Café & Deli

Café Tables

Set up in the shop are three tables – so not for a lot of customers at once! However what we do offer is a range of drinks including glasses of wine, beer and cider, and open sandwiches and salads based on anything that we sell in the deli counters plus other daily specials. Also our own variety of meze/tapas plates – meats, cheeses, marinated vegetables, salads, breads in the middle of the table for all to share.

Teas

We offer an honest down-to-earth pot of tea - good Typhoo with freshly boiled water and a warmed pot, or if you prefer something more exotic...
Teafusion teas
We have chosen a Cotswold based loose tea company, Teafusion, to supply a wonderful range of teas. Though they have a range of over 100 teas we have restricted ourselves to 6 loose and 3 in pouches currently.

Teafusion is passionate about bringing hand picked teas directly from growers around the world and hand blending them into unique and delicious tea blends using locally sourced ingredients from within the Cotswolds where possible, such as summer and winter fruits, flowers and herbs. Teafusion is also committed to being a sustainable and ethical business by working closely with the 'Ethical Tea Partnership' and global tea artisans who are directly contributing back into the tea farming communities they work with.

• Earl Grey with Blue Cornflower Petals: China black leaf tea with blue cornflowers, scented with natural oil of Bergamot.
• Lady Marlborough Blend is a classic blend with a twist consisting of traditional Earl Grey with a touch of Orange to spice things up.
• Peppermint is a highly aromatic herb whose clean invigorating flavour needs no introduction. Its delicious and purifying natural immune boost is a vital ally against a cold or fever, and a cleansing and refreshing way to end a meal as well as aiding digestion.
• Red Berry Burst infusion is a delicious explosion of intense fruit flavours. The amazing flavours of red berries, blended with a base of rosehips and hibiscus, is sweetened, softened and mellowed withthe addition of dried apple pieces.
• Pure Darjeeling is known as 'The Champagne of Teas' - with a fine, delicate muscatel character.
• and Breakfast, Green Tea with Jasmine, Lapsang Souchong or Holyrood Flowery Pekoe.

The whole range of Dr. Stuart's herbal teas are also available.

Coffee

Our coffee is Brazilian 100% Arabica from the Brazilian Specialist Coffee Association imported by a small firm, Café Origin. Freshly ground for each cup it is a reasonably strong but not bitter coffee, and we have programmed our machine to give us a reasonable strength café latte and a stronger shorter cappuccino. We also offer expresso and macchiato.

Deli

Our Delicatessen Counter stocks delicious food that can be made up to eat in, take away for a quick lunch, or as ingredients for a fabulous meal at home.

Bread

The breads we sell are delivered daily from our local baker here in Abingdon (Wootton Road), De Gustibus.
All De Gustibus breads are handmade using their own, unique long fermentation process and recipes for maximum flavour and keeping qualities. They are made with fully natural ingredients with no flour improvers or emulsifiers. Listed here are those we stock most regularly but they do produce many more. Most of their breads can be ordered through us here at Added Ingredients (01235 537405) so by all means visit their web-site too (www.degustibus.co.uk) see what they have and phone us to order (before 4 p.m. each day for delivery the next day; Friday 4 p.m. for Monday) Some breads are only available at their Borough Market site and shop so if you're lucky enough to visit the famous foodies market do see the rest of his range.
Listed below are some of the breads we sell regulularly:

• Old Milwaukee Rye
  The American pumpernickel made famouse by New York's Delis as Pastrami on Rye or the famous Reuben Sandwich. Wheat flour 65%, Rye 35%, Molasses, Fat, Egg, Sugar, Salt, Yeast, Caraway
• Six Day Sourdough
  The ferment is started from a tiny bit on the first day and refreshed for days and then on day six handed up and baked to a succulent but mild bread with excellent keeping qualities. Wheat, rye, wholemeal, sea salt, purified water and malt make this delicious special and yeastless bread
• Ciabatta
  The classic Italian loaf (the slipper), specially baked with extra virgin olive oil for days of natural freshness and maximum flavour, the softness unique to our creation makes it the best selling ciabatta
• Tomato Ciabatta
  Italian herbs and sun dried tomatoes give our own creation its special taste
• Spinach Ciabatta
  Succulent leaf spinach and a hint of spices makes this bread truly unique
• Garlic Bread
  Forget the pizza place / supermarket kind and indulge in a sourdough ciabatta like flat bread, spiced with our own herb selection and balanced with garlic to give it maximum flavour. Toast it, spread butter on it and be spoiled for choice
• Olive Focaccia
  Soft and moist with a distinctive taste of fine blended herbs and green and black olives finished with extra virigin olive oil, good eaten on its own, grilled, filled or topped, you will find nothing like it
• Fresh Rosemary & Sea Salt Focaccia
  The classic Italian pre-pizza bread, deliciously eaten with melted cheese or garlic topping, or just on its own
• Walnut bread
  A rustic loaf made with wheat, rye and wholewheat, walnuts, good with cheese but anything else goes with it as well

