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Jersey: It's butter but not as we know it |
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Written by Philip Lowery
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Wednesday, 06 January 2010 |
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This article originally appeared in foodtripper.com - a online magazine that brings you all the latest news, reviews and events food and travel related.
Produced in November the islanders associaite it with Christmas.
Edward Teach, better known as ‘Blackbeard’, was one of the most bloodthirsty and despised pirates of all time and was eventually killed in a fierce battle where he apparently sustained 5 bullet wounds and at least 20 sword cuts before dying. The triumphant and victorious Navy captain was so delighted he cut off Blackbeard’s head and hung it on his ship's rigging to celebrate.
Had the bloodthirsty Mr Teach plied his trade in Jersey, his fate would have been somewhat different as for over 100 years the islanders of Jersey were actually licensed by the Crown to seize foreign ships and this form of legalised piracy was the source of considerable wealth up until 1815 when peace was restored with France and privateering ceased.
This tale aptly demonstrates how well Jersey has managed to turn itself to all sorts of activities, to constantly reinvent itself and to continue to create success and wealth for its inhabitants. Over the centuries, Jersey has consistently punched above its weight in industries as diverse as dried fish exports, cider, ship-building, agriculture and tourism, and for an island of only 90,000 people has managed to create a brand that is world famous for financial services, potatoes, dairy cows and a particular type of sweater.
But it is to cider and apple orchards that I want to return to, as it seems the island does too.
In the 1830s nearly 300,000 gallons of Jersey cider were exported annually to the UK and two-thirds of the Island was covered in apple orchards. In fact at one stage, so many apple trees grew in Jersey that the States had to pass an act to stop orchards being planted unless as a replacement for an old one. One of the most respected English brands of cider, Aspalls, now based in Suffolk, was founded by the Chevalier family who originated in Jersey.
Since those heady appley days, the islands agriculture has changed significantly, much of it now being dictated by the hugely successful cash crop of Jersey Royal potatoes, but in the last few years, the apple has begun to make a resurgence and one of the old, traditional apple-based products is making a comeback too; Jersey Black Butter.
It’s not actually butter at all, in terms of being churned from milk but was rather a traditional preserve made at the end of the hugely abundant annual apple harvest. Originally a popular community event, the production involved many of the villagers who peeled and chopped the fruit which was then added to a cauldron of cider that had been boiled over a hot fire for hours. Together with sugar, lemon, liquorice and spices the resultant mixture was then continually stirred for up to 48 hours to stop it burning, a labour intensive process made quite agreeable by the significant quantities of cider and apple brandy that would have been consumed along with the traditional singing, story-telling and dancing that would have gone on at the same time.
Traditionally being produced at the end of October and beginning of November it seems to have evolved into something that feels like Christmas. The La Mare Estate is the only commercial producer of ‘Le Niere Buerre’ and has spent the last ten years perfecting their recipe and at the Real Food Festival earlier this year the visitors they sampled unequivocally felt that it tasted ‘like Christmas in a jar’. You could certainly imagine it being served on a slice of toast on Christmas morning, but it has many more uses other than this, including as an ingredient in all sorts of sweet and savoury dishes. It has also tasted its own success having garnered a two star Great Taste Award in 2008 which was improved to a three star Award this year, which is no small achievement with only around 80 of the 5,000 or so products entered achieving this.
But it’s no real surprise that Jersey keeps delivering this sort of quality produce. Despite its business and banking reputation, when you arrive on the island you get a definite sense of a land of food and farming, with its small villages and fields of green pasture and of course its world famous cows chewing contentedly on the grass. But it is most apparent when talking to the locals who are seriously passionate about their food that you realise that a visit to Jersey really needs to be built around eating and drinking.
