 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Food Manufacturing Flour Milling Recipes |
| Founded | 1875 |
| Headquarters | St Albans, England, UK |
Key people | Thomas Bell, Founder, Inventor |
| Products | Bells Royal Flours, Baking Powder and wholesale. Be-Ro Flours and other food produce. |
| Parent | Premier Foods |
| Website | www.be-ro.co.uk |
Be-Ro is a food manufacturing business, formerly based in Newcastle upon Tyne.
The Company was founded by Thomas Bell as a grocery and tea company in Longhorsley north of Newcastle in 1875. [1] Bell had experimented with rising agents on flour in baking and, from that, produced the world's first self-raising flour. [1] He founded the Bells Royal works which sold the Bell's Royal Flour. [1] In 1907, Bell renamed his product "Be-Ro", a portmanteau of "Bell" and "Royal", and registered the new name under the Trade Marks Act 1905. He started in his own right in small premises in the yard of the Black Boy Hotel adjoining the Groat Market in the centre of Newcastle. As well as manufacturing baking powder and self-raising flour, he produced a health salt which he later discontinued. He also packed and marketed dried fruit, cereals, tea and coffee using such names as T.B. Royalty, Black Diamond, and Belsun.[ citation needed ]
The Company then moved into larger premises in Low Friar street and, after that, to Bath Lane. Thomas Bell died in 1925 and his descendants continued to expand the area covered by the Company to include Carlisle and the whole of County Durham as well as Teesside. Depots were later built at Leeds, Edinburgh, Sheffield, and Birmingham, and in 1931 they decided upon Nottingham as a base from which to expand into the Midlands. Several dozen more depots were either built, bought or rented throughout England and Scotland.[ citation needed ]
In 1958, Rank-Hovis Ltd acquired the business, which then became part of the newly formed RHM in 1961. [1] RHM was taken over by Premier Foods in March 2007, making Be-Ro a Premier Foods brand. [2]
When Be-Ro introduced its self-raising flour, it also created a recipe book to promote the use of this new product. The recipe book is still sold today, and is currently in its 41st edition, having sold over 40 million copies.[ citation needed ]
Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. The most common baked item is bread but many other types of foods are baked. Heat is gradually transferred "from the surface of cakes, cookies, and breads to their center. As heat travels through, it transforms batters and doughs into baked goods and more with a firm dry crust and a softer center". Baking can be combined with grilling to produce a hybrid barbecue variant by using both methods simultaneously, or one after the other. Baking is related to barbecuing because the concept of the masonry oven is similar to that of a smoke pit.
Baking powder is a dry chemical leavening agent, a mixture of a carbonate or bicarbonate and a weak acid. The base and acid are prevented from reacting prematurely by the inclusion of a buffer such as cornstarch. Baking powder is used to increase the volume and lighten the texture of baked goods. It works by releasing carbon dioxide gas into a batter or dough through an acid–base reaction, causing bubbles in the wet mixture to expand and thus leavening the mixture. The first single-acting baking powder, which releases carbon dioxide at room temperature as soon as it is dampened, was developed by food manufacturer Alfred Bird in England in 1843. The first double-acting baking powder, which releases some carbon dioxide when dampened, and later releases more of the gas when heated by baking, was first developed by Eben Norton Horsford in the U.S. in the 1860s.
A muffin is an individually portioned baked product, however the term can refer to one of two distinct items: a part-raised flatbread that is baked and then cooked on a griddle, or an quickbread that is chemically leavened and then baked in a mold. While quickbread "American" muffins are often sweetened, there are savory varieties made with ingredients such as corn and cheese, and less sweet varieties like traditional bran muffins. The flatbread "English" variety is of British or other European derivation, and dates from at least the early 18th century, while the quickbread originated in North America during the 19th century. Both types are common worldwide today.
