If you live in Greater Manchester, you may have heard of Creamline. I’ve mentioned Creamline in my blog post on how to live more sustainably as they deliver milk in reusable glass bottles like they used to do. But did you know that they also do local artisanal delivery? Local fishmongers, greengrocers, bakers etc. can be found on Creamline. Here, I explore some of their Best of Local Range.
Best of Local Range
Creamline started out as a business which supplied milk in Worsley and Trafford Park back in 1945 by founder, Peter Roe. It was then sold to current chairman, Anthony Swallow in 1994, where it grew to become one of the leading independent dairy companies in the North West in 2013. It was at this stage things grew rapidly with the establishment of their online site in 2014, local fruit and vegetable delivery in 2015 and then local independents in Greater Manchester such as butchers, bakers, fishmongers and deli items in 2017.
I’ve been a champion of supporting local for a while, and no better time to do so than now with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and Brexit just around the corner.
Deliveries are scheduled on specific days depending on your postcode. In addition to this, deliveries from the fishmongers are scheduled from Wednesdays – Saturdays only so they are as fresh as possible. A quick check will reveal which days these are. For example:
Each box is carefully packed with cold items supplied with an ice pack. There is even a card signed by your packer, which I thought was a nice touch. Whilst the delivery box is cardboard, I can’t help but be a little saddened by the amount of plastic used for each individual good. I would like to see investment in more eco-friendly options, especially with the loaf of bread, and hope Creamline look into in future.
Creamline delivery box 
Creamline packing card
Multiseed bread from Thatcher’s Bakery
Thatcher’s Bakery is based in Stockport having been established since 1891! The original Thatcher family still has ties to the bakery even today.
The bakery supplies bread, pastries and even some sweet treats such as muffins and flapjacks.
Their multiseed sliced bloomer contains malted flour as well as white flour. The multiseed component includes sunflower seeds, sesame seeds and blue maw/poppy seeds. In addition to this, there are a few emulsifiers (think oils), additives and a bit of sugar.
The bread itself has a very light texture which is surprisingly springy. There are a few air holes in the bread which also helps with this. The seeds are mostly on the top of the bread with some scattered within the load itself, so this is perfect for those who don’t like having overly seeded multiseed bread. The loaf costs £1.99.
Thatcher’s Bakery Multiseed Slice Bloomer loaf 
The springy texture of the loaf
Hake fillets and smoked salmon
Creamline helpfully details information about all its seafood including the sub-species and how it’s caught. I try to eat as sustainably as possible and using the Good Fish Guide and the information supplied by Creamline, I can make a more informed choice about which fish to get.
Hake is fairly sustainable and as I don’t often eat fish, I decided to order some. Two hake fillets weighed 360g and costs £8.49. I also bought some smoked salmon as the type which Creamline supply are also not too bad sustainably. These are supplied by a Scottish smoker, Severn and Wye, who use their own smoke chips. A 200g pack costs £7.99.
I ate all of the smoked salmon with the multiseed bloomer and cream cheese, which went down a treat. The hake itself was steamed with some ginger and soy sauce.
Whole large chicken from Little Pigs
Cantonese style poached chicken with ginger and spring onion oil 
Cantonese style chicken, carrot, kohlrabi and sweetcorn soup
The last thing I purchased was a whole chicken, care of Little Pigs in Didsbury, a family-run butcher. The large chicken weighs around 1.8kg and costs £8.80. I poached the chicken whole in a large pot I have (thanks mum!), along with some Shaoxing rice wine, ginger and spring onion. This way of cooking chicken is popular in Cantonese style cooking. Once cooked, I then cooled the chicken down in ice water and this gives the skin a really nice texture. The chicken is then served with a dip made from ginger, spring onion, rapeseed oil and sesame oil.
Not wanting to waste the water I poached the chicken in, I used it to make a soup. In addition to the ingredients already used, I added some of the chicken thigh meat, carrots, kohlrabi and sweetcorn. It’s very nice after a meal with rice!
Information
Are you now interested in ordering stuff from Creamline? Check below for their website. There’s free delivery on every order!
Website: https://www.creamline.co.uk/
No Comments