Dried Mushrooms

In the same corner as the herbs and spices are a range of dried mushrooms - cep, morel, mousseron, oyster, mixed forest - mainly sold loose to accommodate those who use a little and those who use a lot!

Morel Mushrooms (Morchella Elata), also known as Sheep's Stomach, Merkel, Dry Land Fish, Sponge Mushroom, or Pine Cone Mushroom. Morels are among the most highly prized of all the wild harvest mushrooms because of their superb taste. They have a delightful, earthy taste that's just right with beef, game and wild rice. A light Madeira sauce or a pat of butter will enhance its delicious essence. While adding flavor and rich buttery aroma to any type of food it can also be sautéed in a light oil, and eaten whole with just salt or soy sauce or can be used to flavor almost any dish. Because of their deep woodsy flavor, the renowned Morels are often paired with cream or white wine sauces and milder tasting meats, such as veal or chicken, but are also wonderful when partnered with grilled and roasted foods. A suggested savory herb sauce is Morels with rosemary, sage, thyme, basil, bay leaf, cloves, nutmeg and black pepper.

Mousseron (Marasmius oreades), also known as Fairy ring mushrooms or Scotch Bonnett Mousseron mushrooms, are delicious, small wild mushrooms more universally used in France and Italy than in England. Dried Mousserons do reconstitute to their original texture, appearance and taste quite nicely, and provide wonderful flavour. It?s a delicious addition to soups, ragouts, or stews. Tasty and fragrant, it is excellent sautéed in butter with onions or garlic for a wonderful addition to pasta, bean or rice dishes.

Porcinis (Boletus Edulis) are definitely the most desirable of the Boletes mushrooms for cooking and eating. Porcini is one of the finest mushrooms around and exceptionally delicious, strongly flavored with subtle undertones that can be almost addicting. Dried Porcini can be substituted for any mushroom in any recipe. Typically a smaller amount of dried Porcini may be used in recipes than other mushrooms due to its intense flavor. To reconstitute dried Porcinis, soak them in hot water for 20 minutes. Save the soaking water for use in sauces and soup stock. Porcinis should always be thoroughly cooked, as they have a reputation for causing stomach upset when eaten raw. In addition, cooking brings out the flavor. Sauté or fry them for 5 to 7 minutes; or cook them in a small amount of liquid in a tightly sealed pan for 15 minutes. Once cooked, use them in any recipe that requires mushrooms. The flavor of Porcinis blends especially well with Italian seasonings but goes equally well with sage or rosemary.

Local & Localish

We are always on the look out for local good producers, and some have become firm favourites having been part of our repertoire since the beginning (2002)

• De Gustibus breads - baked in Wootton Road, Abingdon www.degustibus.co.uk
• Handmade beechwood chopping boards - Abingdon
• Handmade pottery by Izabela Borzymowska - Wallingford - www.bella-pottery.co.uk
• Field Farm Fresh for good meat - Appleton, Abingdon www.fieldfarmfresh.com
• Bothy Vineyard wines - Frilford Heath, Abingdon www.bothyvineyard.co.uk
• Free range eggs - The Old Farm Shop, Milton Hill, Abingdon
• Honey - Radley Road, Abingdon
• Brightwell Vineyards wines - Wallingford, Oxon www.brightwellvineyard.com
• Sugar & Spice flapjacks - Ardington, Wantage, Oxon www.sugarandspicebakery.co.uk
• Shaken Oak mustards and sauces - Hailey, nr Witney, Oxon www.shakenoak.co.uk
• Quince Products - jellies, chutneys, marmalades, cheeses - from Aston Rowant, Oxon. www.quinceproducts.co.uk
• Oxford Cheese Co. - Marksbury cheddar, Oxford Blue, Oxford Isis www.oxfordcheese.co.uk
• Bensons apple juice - Sherborne, Gloucestershire www.bensonsapplejuice.co.uk
• Anila Curry Sauces - Walton, Surrey www.anilassauces.com
• Waterloo cheese - Reading, Berks