haddock, Plaice, Smoked Mackerel, Herring, Megrim, Ling, Coley, Catfish (rock turbot), Sardine, Whiting, Mackerel, Grey Mullet, Pouting, Flounder, Kipper, Skate, Cod Cheeks, Monkfish Cheeks.

Whole fish chosen from: Plaice, Turbot, John Dory, Trout, Sea Bass, Sea Bream, Torbay Sole, Pink Snapper, Lemon Sole, Gurnard, Brill

Some is Cornish,  some from Scotland, and  some landed in Wales, which is where they are based. I spy some real neglected favourites on that list, including gurnard, megrim and pouting. I have a slight issue with the distances some of this stuff is traveling but it does look tempting. This one I may well have to test too.

They also do a Hugh’s Fish Fight box for £20:

2 x 175g portions each of Dab Fillet, Pouting Fillet, Coley Fillet and Mackerel Fillet. All those fish that are native, in plentiful supply and we should be eating more of!

For now I’m going to stick with buying my fish weekly fresh from local markets in Essex and being careful what I buy. None of the online fish sellers is doing quite what I’d hoped for, buying direct from the inshore fishermen, selling a box of a fresh selection of just what’s being caught now and giving us the chance to support our most sustainable fishing fleet. Now if only Guy from Riverford would get involved. Riverford already have all the infrastructure and know what they are doing. Guy was in the TV programme so there might be hope for a really viable fish box delivery scheme that would tick all the right boxes.

The controversy has been raised: is it better to keep the bunched carrots with the green feathery top foliage intact or cut them off?

I think the greens help to transpose moisture away from the carrot roots so they dry out more quickly but Linda thinks keeping the greens on will mean they last longer. Probably we’ll eat them with a couple of days anyway but it’s important to know what is really the best way to keep these special vegetables in tip top condition for even a short time.

What do you think is best and what do you do with bunched carrots from your organic vegetable boxes?

1: Spending Too Much Time in the Aisles

The aisles of supermarkets, large or small, are full of processed, chemically enhanced foods in too much packaging. The supermarket relies on lulling us into a trance. Everything is designed to get us into that semi-hypnotic state were we wander the aisles collecting what grabs our attention, much as our hunter/gatherer ancestors wandered the woods. Except, of course what they were picking up was rather more natural than anything we’re likely to find! There’s a whole area of psychology devoted to the way we shop and every thing in the supermarket is designed to keep us wandering those aisles for as long as possible. It’s simple really. The longer we are there the more we are likely to buy.

The next one leads on from the first but doesn’t sound like a mistake. We all want to know what we’re eating right? Wrong!

2: Reading the Labels

The eye-catching products in the aisles sport words designed to grab our attention. They are full of claims like “healthy”, “fat-free”, “sugar-free” and “low calorie”. These are simply marketing statements to lure you in. Ah, but we’re too clever to be fooled by those, aren’t we? We turn over and pour over the nutrition statement and the ingredients list.Trouble is we often think that if the calories or fat grams are low or there are a lot of vitamins listed we’re OK. Er, no. Those added vitamins can mean that the food has had most of its goodness stripped during the processing or they may even be there to extend the shelf life not for your benefit at all

3: Buying food that contains transgenics
Products containing corn or soy, may be made from genetically modified or transgenic seeds. It is estimated that up to 90% of all soy grown and up to half of all corn is transgenic. These are not identified as such on most ingredient labels. Whatever the arguments for or against no one knows for sure the consequences of eating GM food.

Our supermarket advice

OK I should be honest here. I hate supermarkets and avoid them if at all possible. If you must go to the supermarket:

• Take a list.
• Set yourself a deadline.
• Check the organic section first
• If there’s anything in the ingredients list you don’t recognise assume the worst and leave it on the shelf.
• Only buy basic items and avoid processed stuff.
• Buy your organic food from someone you trust to be as concerned with where your food has come from as you are.

Better yet, buy your organic groceries through your favourite organic vegetable box scheme. Most of them offer a range of groceries at competitive prices. While we are at it let’s just remember that we’ll be saving the cost of driving to the supermarket and the time (not to mention wear and tear on the nerves!) that the trip takes. In most cases you can place your order online and you groceries are delivered with your organic vegetable boxes at no extra cost.

* Green chillies : Don’t put the raw green chillies straight in the fridge. To keep them fresh for a long time remove the stems and put them in a ziplock bag or in some storage box.
* Carrots: Cover the carrots with a damp cloth and put them in fridge. They can keep for a whole week like that instead of going soft and limp in a few days.
* Herbs: Bunches of coriander have to be one of the common one to go bad before you get to use it all. To keep them fresh I store them in a salad container so the leaves don’t touch the icy wall at the back and get frostbite. You can use the same tip for greens too.
* Brocoli: When you store brocoli look for dark green buds with no yellowish color. And store them in a airtight container or in a sealed bag and it will last up to a week. Don’t store more than a week.
* cucumbers: Pick the ones that have no soft spots or visible bruises. It should be dark green and firm, So it will last longer in the fridge when you store it in the air tight bag. It will stay fresh up to 5 days, but really it’s probably better to take it out of the plastic wrap and use it sooner rather than later.

When you are stocking organic vegetables in your refrigerator, make a list of them and stick it in your fridge door. That way when you are trying to make up your mind on what to cook you can quickly decide on what to use first and avoid wasting vegetables that go bad faster. I hope these tips are useful for making the best use of your precious vegetables from the organic vegetable boxes.

Ethical Superstore have recently introduced a system to provide a small range of local organic veg box schemes as a trial, with an additional national vegetable delivery scheme to cover most of the remaining areas of the mainland UK.

We at Organic Boxes blog would be interested to hear from customers who tried this method, whether by registering for a regular organic vegetable box scheme or ordering a one off hamper.