Join us in ditching the plastic part two: taking out the take-out boxes.

Deli food, Fresh food, Product, Single use plastic / By
Lamb Moussaka and our new cardboard take-out boxes.

Introducing our new cardboard take-away boxes

Last month we blogged about our commitment to ditching single use plastic in Amaretto Deli, after one too many horrifying accounts of what our use of throw-away plastics is doing to our oceans.

We’d just like to update you on where we’re at – yesterday we were proud in introduce our new cardboard take-away hot food boxes, and biodegradable straws. We are also now serving only wooden cutlery.

Macaroni Cheese in cardboard: looking good
Lamb Moussaka loving its new home
A stack of goodness.

Our customers have reacted really positively to these changes – it’s helping us all to feel better about our daily impact on the planet; and we’re going to keep going, watch this space.

Join us – and here’s why

To all the other small businesses (and individuals) out there, we are in many ways more fleet of foot than large businesses, let’s turn that to our advantage. Why don’t you join us in giving people what they want and need – and cut out the plastic, because this battle looms ever larger and we need to keep this revolution moving. Why? Here are some recent developments:

Plastic Island bigger than we thought

If you’re doubting the importance of all this have a look at today’s reports on research published in the journal Nature that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is greater than previously thought. Laurent Lebreton, an oceanographer and lead author of the study says:

‘We need a coordinated international effort to rethink and redesign the way we use plastics. The numbers speak for themselves. Things are getting worse and we need to act now.’

Ocean plastic will triple in the next ten years

Apart from that headache, the ocean plastic problem is set to get worse: only yesterday the Government’s The Foresight Future of the Sea Report warned that the plastic littering the ocean is  currently due to treble in the next ten years. Professor Ed Green said:

‘When people get to see what is in the ocean, and the Blue Planet series and so on have helped people to visualise it, and then I think their reaction is twofold, one is complete wonder at what is there, and in other cases complete horror at what we’re potentially doing to it.’

Still not convinced? How about this report from Orb Media last week that 93% of top bottled water brands are contaminated with micro-plastics (!)

It’s easy to feel hopeless in these circumstances, but there is a great deal we can all do, and we can do it now. Do keep us updated on how you’re getting on, and we’ll do the same.

Good luck with it!

Amaretto Deli

Join us in ditching the plastic part two: taking out the take-out boxes. Read More »

Sweet blood orange: why you need this fruit of the devil

Fresh food / By
Blood Oranges from Sicily, Amaretto Deli, Norwich, UK

Known as ‘the fruit of the devil’ because of its striking ruby colouring, the flesh of the blood orange is as distinctive as its raspberry infused taste. Grown in Sicily, the orange has protected geographical status, and is higher than other oranges in anti-oxidants: it packs a punch in every way. For this reason it is an incredibly good-looking and healthy option for a juice – Italians regularly make themselves a spremuta d’arancia rossa – a fresh blood orange juice – at breakfast time, or instead of a mid-morning coffee.

Fresh blood orange juice / Spremuta d’arancia rossa:

To make your morning sparkle, all you need to do is squeeze the juice of one orange (no high-tech gadgets needed) and add it to a glass, adding the same amount of water, to taste. With the oranges we have in the shop right now there’s no need to add any sugar – they are delicious as is, but if you find yourself with one of the tarter varieties just add a little sugar. And that’s it. No ice, they are to be served at room temperature. These orange juice drinks are sold in bars through-out Italy, it’s a delicious tradition that we hope will kick off in the uk.

And if you want your juice with a little more fizz, why not try a cocktail:

The Venus Blush cocktail: with thanks to iprosecco.it

Ingredients

4 parts prosecco– one part of blood orange juice – one part of Aperol  – ice – soda –  a slice of orange to garnish.

Preparation

Fill a tall glass with ice. Add the prosecco, the orange juice and Aperol, close with a spritz of soda on top. Serve straight away with the garnish of orange. 

We have these blood oranges in stock now, but they won’t be around for much longer, so do come in and grab yours now. Making a spremuta d’arancia or cocktail is only one of the many things you can do with this fruit; they are also great for cakes, candies and fizzy salads.

Do let us know if you have your own way of using blood oranges, we’d love to hear from you.

Find out more about Amaretto Deli

Find out more about our deli food.

