Crispy chilly juicy food photography in a cold South African July winter
How do you create crispy chilly juicy food photography stories in a cold South African July winter? Use only simple ingredients.
Two peaches and a Pot
Colourful natural sweetness
Two peaches and a Black Pot Food Photography
The best way to highlight colourful food is to choose a grey or neutral background. Grey is a versatile and visually pleasing surface for food photography. Almost all food photographs well on a grey surface.
The yellow-orange and red colour of the peaches look crisp and fresh on the grey surface.
The black pot adds depth to the photo. What can you do with two peaches and a handmade black pot?
The peach flavour pairs well with almonds and hazelnuts and can add sweetness to dishes with cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla. Desserts with caramel, honey, and syrup will compliment a freshly made peach sauce. If you love fruit cocktails, blend peach juice into a bourbon or brandy mixed drink to counter the spirited alcohol.
Blue cheese is sharp and intense, making it the perfect cheese to pair with sweet, spicy and juicy peaches made into a sauce.
The black pot and brightly coloured peaches create a moody low light photo on the grey surface.
Add a bit of rustic heat.
Red Hot Chillies
This year, the winter in South Africa is cold. The temperatures are lower than usual, with chilly winds curling around every corner. It is winter season ideal for spicy sauces.
If you love a hot sauce, freshly farmed chillies make the best fiery chilly sauce. After a day of working, anything tastes good with a few hot chillies. You can slow cook meat, fry pork or create a hearty pasta dish. Winter nights are long, and slow cooking in the kitchen is cosy and warming.
Fresh chillies blend perfectly with cooked onions, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper, and even a bit of peach sauce can work.
The strength of your chilly sauce depends on the ratio you use. Be careful of the chilly seeds. They are always hot as hell.
To instantly warm up with a bit of a sweat, spread a bit of red hot chilly sauce over a slice of bread. You will immediately feel warm and spicy to counter a cold, windy winters day.
I photographed the rustic bowl of fresh chillies in a farm bowl on a grey cement floor in low light. The mood is wintery, with the chillies adding warmth and colour to the photo.
Salt & Fruit
Pan crisp salty
Pan crisp fruity
Winter food is delicious.
The dishes are slowly cooked or roasted and prepared with time. I am not sure if winter cooking is tastier than summer food, but winter food is hearty and homely.
Once you start preparing a winter dish, red wine goes into the sauce or marinade for the side dishes. A glass of red wine and winter food is a match.
Winter food ingredients to single out is an onion and a lemon.
These two ingredients can work in almost any dish as a base for your sauce, adding flavour or garnishing. Frying a half onion will crisp the onion, darkening the onion skin into a caramel colour. If you fry a half lemon, the lemon will brown, leaving juicy lemon sauce in your pan to use for your winter dish.
I choose two simple ingredients to photograph, fried yellow lemon and lightly brown fried onion. These two ingredients are the cornerstones of almost all wholesome winter dishes. The onion adds depth to a dish with savoury and intense flavours.
The brownish coloured lemon and onion pair flawless into a simplistic styled food photo.
The colours are wintery with caramel hues. The photograph of the lemon and onion is crispy and cool with salt and chilly spice cooked in to extract the flavours. Savoury onions and zesty fried lemons are delicious ingredients to fire up a winter meal.
Stay warm and enjoy your extravagant or effortless winter cooking and photographs.
