Know your marinades!
What is a marinade?
A marinade is a liquid or paste you leave on your protein or veg before cooking. It flavours, but also changes the texture of what you’re marinating. We sell ready made marinades, plus plenty of ingredients for easily making your own.
How to make/buy a marinade
When you’re looking to buy or make a marinade, look for the following in the ingredients:
An acid (such as vinegar, wine, yoghurt or citrus juice, or even carbonated drinks). The acid’s job is to denature the proteins, helping to tenderise your food and allow the flavour of the marinade to soak in further. Vinegars can also add a lot of flavour, especially our flavoured vinegars. Check out our recipe for Black Garlic Balsamic Roast Celeriac with Herby Bean Mash for inspiration.
Salt fulfils a similar role. You can use both salt and vinegar or just one, but salt is an excellent flavour enhancer.
You’ll also need a fat, usually an oil, to hold flavour. Our flavoured oils add flavour too! I love using Oak Smoked Rapeseed Oil in marinades.
Any other ingredients are optional and there to add flavour, but you can make a brilliant range of marinades just by mixing and matching flavoured vinegars and oils.
Most sauces contain a fat and an acid/salt so will work as marinades too!
Try a honey based marinade if you’re looking for sweet and sticky. Chargrilled Asian Honey Watermelon sounds weird but it’s delicious -see our Recipe page.
How to Marinade
This bit’s easy. Mix your marinade. Prep your protein or veg by chopping it into the size you want and peeling it if necessary. Then massage marinade onto your protein/veg, making sure to get it in every crevice. Your food doesn’t have to be submerged in marinade, just as long as every part of it has marinade rubbed into it. Then cover and refrigerate and leave it to marinade.
Marinade Times
Our readymade marinades have instructions on the label, or you can follow one of our recipes. For more guidance, keep reading.
For strongly acidic marinades with lots of citrus juice or vinegar, marinate for less time. For gentler marinades, you can marinate for longer, even overnight. Gentler marinades will have less vinegar, or use Greek yoghurt or just salt.
Additionally, for smaller pieces, marinate for less time.
Soft veg, like tomatoes, 10-15mins (you probably don’t need to refrigerate these)
Medium soft veg, like bell peppers and carrots, 20- 30minutes
Seafood & fish 20-30 minutes
Hard veg, like celeriac and potatoes, 1hr-1.5hr
Chicken, 1hr (thin cutlets in an acidic marinade) to overnight (large cuts in a mild marinade)
Steak, up to 24hrs
Tofu, up to 24hrs