A Slice of Wales: Hafod Cheese :: Updated ::

I'm of the opinion that if you're going to make something then make it well. Don't cut corners and put the best you have into everything you do. This especially applies to food production – the end result is only as good as what goes into it. In this case if you want the best cheese then you need the best milk.

The people at Bwlchwernen Fawr, Wales' longest certified organic dairy farm make their Hafod cheese using raw (unpasteurised) milk to produce an exceptional cheese. The combination of organic Ayrshire milk and traditional cheese making techniques give Hafod its rich buttery and nutty flavours.

I had the pleasure of tasting Hafod at the Real Food Festival. Sam and Rachel Holden make only one type of cheese that is matured for 16 months and 30 months respectively, to produce two very different results. The younger (mature) version is much like a creamier version of cheddar, with a smooth rich flavour. The more mature (vintage) version is decidedly different. Very flavoursome, strong and nutty, but no mouth burn that you might expect from most mature Cheddars. The taste reminded me of a Gruyere, a telling sign of Hafod's Swiss origins. (A trip to their website tells you more)

A chat with Sam revealed the story about their herd of Ayrshire cows, not noted for being high yield milkers one would wonder why they had chosen this particular breed. When the herd was established they were selected more for their hardiness that would be suited to the farm's climate, but the lower quantity of milk is made up in quality.

Ayrshire milk is much better suited to cheese making with its high butterfat and protein levels, but what makes it more special, is that it has a smaller fat globule size than that of other breeds, thus resulting in a finer, creamier cheese texture.
Sam went on to tell me that as an added bonus Ayrshires are characterful cows, even if it does mean he has to chase them all over the meadow to round them up!

Hafod is available to buy at selected shops, but best of all, you can by online. A slice of 'letterbox' cheese can be posted direct to your door without the need to stay in and wait for the delivery – what a brilliant idea!


For more information on Hafod Cheese and to buy online,
visit their website: hafodcheese.co.uk

Small images taken from Hafod's website


:: UPDATE ::

By way of a thank you to me, for writing this review of their fine cheese, the nice people at Hafod sent me a slab in the post. It was a such a lovely surprise to come back from shopping to find the package sitting on the door mat.


Yes, it really does fit through your door!
The cheese was well wrapped and arrived in good condition after its long journey from Wales and it tasted as good as ever.

Accompanying the cheese was a useful information leaflet too, which was even stamped with a date my cheese was made – very special, indeed.


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The Artisan Food Trail

The Artisan Smokehouse

I remember when smoked salmon was such a luxury, that it was the preserve of restaurants and the rich, but in recent times it has become more accessible through the vast quantities stocked in the supermarket.
Due to high demand, it would be fair to say that quality has dropped, so, until you taste the true artisan smoked delicacy, do you realise this to be the case.

At both the Real Food Festival and Foodies Festival, I tried some of the best smoked salmon, I have ever tasted from The Artisan Smokehouse. They are a small family business based just outside Felixstowe on the Suffolk coast.
The care and attention to sourcing the best ingredients through to the simple yet superior curing process, is definitely reflected in the fine flavour and excellent texture of their smoked salmon.
Supermarket varieties have a tendency to be slimy or even soapy and often too salty, but theirs is relatively dry (in a good way) but moist inside. The fish has a nice firmness and the flavour is clean, light and in no way overpoweringly smoky.

As well as the salmon, The Artisan Smokehouse produce a very good smoked beef too. Using meat from Herefordshire-Aberdeen Angus Cross cattle, reared in Suffolk, the result has a great depth of flavour and almost melts in the mouth.
As well as fish and meat, other smoked items include, two types of cheese, a cheddar and a stilton, garlic, kalamata olives and even olive oil which is rather tasty.

I am pleased to see that The Artisan Smokehouse have been recognised by being awarded two gold accolades from The Great Taste Awards – proof that they do produce the finest food.
I'll be looking forward to buying more from them soon, as I see they are listed to be at The Aldeburgh Food and Drink Festival which is marked on my calendar.

For more information and where to buy,
visit their website: artisansmokehouse.co.uk

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Photos: ©childsdesign 2010

Family Values: Jackson Bars from Baileys Real Food Company

Thanks must go to Baileys Real Foods who entrusted me with two varieties of their Jackson Bars to try.
I unfortunately missed them on their stand at the Real Food Festival, but keen as we both were, me to taste their bars and for them to have me test them, Baileys kindly sent some in the post.