I spent an afternoon with Mark Jordan, the head chef at the Michelin-starred Ocean restaurant, which is housed in the absolutely beautiful Atlantic Hotel on the south west of the island, and it was immediately apparent that here was a man who couldn’t believe his luck. A keen surfer, he had a wealth of committed and brilliant producers on his doorstep and to top it all some of the best surf in the world literally outside his kitchen window. The creativity of the Jersey producers I met with him was spectacular, from the shell fish supplier who had turned an old German fort into Faulkner Fisheries Vivier (a Vivier is a unit that designed to keep the lobster and crab alive and in good condition for market) to Manor Farm Classic Herd who had managed to break away from the island milk co-operative and now produces some award winning cheeses from its organic Jersey milk. This depth of quality ingredients is utterly reflected in the Ocean’s menus and the Classic Herd Jersey beef that Mark had raved about all afternoon, and which is grown especially for the restaurant, really did live up to expectations.
The thing with Jersey is that you think you know it because it has that air of familiarity about it, what with its potatoes, cows and jumpers, but the reality is that unless you have spent a great deal of time here, you almost certainly have only just scratched the surface. Clean waters, bracing sea air and deep rich soil make this a food-lovers paradise, a destination rich in diversity and one that will thrill anyone who loves their food.
Stay The Atlantic Hotel: www.theatlantichotel.com with Mark Jordan's innovative cooking benefiting from seriously good local ingredients and spectacular ocean views
Eat The Bass and Lobster www.bassandlobster.com A relative newcomer on the east of the island, this is a really buzzy place serving sparkling fresh fish like the bass and lobster I tried from local Fresh Fish Company, utterly superb Local Produce.
Where to buy Jersey Black Butter La Mare Estate, La Route de Hogue Mauger, St Mary, Jersey JE3 3BA www.lamarewineestate.com A great place to visit including a restaurant serving a great Jersey Black Butter cheesecake and a 25-acre estate producing cider and apple brandy as well as a range of lovely chocolates made by their own (Aussie) chocolatier.
Regular flights from London Gatwick with Flybe take around 45 minutes, hopefully the fog won’t hold you up.
With thanks to John Garton of Genuine Jersey and Kate le Blond from Jersey Enterprise. |
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Written by Philip Lowery
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Wednesday, 06 January 2010 |
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This article originally appeared in foodtripper.com - a online magazine that brings you all the latest news, reviews and events food and travel related.
I don’t know about you, but I certainly get the impression that the Swiss like to keep things to themselves. The Sound of Music certainly gave whole generations an idea of their beautiful landscapes (along with a more sinister plot about a middle-aged man trying to pull a young nun), but there is no doubt that beyond the cuckoo clocks, cheese fondue, banking and winter sports, much of what this country has to offer is little-known to the average Brit on the street.
That may be about to change as far as Swiss cheese is concerned and deservedly so. For the last 10 years Switzerland Cheese Marketing AG has been on a mission to show people that Swiss cheese is amongst the best in the world and if you like your cheese natural, exploding with flavour and created with true artisan skill handed down over generations then you will be inclined to agree.
Now I know that there are a couple of famous Swiss cheeses that you will all have heard of, but that’s not the point. Most of us don’t take the Gruyere or Emmental that we get in our supermarkets quite as seriously as we might. More than this though, there is a depth of cheese-making skill and passion that is quite simply astounding and would compare and perhaps surpass the best cheese-making cultures in the world.
How do I know? Well I have just returned from a flying visit to Lucerne, the centre of the Sbrinz AOC cheese making territory, a type of cheese that really has to get a wider audience.
Surprisingly, the Michelin starred Jasper Restaurant at the elegant Palace Luzern Hotel that I stayed at didn’t have Sbrinz on its otherwise gorgeous cheese-board. However, Ulf, the head chef who came with us the following morning to a local Sbrinz producer, had by the end of the visit vowed to switch from its more famous cousin Parmigiano. Quite so.
And yes, for those of you unfamiliar with this wonderfully, nutty, rich-tasting hard cheese, it is said that Sbrinz was the original Parmigiano and was exported across the border to become its more famous cousin - a story I like so much that I don’t intend to check its veracity just in case it’s not true.