A biscuit is a flour-based baked food product. In most countries biscuits are typically hard, flat and unleavened. They are usually sweet and may be made with sugar, chocolate, icing, jam, ginger or cinnamon. They can also be savoury and similar to crackers. Types of biscuit include sandwich biscuits, digestive biscuits, ginger biscuits, shortbread biscuits, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate-coated marshmallow treats, Anzac biscuits, biscotti and speculaas. In most of North America, nearly all hard sweet biscuits are called "cookies", while the term "biscuit" refers to a soft, leavened quick bread similar to a scone; see biscuit (bread).
A digestive biscuit, sometimes described as a sweet-meal biscuit, is a semi-sweet biscuit that originated in Scotland. The digestive was first developed in 1839 by two Scottish doctors to aid digestion. The term "digestive" is derived from the belief that they had antacid properties due to the use of sodium bicarbonate when they were first developed. Historically, some producers used diastatic malt extract to "digest" some of the starch that existed in flour prior to baking.
A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who wish to consume the baked goods on the premises. Confectionery items are also made in most bakeries throughout the world.
A crumpet is a small griddle bread made from an unsweetened batter of water or milk, flour, and yeast, eaten in the United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.
August Oetker was a German inventor, food scientist and businessman. He is known as the creator of baking powder as a ready-to-use product, and also as the founder of the Dr. Oetker company.
Martha White is an American brand of flour, cornmeal, cornbread mixes, cake mixes, muffin mixes, and similar products.
Hovis Ltd is a British company that produces flour and bread. The brand originated in Stoke-on-Trent and was first mass-produced in Macclesfield, Cheshire, in 1886. It became part of Rank Hovis McDougall (RHM) in 1962 after a succession of mergers. RHM, with its brands including Hovis and Mother's Pride, was acquired by Premier Foods in 2007.
RHM plc, formerly Ranks Hovis McDougall, was a United Kingdom food business. The company owned numerous brands, particularly for flour, where its core business started, and for consumer food products. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but was acquired by Premier Foods in March 2007.
Cookie dough is an un-cooked blend of cookie ingredients. While cookie dough is normally intended to be baked into individual cookies before eating, it is also consumed raw.
Premier Foods plc is a British food manufacturer headquartered in St Albans, Hertfordshire. The group owns many well-known brands, including Mr Kipling, Ambrosia, Bird's Custard, Angel Delight, Homepride cooking sauces, Sharwood's, Loyd Grossman sauces, Oxo, Bisto, Batchelors and Plantastic. Premier Foods also produce cakes under the Cadbury's name, using the brand under licence. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Peek Freans is the name of a former biscuit making company based in Bermondsey, London, which is now a global brand of biscuits and related confectionery owned by various food businesses. Owned but not marketed in the UK, Europe and USA by De Beauvoir Biscuit Company, in Canada the brand is owned by Mondelēz International, whilst in Pakistan the brand is owned by English Biscuit Manufacturers.
Dr. Oetker is a German multinational company that produces baking powder, cake mixes, frozen pizza, pudding, cake decoration, cornflakes, party candles, and various other products.
Bob's Red Mill is an American brand of whole-grain foods marketed by employee-owned American company Bob's Red Mill Natural Foods of Milwaukie, Oregon. The company was established in 1978 by Bob and Charlee Moore.
Brandy snaps are a popular snack or dessert food in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, similar to the Italian cannoli. They are often tubular, brittle, sweet, baked casings that are typically 10 centimetres (3.9 in) long and 2 centimetres (0.79 in) in diameter. Brandy snaps are customarily served filled with whipped cream.
An oatcake is a type of flatbread similar to a cracker or biscuit, or in some versions takes the form of a pancake. They are prepared with oatmeal as the primary ingredient, and sometimes include plain or wholemeal flour as well. Oatcakes are cooked on a griddle or baked in an oven.
Fitch Lovell was a British food manufacturing, transportation, distribution and retail company with origins dating to 1784, and was finally merged into Booker Group in 1991 after they had purchased it in 1990 for £279.7 million.
A baking mix is a mixed formulation of ingredients used for the cooking of baked goods. Baking mixes may be commercially manufactured or homemade. Baking mixes that cater to particular dietary needs, such as vegan, gluten-free, or kosher baking mixes, can be bought in many places.
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