Amaretto Deli

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Buona Festa della Donna; please celebrate in style!

Festa della donna / By
Buona Festa Della Donna
March 8th is always a festive day in Italy. The country celebrates La Festa Della Donna each March by feting women and celebrating their public and private achievements.

Men give the women in their life mimosa flowers on a day that feels a lot like Mother’s Day. Partners might go out for dinner, little presents are shared. It is also a day when women support each other, going out to celebrate together, often dressed in yellow.

The official cake of La Festa Della Donna is la torta mimosa. The cake is a delicious yellow treat that you might want to try sometime even if, we know, this day is about more than confection.

We’ve come a long way but still have a long way to go regarding equality for women, especially in Italy where women’s rights lag considerably behind their sisters in the UK. So however, wherever you’re marking International Women’s Day, whether in protest, action, or celebration, may we add our voice to the chorus in full support.

Have a brilliant International Women’s Day 2018!

Amaretto Deli

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Join us in reducing our use of single use plastic

Single use plastic / By
Join us in reducing single use plastics

Let’s get under the surface of those good-looking holiday snaps. All might look well, but if, like us, you were watching Blue Planet last year, you will also have been alarmed at the state of the oceans, the threat caused by single use plastic, not only to marine life, but to our very survival.

Last year, the UN called the levels of plastic in our oceans a ‘planetary crisis’. A truck-load of plastic ends up in the oceans every minute according to Greenpeace. The natural eco-systems in our oceans are breaking down.

Campaigns have sprung up all over the place and it seems like most people agree; things need to change if our oceans and all who depend on them are to survive and thrive. This is one band-wagon that needs to keep on rolling.

What can we do to reduce our use of single use plastic?

There are various big business and government initiatives underway to tackle single use plastic use, but it’s not enough to leave this problem to others. We need to act quickly. We need to act.

For our part, we at Amaretto Delicatessen pledge to reduce our single use plastic products, starting by:

Replacing all plastic forks, knifes and spoons in the shop with wooden alternatives. We will also encourage our customers to use reusable cutlery where possible.

Phasing out our plastic ready meal packaging over the next few months. We are currently looking at cost-effective ways to do this (it’s expensive).

Looking for alternatives to plastic water bottles and encouraging our customers to use refillable coffee cups whenever possible.

We will then look at what we can do next.

So that’s where we are at. How about you?

If every small business and individual pledged to tackle their use of single use plastic over the coming months, we could all make a considerable difference. Therefore we call on businesses and individuals to join us in ways large and small to help us all to reduce our consumption of plastic in Norwich, Norfolk, UK and beyond. We might not be able to change everything straight away, but we need to make a start.

The time is now; let’s join together. What can you do to reduce your use of single use plastic?

Please do leave any comments below.

Wells in full glory
Fab from Amaretto at the North Norfolk coast
Save our oceans: let’s reduce our use of single use plastics.

Find out more about Amaretto Deli here.

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Auguri! Time to prepare the cheese, olive and salami platter

Cheese, Deli food, Olives, Salami / By

A feast ready for Christmas

Right through this final Christmas week we’ll be serving up Christmas cheese, hams, salami and olives and any last minute hampers or gifts; closing at 6pm, Saturday 23rd December. People generally come to us for their Christmas treats because they’re looking for either local or artisanal goods; they come for that personal touch.

Cheese selection
Salami
Cam you resist?
Cheese fridge
Tasting platter
Brays medium pork pie, sold at Amaretto Deli, Norwich

This personal touch is something Tuscany is still good at – Florence is particularly lovely at Christmas time; crisscrossing lamps across the little streets; stall vendors selling chestnuts, small shop windows dressed with traditional decorations; golds, maroon, gilt. Fab likes to create some of that same magic in Amaretto too but really it’s not only about products or colours. It’s about keeping Christmas thoughtful; personal and smaller scale.

Olives
More olives…
Christmas selection
Oh Christmas Tree
The long view
Olives

For us, it’s all the many different individuals we meet that make this shop such a pleasure to work in; the quick chat, the checking in. So let us take this opportunity to wish you all well as we turn towards Christmas and a new year.

Auguri! Keep warm and see you soon.

Find out more about our range of cheeses, salami and olives here.

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