The production of Sbrinz, like most cheese of course, starts with milk. Legend has it that the devil himself taught the Swiss how to make cheese from their milk but that he became irritated with them before explaining what could be done with the whey. True or not, milk production remains an integral part of the process and the quality is rigorously, even religiously controlled. A critical factor is that the cows who produce this milk can only feed on pasture or hay. This is fundamental – an experienced cheese producer will be able to see from the quality of the milk whether it has come from animals fed on silage or, god forbid grain, a quite necessary skill as Sbrinz produced with milk from silage-fed cows has a tendency to explode. And of course the milk has to be raw and unpasteurised.
Our cheese producer, with the deeply satisfying name of Sepp Gut (pronounced ‘goot’ not ‘gut’ as I would have preferred) enthusiastically showed us the steps to producing this historic product. It takes 12 litres of the aforementioned silky raw milk to create 1 kg of Sbrinz cheese. Each morning their van travels around the local area collecting the fresh milk from up to 25 milk producers which has to be turned into cheese within 15 hours. The rennet is added to the milk and shortly starts to curdle and is then cut into tiny pieces in a huge vat. With all cheese, the smaller the granules, the less water the final cheese contains and therefore the harder it becomes. Poured into moulds the cheese is pressed and then the wheels are immersed in salt water for around 18 days before being washed, dried and then ripened for around 20 days before a period of around 4 months maturation. It is at this point that the producer passes over completion of the cheese to one of 3 affineurs (in this case Emmi) where, to be classified as Sbrinz the cheese must be aged for at least 18 months.
So just what is so dammed good about this cheese? Well firstly the quality of the ingredients and the really exceptional passion of the producer combine to create a living food that will change from season to season, producer to producer and from area to area. I can’t help feeling that the modern concern for consistency is a bad thing because it inevitably means that exceptional quality is often sacrificed for uniform consistency - and actually the idea of subtle variations based on when and where something has been produced adds to the revelatory experience of this type of artisan food.
However, the absolute litmus test is the taste. There is no doubt that a well-matured Parmigiano is a world-class cheese and this Sbrinz held up extremely well in comparison. Slightly softer than its cousin, it had a similar very satisfying slightly gritty texture. The flavour was up there with some of the best Parmigiano’s I’ve tried, rich and nutty and buttery with a strength that lingers on the tongue for long minutes. This would be really special eaten in little chunks with a chilled Riesling or Chardonnay from Fruili – or better still a local Chasselas - if you can ever find one outside Switzerland.
So for Ulf, the head chef at the Jasper, it’s quite right that you should support a genuinely local cheese over even famous and high quality international competition when the local product is really this good.
Unfortunately it isn’t the easiest cheese to find in the UK, with Patricia Michelson’s La Fromagerie in London being one of the few places I could find this stocked.
However, watch this space, I was won over by this cheese and will try and make sure that it is represented at next year’s Real Food Festival – indeed, maybe we can bring a lot more from this beautiful country because for depth of passion, artistry and pure ingredients it’s up there with the best.
Where to stay
Palace Luzern Haldenstrasse 10 CH 6002 Luzern http://www.palace-luzern.ch/en/ A classic old style grand hotel, stunning position overlooking Lake Luzern, surprisingly warm and relaxing for such a grand hotel, which can sometimes be too stuffy and informal.
Where to eat
Jasper Restaurant Palace Luzern http://www.palace-luzern.ch/en/desktopdefault.aspx/tabid-223 Michelin starred (16 points GaultMillau) contemporary approach, with a real appreciation of quality local ingredients (even if the maitre d’ got it wrong when he said the Black Angus beef came from Argentina – it actually came from a local producer 10 minutes away!).Interesting wine list with good examples of Swiss wines on offer.
How to get there Regular flights from London City Airport with British Airways to Zurich with around 45 minutes transfer, a simple pleasure at this airport compared to the larger London alternatives. With thanks to Sepp Gut, Käserei Hof, Ennerbergstr. 26, 6374 Buochs Switzerland. |
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Snapshots from The Real Food Festival 2009 |
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Written by Helen Graves
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Tuesday, 12 May 2009 |
So did you have a good time at the festival? I certainly did. I have an extra half inch on my waist and a shelf bulging with delicious produce to prove it. There were farm animals, debates, rants, cooking classes and tastings and I think this slideshow of the weekend tells the story of the festival rather nicely. Enjoy!
