In the Philippines, Anchor is synonymous with butter. When my mom tells me to get the Anchor from the ref, I immediately know that she’s referring to the Anchor butter. She doesn’t even have to say the word “butter”, we all know it’s Anchor. 🙂
For the longest time, we’ve only known Anchor as a butter brand. Then some time ago, they introduced Anchor milk. Last week, we were introduced to more dairy products under the Anchor brand, and we even learned a little bit about the people who produce the milk used for Anchor products.
ANCHOR = QUALITY DAIRY
Mike Boness, General Manager of Fonterra Brands Philippines, gave us some background about the people who produce milk to make Anchor products. Here he is with event host, Stephanie Zubiri-Crespi:
Anchor is a brand owned and produced by Fonterra, a co-operative owned by 10,500 farming families in New Zealand. New Zealand is one of the few places in the world where cows are grass-fed all year round, so the milk the cows produce is naturally rich in antioxidants.
Dairy is a natural super food that contains over 200 nutrients and is one of the richest food sources of Calcium and Vitamin D, both vital for bone health. Anchor products do not contain GMOs (genetically modified organisms).
They have the strictest standards of quality control – they have regular on-farm testing and independent farm and environmental assessments. Their tanker drivers collect milk samples from every farm they visit to test its quality.
A WHOLE LOT MORE ANCHOR TO LOVE!
Anchor introduced its new products:
- Anchor Shredded Mozzarella
- Anchor Shredded Cheddar
- Anchor Grated Parmesan
- Anchor Cheddar Block
- Anchor Cream Cheese Spread
- Anchor Whipping Cream
- Anchor Butter (Salted)
- Anchor Butter (Unsalted)
- Anchor Full Cream Milk Powder
- Anchor Full Cream UHT Milk
- Anchor Low Fat UHT Milk
- Anchor Family Milk
- Anchor Culinary Milk
They are available in leading supermarkets and groceries nationwide.
During the event itself, we were given a special 6-course menu, developed with Single Origin cafe in Rockwell, all made using Anchor products – butter, cheese, cream. Everything was delicious, but the White Truffle Pasta was just so thick and creamy and sooooo gooood!
I went home with some Anchor products. When I posted the photos on my Facebook page and on Instagram, one of you asked me to review them 🙂
COOKING WITH ANCHOR PRODUCTS – CHICKEN & MUSHROOM CREAM RIGATONI
So I thought, it’s time to go all out and try as many of the Anchor products as I can to review for you. Yesterday, I made some very creamy Chicken & Mushroom Cream Rigatoni using Anchor Butter (Salted), Anchor Culinary Cream, Anchor Grated Parmesan, and Anchor Shredded Mozzarella.
It was Sunday, family day, so I’m okay with cooking a very rich, celebratory dish like that on occasion. The dish is inspired by the delicious White Truffle Pasta from Single Origin, but I’m dialing it up with mozzarella! Also, I don’t have truffles at home right now, so I’m making do with shiitake mushrooms.
How are the Anchor products?
Anchor Butter – we all know how fragrant it is compared to other butters – as expected. 🙂
The Anchor Culinary Cream – I actually want to eat this on its own! Hahaha. I still have 1/4 of the box left. It is creamy, delicious, without being cloying. I mean, it’s real cream. Not that fake stuff with coconut and palm oils. It did not break down on me while I was cooking with it. In fact, it got thicker the longer I cooked it – without breaking down or becoming watery! Thumbs up for this cooking cream!
Anchor Grated Parmesan – mild but good; the flavor is not too sharp nor salty, which I think is a good choice for people who don’t like strong cheeses
Anchor Mozzarella – melts easily, mild, likeable flavor
All in all, I think the cheeses are good, all-around cheeses that kids will love. Most people do not like really strong cheeses and the Anchor products deliver good quality with a taste profile that most people will consider delicious. They tend to be on the milkier / creamier side of the taste profile compared to similar products – but they have great milk, so why not emphasize their strengths? 🙂
RECIPE
For those interested in the recipe, I can only give you general instructions – tancha mode ako when I was cooking. Season, tikim, adjust, tikim. I cook by feel.
- I used 500g of Rigatoni
- Chicken thigh fillets cut into bite-sized pieces, about half a kilo
- 8-10 pcs small Shiitake mushrooms, soaked & sliced small to extract the most mushroom flavor
- salt & pepper
- Boil pasta in salt water.
- Marinate bite-sized chicken pieces in salt & pepper, then quickly saute them in butter. Do not overcook. Set aside.
- In remaining butter used to saute the chicken, saute the mushrooms until very fragrant. This takes a while. Wait until you smell a very strong mushroom aroma, but be careful not to burn the mushrooms.
- Add finely chopped garlic. Don’t burn the garlic.
- Add cream. Season with salt & pepper. Mix in some parmesan. Add the cooked chicken. Lower heat.
- Add the cooked & drained pasta to the cream sauce. Mix well.
- Transfer to baking dish. Top with more parmesan and mozzarella. Broil until cheese is brown and melted.
- Done! Eat
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