Baileys is a family run business in Herefordshire and they are passionate about promoting real food, health and happiness. The Jackson Bar, a type of flapjack was born from their own need to find a healthy and satisfying snack. What is very important to them, is that there is no over zealous adding of sugar and where the sweetness comes in an entirely natural form of honey, fruit juice or brown rice syrup.

The bars are indeed wholesome, using British oats and lots of seeds as the base for all the varieties.

I tried the 'Original' which had added fruits; raisins, sultanas, apricots and dates, and the 'Naughty' one with chocolate and marshmallows.

I was most impressed, the taste is rich and decidedly moreish and the texture wonderfully crumbly yet moist. I did end up with a lap full of crumbs, but who cares!

There's something of a good homemade quality about them, that no one would ever know if I popped them on to a plate and passed them off as my own creation, hiding the packaging first of course!

These would be great to take on a hiking trip, as they keep you going for a long time. After having one, I didn't feel hungry for hours – that must be the slow release qualities of the oats and low sugar content doing their work.

I only wish they were sold in a shop near me, but as yet I'll just have to order them.

Other varieties to enjoy are Tropical, Lovers, Nutty and Hot Spice. 

Of the two I tried, I preferred the Original - - - More please!

For more information and where to buy, visit Bailey's Real Food website: baileysrealfood.co.uk

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Spirit of The Age: Sipsmith

Never being one to pass up on a free tasting of Vodka, I stopped by the Sipsmith stand at the Real Food Festival, where I was amazed by their products.

Based in Hammersmith, London, tucked away in quiet street, Sipsmith's small distillery, was set up just a short while ago, in Spring 2009, by founders Sam and Fairfax who had always dreamt of creating a true artisan spirit.

LEFT: From left to right – The Sipsmiths, Fairfax, Jared and Sam

They make a Barley Vodka and a London Dry Gin which is gently delivered from their handmade copper-pot still, named "Prudence", the first in London for 189 years. This beautiful still, as well as functional, could also be considered a work of art with its graceful swan neck which has been taken as the inspiration for the attractive label designs.
Producing the spirit in small batches, no more than 500 bottles per batch, in fact, ensures exceptional quality and supreme flavour.

Being a vodka lover, I am quite fussy about what I drink. I wouldn't say I am an expert as such, but I know what I like. I prefer to drink vodka straight and slowly, no knocking back shots in a violent and greedy manner but in a more measured and considerate way so that I may enjoy the flavours.

Anyone who says that vodka has no taste and that it should always be mixed in with tonic and the like, has clearly never fully appreciated a decent spirit.

The Vodka is distinctly British, distilled from English barley spirit and then blended with water from the Lydwell Spring, one of the sources of the River Thames.

Most noticeable is that this spirit does not burn your mouth or throat and is exceedingly smooth, which makes it ideal for slow lingering sipping, Unlike some vodkas that need to be chilled in the freezer to make them tolerable, this is very agreeable even at room temperature.

With its nutiness, and growing sweetness, finally ending with a hint of pepper it is most enjoyable.

I haven't drunk gin in years, mainly because I've found it to have been a bad experience. Maybe it's because of the tonic that I had with it, made me believe it to be bitter. I couldn't have been more wrong.

ABOVE: Ten carefully selected botanicals are used including: Macedonian juniper berries, Bulgarian coriander seed, French angelica root, Spanish liquorice root, Italian orris root, Spanish ground almond, Chinese cassia bark, Madagascan cinnamon, Sevillian orange peel and Spanish lemon peel.

Sipsmith's version is a joy to drink, and the smell is like a breath of fresh summer meadows. Again, as with the vodka, it is mellow in the mouth, the juniper fragrant and refreshing accompanied by bright zesty notes of lemon and orange.
Shameful or not, I could happily drink this pure and unadulterated by mixers.

So impressed was I, that I bought both the vodka and gin to take home for further enjoyment, and all I can say is, that they're both slipping down rather nicely, if a little too quickly!

For further information and where to buy, visit their website: sipsmith.com
Photo source: Sipsmith website

Flax Farm Linseed Meal

You'd be forgiven for thinking I'm about to write about an equine food supplement from the title of this post, as linseed is indeed fed to horses to improve their health. Well, what's good for horses is good for us too. Aside from the health benefits, such as improved digestion, balanced hormones and better immunity, flax or linseed is bloomin' tasty too.

Flax Farm is situated in Sedgwick, West Sussex and produces a variety of products using their own British grown linseed. I've often been out and about in the countryside and seen fields of cool blue flowers swaying in the breeze, and that soft floral sea, is linseed – quite beautiful.


Flax Farm supports traditional farming methods using small fields, which means that there are more hedgerows and ditches that provide a rich habitat for wildlife.