Created with flickr slideshow.You can read more about my favourite picks of the festival here. |
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Beyond the Bag: Discovering Rare Tea with Henrietta Lovell |
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Written by Helen Graves
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Wednesday, 06 May 2009 |
Tea is considered something of a panacea in this country. Got a crisis? Put the kettle on. Hard day at work? Put the kettle on. Just woken up? You know what to do. For such an enthusiastic nation of tea drinkers then, it's a wonder we don't take more care over the quality of our brew. More often than not, we are happy to unquestioningly sling a bag in a mug, add water and milk and be done with it. We don't stop to speculate on whether we are getting the highest quality, most flavoursome tea, or indeed the best value for money.
I certainly didn't until yesterday when, after a long and stressful day, I enjoyed a calming couple of hours with Henrietta Lovell, a.k.a the (award winning) 'rare tea lady'. Her passion for tea is incredibly infectious and, although she apologises numerous times for 'waffling on' about it, she really shouldn't, it's fascinating and I scribble frantically, trying to keep up with her tea-chings (sorry). Sip after sip was a revelation, a true education for the palette. I was shocked but excited to find I have been missing out on a whole world of flavour for the entirety of my tea drinking life.
Henrietta started The Rare Tea Company in 2004 after falling in love with the drink while spending time travelling in China. She now sources her tea from small producers high up in the mountains who skilfully harvest and prepare the spring leaves and tips by hand and immediately package them into pouches to ensure lasting freshness. A stark contrast to a standard bag from one of the big tea companies which typically contains around 60 different teas, harvested mechanically and barely recognisable as a plant.
Henrietta kindly brewed me a selection of teas to compare and I was astounded to learn that they all actually come from the same plant but (like wine), variables such as terroirs, regions, production methods and picking times influence the final result.
First we tried a white silver tip (above) which was incredibly light, refreshing and clean tasting. Packed full of antioxidants, drinking white tea first thing will, according to Henrietta, 'make your liver sing'.
Next we tried a green tea, which was a complete revelation. I know many people find green tea hard to get along with (myself included) but I promise you, this is a completely different drink. The bitter green tea we find in most shops is incredibly low quality which explains why it tastes so bad. Henrietta's tea is prepared in a wok over charcoals and has distinct smoky, grassy flavours. It is actually a joy to drink (to the point where I've had to stop myself for fear of laying awake all night).
Oolong (above and below) basically falls between green and black tea, is processed by hand and crushed just slightly. Part of it is exposed to the air and oxidised, before it is rolled to stop the process at just the right time. The result is a tea with a fine floral note to it and a distinct apricot flavour coming through.
The black tea you see below is delightfully named 'Emperors Breakfast'. It can be drunk with or without milk and has the most incredible malty, caramel flavours.
We also find time to taste the Jasmine Silver Tip, which gets its seductive perfume from the process of steaming and scenting with fresh Jasmine flowers, picked at night when their scent is strongest.
Before moving onto our final (and my favourite) brew, we try Henrietta's own blend of teas (served by Mark Hix in his restaurants in London and Lyme Regis) which includes African, China and Darjeeling teas and tastes earthy and floral all at once.
And then finally we move on to my beloved bergamot flavoured Earl Grey, produced by Tregothnan - an ancient Estate in Cornwall, established in 1335 and actually managed by the descendants of Earl Grey himself! It is stunning, and Henrietta also let's me in on an extra secret. Instead of using lemon in your Earl Grey, try lemon verbena instead - a subtle, lemon flavoured herb which might be hard to find in shops but my research tells me is very easy to grow if you are into that kind of thing.
By this point I'm feeling incredibly relaxed and to be perfectly honest - relieved, that 'proper tea' isn't something to be intimidated by, it just tastes a whole lot better and is more health giving than its mass produced counterpart. It is actually also good value as you need just a pinch of tea per cup and each pinch can be used three times (apparently the second cup is always the best).
