The Fresh Network Blog

Durian on demand

Often referred to as the king of fruits, the durian hails from Southeast Asia. It is a firm favourite among raw food fans everywhere with its heavenly, unique and impossible-to-describe taste. Durian has always been an expensive and hard-to-get-hold-of delicacy unless you happen to live in a region where it grows. In western countries, you’ll find it only in a handful of specialist Asian markets, and a fruit will usually set you back anything from £10 to £20.

So if you're a durian lover residing in the UK or Europe and have been limiting yourself to the occasional fix we have great news for you! We have just started selling a freeze-dried durian that is almost too good to be true. So now you can enjoy durian whenever and wherever you want it, for a fraction of the usual price.

Here at The Fresh Network we know a thing or two about this Asian delicacy, and we officially declare this the most exquisitely flavoured durian we have come across this side of Koh Samui. How could this be? How could freeze-dried fruit be better than fresh? Well, it’s not – not if you are in a durian-growing region of Asia and have access to ripe, just-picked, premium-quality fruit. But if you have been buying fresh durian in any European, American or Australian city, you have been buying a far inferior product. When durian is exported long distances, it is usually picked weeks before it is ripe, never allowing it to develop its full flavour. Our durian is picked ripe and quickly freeze-dried to lock in that perfect taste experience.

And we mean perfect! This durian is the world-renowned “Monthong” variety, widely acknowledged as the most exquisitely flavoured of all. And because the freeze drying process removes 97% of the water, the natural flavours are concentrated and intensified.

How does the drying process work? In brief, the fruit is first frozen and then the moisture is removed in a vacuum environment using a method which preserves not only taste but also shape and nutrients.

Our new online store!

After months of hard work behind the scenes our brand new online store went live this weekend and oooh, it really is the bee's knees :) Check it out! Not only is it easier to navigate and more lovely to look at than its predecessor; we have also added a veritable cornucopia of new products. There are exciting times ahead for our customers as we'll not only be continually expanding our range but also surprising and delighting you with special offers.

So what, exactly, is new? Well, at long last it is possible to subscribe to Get Fresh! magazine online at the discounted prices we brought in earlier in the year. Just go here to see the options for your part of the world. Our winter issue was out yesterday and we have already started receiving delighted feedback from readers about how utterly brill it is from cover to cover!

Other exciting new offerings include:

• Seven products from the top-quality LifeGive range of plant-based supplements formulated at the Hippocrates Health Institute in Florida. Six here and the other one here.
• The entire Live Native range of raw beauty products, newly launched by an Isle of Skye based company with the highest standards in purity and quality. Seven gorgeous concoctions including special formulations for men, women and babies and one for 'Everybody Every Day'. Go here to read more about this exciting new range.
• Tonya Zavasta's 'Your Right To Be Beautiful' face cream With its gorgeous vanilla scent and whipped-cream-like texture this anti-aging moisturiser is a seriously luxurious treat. Available in the UK for the first time ever - read all about it here.
• Ani's Raw Food Kitchen Show Award-winning DVD by Ani Phyo, the celebrated chef and author of a book of the same name. Read more about the DVD here and the book here.
• And while you're at it why not browse our massively expanded range of books here. 
• Detox Your World's Raw White Almond Butter and Raw Hemp Seed Butter. Not only are they pure loveliness in a jar; at long last we Brits can get raw nut butters without the air miles!
• And many, many more exciting new products which you'll discover if you hang out in our new retail space a while, kick off your shoes and make yourself at home.

If there is any product we don't carry which you would like to see in our shop email us and we will take your request very seriously. There's a good chance it is already on the long list of products we'll be adding in coming months but there are sure to be fab things not yet on our rawdar. We are always delighted to receive your requests and ideas as to what else you'd like to be able to buy from us, so don't be shy - we'd love to hear from you!

Oooh Lara, You're So Lovely!

From Emma: Please allow me to introduce Lara. In May 2000, after a normal hike on the beautiful Rocky Mountains on Colorado, Lara was in need of an energy kick. After finding nothing satisfactory or attractive amongst the coffee-guzzling crowd, little did she know that this hike was going to spark a mountain of an idea...

After scouring the aisles of grocery stores and noting popular flavours of ice-creams and cookies, Lara set to work with her blender. Realising that she was only going to gain real, sustainable energy, from pure, raw, wholesome foods, in went the ingredients: fruits and nuts. After tampering with a few recipes and testing her formulas on willing family and friends she had finally created an absolutely delicious concoction of Larabars, all flavoured and named exactly as they taste; 'Cherry Pie', 'Apple Pie', 'Banana Cookie', 'Cashew Cookie', 'Cocoa Mole' and 'Ginger Snap'.

We had an absolute field day in the office when Steffi, Larabar's UK Marketing Manager came up to Fresh HQ last week with a mound of samples to taste test. It is a real treat when you eat something that actually tastes as it says it will! And they really do! They are filling, full of wholesome ingredients and incredibly delicious! What's more, they are 100% raw! You will be just as shocked as us when you try them. And now we have them in stock, you have no reason not to!

(By far my favourite is 'Ginger Snap', but that's because I have a thing going on with ginger at the moment... Karen loves the 'Pecan Pie' - coming soon - while Pete loves the 'Cherry Pie' and Russell and Sarah just seem to love them all! Oh yes and little Luke, 3, loves the 'Banana Cookie', although he's yet to say no to any, which actually, is true of us all...)

Now available from The Fresh Network, with freebies being sent with online orders while stocks last : )

NEW PRODUCT - Coconut Water Anyone?

Now available from the Fresh online shop - Dr Martins Coco Drink.

We are always getting asked if we are going to start selling young coconuts but the logistics of this and risk of spoilt and bad coconuts has made it impossible, so I am particularly excited about the introduction of this fantastic new product. On a recent visit to the Organic Products Show at Olympia I met the people behind this amazing new product. After years of research, thousands of pounds of investment and many attempts at perfecting the technique (how to package the coconut water and give it a shelf-life without pasteurising it) - at last it's here, Coconut Water now available packed and ready to drink. I would say that this is about as close at it gets to drinking fresh coconut water other than of course cracking open a freshly picked young coconut and drinking it.

Have we had fun taste testing this one! They are now available to buy from our online shop. Read on to find out more about this great new product and to discover why it is called the fluid of life...