The Food Programme

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BBC Radio 4 is a radio channel that started transmitting on the 30th September 1967. It replaced BBC Home Service.

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Factual: Food & Drink

Investigating every aspect of the food we eat

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The Food Programme: The Barrel Effect: Why Oak casks have stood the test of time.

The Barrel Effect: Why Oak casks have stood the test of time.

BBC Radio 4 - The Food Programme, The Barrel Effect: Why Oak casks have stood the test of time.

Jaega Wise hears how oak barrels continue to thrive in the drinks industry.

Jaega Wise hears how despite barely changing over hundreds of years, oak barrels continue to be used in their millions by drinks makers worldwide.

Brewer Jaega Wise looks into the history of the oak barrel, and hears how despite their shape, sizes and names having barely changed in hundreds of years, their use for flavouring drinks really has. 

There are an estimated 25 million casks in Scotland, mostly filled with Scotch whisky. Although their contents could not be more Scottish, the casks themselves are generally not. We find out why most in fact originate in the United States, and from one State in particular.. Kentucky. 

Jaega speaks to Scottish distillers about why they use second-hand casks for maturation, how different varieties of oak can impart different flavours, and why some are keen to get more Scottish oak casks in use. She meets beer brewers, who are using oak to create new flavours for a new generation of drinkers keen to try alternative flavours. And she hears why English wine makers might prefer to age in oak compared with vintners in warmer climates. 

Plus as the number of coopers in the UK starts to creep up again after years of decline, Jaega meets one of William Grant and Sons' newest recruits. Dylan Carter worked as a chef before being furloughed during the Covid pandemic, and has recently successfully become an apprentice cooper. 

Presented by Jaega Wise
Produced in Bristol by Natalie Donovan

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The Barrel Effect: Why Oak casks have stood the test of time.

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