You may think of Somerset as being the home of Cheddar cheese, cream and cider, but the list goes much further than that. New cheeses are being added almost every year to an already impressive list, which includes cheese made from the milk of buffaloes which roam Somerset’s Mendip Hills, as well as from the milk of ewes and goats.
To the cream they have added other dairy products, including real dairy ice cream, some of it made from sheeps' milk.
There are specialist bakers, fish smokeries and cottage industries turning out fabulous jams and other delicious preserves. The quality of meat from this region is legendary; not only are there first class master butchers and graziers (farmers who graze cattle for market) but bacon processors, sausage and pudding makers, firms which have elevated traditional pie and pasty-making to a new realm.
Though not as extensive as they once were, Somerset's apple and pear orchards still provide fruit of outstanding quality, with a number of growers specialising in the reintroduction of old, traditional varieties. We even have our own apple orchard of 60 trees to mark 60 years of the Chapman dynasty at The Castle. This unique orchard features 10 English apple varieties.
Variety First Recorded
Laxton's Fortune - 1904
Worcester Pearmain - 1874
Lord Lambourne - 1907
Kidd's Orange - 1932
Cox's Orange Pippin - circa 1825
Egremont Russet - 1872
Red Pippin - late 1970s
Adam's Pearmain - 1826
Orleans Reinette - 1776
Ashmead's Kernel - circa 1700
Thousands of tons of apples are also turned into some of Britain's finest cider. Not only cider but cider brandy and the English equivalent to Normandy's pommeau are all made here, as are some heavenly liqueurs. Breweries such as Exmoor ales at Wiveliscombe produce a range of distinctive beers using the soft local water.
At the Castle, we are proud of our tradition of drawing the vast majority of our food and drink supplies from our own county. When we are surrounded by so many first rate producers, it's only natural to make them our first choice. |