When I stopped by Flax Farm's stand at the Real Food Festival I tried some of their flaxjacks and they're utterly delicious. Really moist and quite moreish. The linseed imparts quite a unique flavour, somewhere between a grassy green freshness and nuttiness that would work well in both sweet and savoury foods.
Rather than buy some ready baked items, I decided on a big bag of their golden linseed meal, which I could then experiment with. It didn't take long before a flurry of recipe ideas rushed into my head.

Later, I made some seedy crackers, replacing 50g of the flour with the linseed meal. It was easy to incorporate into the cracker mixture and didn't have any adverse effect on the final texture – I would say that it possibly improved it. I'm now looking forward to adding it to bread and cakes too.
There's lots of recipe ideas on Flax Farm's website, so I may give those a try as well.

For more information and to buy online:
www.flaxfarm.co.uk
Field and flower photos taken from Flax Farm website.

For my recipe for Seedy Crackers using Flax Farm linseed meal click HERE

teapigs for the Cup!

I want to be part of the tea revolution! A few years ago I probably would never had made that statement, as tea was not high on my beverage list, but lately I have been introduced to some very good real tea. Tea drinking is becoming a habitual treat in my household, providing it is made from high quality leaves, I mean, who can honestly say that they enjoy quenching their thirst with something made from nothing but dust?

teapigs are committed to producing some pretty high ranking teas, everything from good old English Breakfast blends, through fine Green teas and even the most palatable herbal infusions.
I became aware of them at the Real Food Festival and BBC Good Food Show and eventually experienced the taste when I received a Christmas goodie bag. Inside, was a box of Summer Flowers, a herbal blend. After several unpleasant experiences with herbal teas, I was a little apprehensive about trying it, but my expectations were completely turned around. The infusion was fresh with lemon grass, scented with lavender and had an agreeable after-kick of ginger. I was hooked.

Recently, I was lucky enough to be to get some free tickets to the Real Food Festival, from teapigs themselves, so, I made sure I paid a visit to their stand and bought some more teas to try. While I was there, I sampled the Liquorice and Peppermint variety, it’s really rather amazing. If you like liquorice, you’ll love it. It’s naturally sweet and the cool peppermint pleasingly slips down your throat – very relaxing and refreshing.
Being so impressed I bought a pack, along with their Mao Feng Green Tea. I’ve become quite addicted to good green tea and the Mao Feng is now on my list of the chosen few.
I love the gorgeous clear pale green colour it makes, as the whole leaves slowly unfurl, and the taste is very out-doorsey, sort of reminds me of fresh cut grass and fuzzy soft fruit.
It’s summer everyday when I drink it.

For information and to buy online:
www.teapigs.co.uk

Essential Oil from Love Farm

I’ve seen chefs on the television using it and read articles about it, but until now I’ve never tasted rapeseed oil. This particular oil should not be confused with the kind sold as vegetable oil in those big bottles in the supermarket, it is far removed from the over processed cooking oil.

On a recent visit to London’s Real Food Festival I met up with John and Tom Brooks of Love Farm. The young brothers had become weary of life in London and moved back to their family farm in Suffolk to set up growing their rapeseed crop.
The rapeseeds are cold pressed and the golden oil extracted, is pure, unadulterated and therefore extra virgin.
I tried some while at their stand and was immediately impressed by the fresh and nutty flavour and light mouth-feel. On that positive judgement, I just had to buy a bottle.
I appreciate good olive oil and this relatively new product could easily compete against any Mediterranean oil.
Apart from the taste, what I love about this oil is that it’s 100% British and locally sourced.

Those who are interested in the benefits of the Mediterranean diet will be pleased to know that rapeseed oil is actually very healthy, Being packed with a natural source of Omega 3, 6 and 9, high in poly and mono-saturated fats and low in saturated fats it could easily rival olive oil. Fewer food miles too.

Rapeseed oil is versatile in that it can be used in dressings or just drizzled. The high burning point makes it ideal for roasting and frying too.

The product looks good in its tall, yet chunky bottle and the label design reflects the young guys’ passion behind the Suffolk farm. Not only do they care about what’s in the bottle, but how the label should look. This, they told me, was so important, that they went to several markets with various label ideas and got people to give their opinions before deciding on what route to take. I could see this sitting happily on the supermarket shelves as it would have a wide appeal to customers.

Love Farm does have a website but it’s currently under construction:
www.lovefarm.co.uk

To find out more contact John and Tom by email:
johnandtom@lovefarm.co.uk

Tel: 01787 210481

For my delicious Watercress Pesto recipe
using Love Farm Rapeseed Oil click HERE