So I urge you people, to get back in touch with your tea drinking roots! It was those pesky Victorians throwing us all off kilter by mechanising the whole process - before their intervention, we recognised the value of decent tea just like the Chinese. Visit Henrietta, taste the difference for yourselves and pick up some tips on making the perfect cuppa while you're there.
As for me, its thirsty work this writing business, I'm off to put the kettle on.
You can also buy online at www.rareteacompany.com
Helen Graves also writes her own London-based food blog, Food Stories. |
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Native Rare Breeds at Hazeldene Farm |
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Written by Helen Graves
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Tuesday, 28 April 2009 |
When I visited husband and wife team Steve and Liz at Hazeldene Farm near Chesham this past Sunday afternoon, I honestly left feeling that I wanted to become a farmer. The scene was idyllic - rolling green hills, glorious sunshine, smiling faces and all the signs of spring, complete with lambs and piglets. To me at that moment, it made farming seem like the perfect way of life.
It’s not perfect of course, there's some seriously hard work to be done but Liz tells me with a sparkle in her eye that it is also extremely rewarding. I was lucky to enjoy a guided tour of the farm and as we walked, talked and I photographed and scribbled, it was clear to me that Liz and her husband truly love their jobs, and their animals.
For Hazeldene is no ordinary farm - the animals are no ordinary animals. There are some really rare breeds here. The pigs for example are 'British Lops' (you can see how they get their name, above), of which there are only approximately 300 sows left in the UK - they were officially endangered until Hazeldene started breeding them.
Among the chickens, there is the delightfully named ‘Marsh Daisy', the rarest of all chickens at Hazeldene, along with some 'Ixworths', 'Indian Cornish Game' (another cracking name) and the 'Araucarna', which actually produce green eggs. All these birds are rare breeds – with only 3-400 of each left and boy are they well cared for…I think the only way the chickens here could be more free-range is if they were actually living in the wild (see below).
This is the beauty of the small producer – a stark contrast to the often low quality meat that is produced on a large scale. Liz tells me how the 'Sasso' breed – another rare chicken, has a very fine flavour but is unpopular with large producers because it takes 14 weeks to mature - commercial chickens take just six weeks.
The cows are also slow growing. The ‘Traditional Hereford’ is easily identifiable by their beautiful brown and white markings and whereas most examples are crossed with American breeds, these have fully traceable blood lines.
As for the sheep, we have the ‘Oxford Down’ which, apart from being the largest sheep in the country, is also the most local to Hazeldene.
There is a huge emphasis on keeping things local here, the farm does not distribute their meat or eggs out to retailers, everything is sold in their farm shop, encouraging local people to come to the farm and get in touch with their food and where it comes from.
They even have their own cold room and butchery so everything gets done on-site. Beef is hung for a minimum of three weeks to age, bacon is dry-cured and sausages are squeezed into their casings by the butcher they employ to work with them.
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I must say I learned a lot from my day down at the farm. On the trivial side of things I was overjoyed to learn that pigs actually have the ability to control that curl in their tail - some of the time, they straighten it out and wag it like a dog. I kid you not. On a more thoughtful note though, I found that getting out there and meeting the people who produce good food it is an experience that cannot be beaten. This is what the Real Food Festival is all about. These people take time to produce high quality, superior tasting products and they do it because they care – about eating well and in a way that is ethically sound.
I am amazed to learn that Liz and Steve are new producers (they have been going for just 3 years), as they seem like seasoned pros. In addition to the existing shop, there are plans for a café selling home made cakes and no doubt other lovely things and I’ve even heard whispers of an application for a license which will allow children to visit the farm – an exciting prospect indeed. The value of introducing children to the idea of where their food actually comes from should not be underestimated.
As I trundled back down the Metropolitan line towards the city, tightly clasping my eggs, bacon and sausages for my dinner, I honestly felt like I had been on holiday in the country, such was the power of the atmosphere at Hazeldene. All parties contented - animals, producers, customers - and last, but by no means least, my very lucky belly.
Helen Graves also writes her own London-based food blog, Food Stories.
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