The Food Programme

In France there is no shame in shopping in Picard. The specialist frozen food chain commands 18% of the french frozen market by selling quality frozen food to meet the needs of a time poor, food loving bourgeoisie. Simon Parkes explores today's frozen food market, and asks if our own frozen sector could follow their lead?Natalie Berg, Global Research Director of Planet Retail looks at current trends in the market which has seen a strong recovery during the recession. Brian Young, Director General of the British Frozen Food Federation, outlines the potential for the market, and constraints, most notably the success of chilled food ranges. Ian Keyes talks about the challenges of launching their value added, local "Yorkshire Peas" range. And Christine Tacon, Managing Director of Co-operative Farms, outlines the work done by the Fruit and Vegetable Taskforce which means that from 6th April plain frozen fruit and veg will be included in the Healthy Start voucher scheme.Producer: Rebecca Moore.

Food writer Tim Hayward goes in search of British charcuterie - the preserved meat that we tend to think of as Contintental. He finds that making it is thriving and closer to its origins in the home than he had expected. He meets a couple whose hobby smoking meats has turned into a career; a shopkeeper, a publican and a restaurateur who cure hams and salamis on the premises for customers, and a pig farming family who have taken to curing their own pork. He learns about the British traditions of salting and pickling meats and talks to author Lindy Wildsmith about how we can do it at home - and even has a go at making his own bacon. Producer: Harry Parker.

Simon Parkes reports from Japan on new ideas being developed for the future of the nation's food supplies. Producer: Dan Saladino.

Sheila Dillon investigates the role malt plays in our drinks and diet. Malt has been around for millennia and is a natural ingredient in many but many people won't realise how ubiquitous it is. As well as being the foundation of beer and whisky, its flavour and richness makes it a favourite for uses in bakery, breakfast cereals and confectionary as well as being an important export for the country. Sheila talks to a distiller, a baker and a brewer about malt's remarkable properties and visits a traditional maltster to find out how malt is made.Producer: Harry Parker.

Food and the coalition. How does the government intend to change the way Britain eats? Sheila Dillon interviews Health Secretary Andrew Lansley. Producer: Dan Saladino.

Filtered, homogenised, standardised, raw, full fat, low fat - what is milk? Sheila Dillon teases out this seemingly simple question with Professor Peter Atkins, author of Liquid Materialities: A History of Milk, Science and the Law, who charts the changing stuff that we call milk. Today's milk reflects today's interests, charted by Mintel in their most recent intelligence report on milk and cream, particularly the success of filtered milk Cravendale (Arla), and the 1% pioneered by Robert Wiseman Dairies, and widely copied since. Sheila visits the Arla Dairy in Stourton, Leeds, to find out about the many processes today's milk goes through to suit our current tastes.The success of the 1% milk has been driven by the FSA campaign to reduce saturated fats. But as Professor Ian Givens Director of the University of Reading's Centre for Dairy Research explains, the evidence connecting milk consumption with cardiovascular disease shows a slight reduction in higher milk drinkers from lower milk drinkers. Raw milk, despite being banned in Scotland and sold with a health warning in England and Wales, has seen sales growth recently, a result of farmers markets, online sales, and the beliefs of many that raw milk straight from the cow is a fundamentally different substance. Dr Natasha Campbell McBride advocates raw milk for many of her patients for a range of conditions, including lactose intolerance. To find out about modern raw milk production Sheila visited Hook & Son, who sell online and through farmers markets. Producer: Rebecca Moore.

Sheila Dillon explores the past present and future of cooking and food preparation in the school curriculum. She learns how it was introduced in the 1800s to educate girls for domestic service and is now part of the design and technology syllabus. Sheila looks at two approaches to food education in a primary and a secondary school and hears from interested parties the reasons for making cooking compulsory at secondary level. Producer: Harry Parker.

Sheila Dillon investigates some of the food stories behind Ireland's economic collapse and asks what role food will play in deciding the Republic's future?

Sheila Dillon investigates the appeal of shellfish - bivalves and molluscs - from the point of view of taste and sustainability and asks why we don't eat them more in Britain. She finds out what has happened to the marine environment in Lyme Bay since a scallop dredging ban was introduced in part of it and about the implications of a proposed mussel farm there. She discovers why whelk fishing is a big export industry with low environmental impact and oysters are ecologically friendly. Chef Mark Hix shows what can be done with the lesser used varieties like whelks and razor clams.Producer: Harry Parker.

Michelin-starred chef Angela Hartnett prepares a hearty winter's meal for Sheila Dillon using ingredients from the Best Producer category of the 2010 BBC Food and Farming Awards. On the menu was pumpkin soup, spiced up with a spoonful of chutney from finalists The Tracklements Company, and served with a rather superior cheese on toast made with ciabatta from winner and artisan baker Alex Gooch and cheese from finalist Brenda Leddy's Stichill Jersey cows. For the main course (in Monday's programme), there was a roasted loin of rare breed Gloucester Old Spot pork from Richard Lutwyche, winner of the Derek Cooper category, an example of successful conservation of a breed through consumption of its meat. And for dessert, a blow-out of lemon posset made using cream from Stichill Jersey cows, and a crostata combining the Tracklement Company's seasonal medlar jelly, with spiced poached pears. A perfect feast for a cold winter's day.Producer: Rebecca Moore.