I love Brighton, but sometimes it's important to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city and head to the country. My invitation to spend the day at Trenchmore was exactly this, a day away from the city that I needed, a chance to find out about great produce grown locally. Trenchmore is based in Sussex and specialises in wagyu beef, homegrown cider and their latest venture; heritage wheat. Which is a mixed landrace grown from locally-sourced seeds. The farm itself was recently shortlisted for the Green Award in the 2017 Sussex Life Awards and were finalist for the Sustainable Food Made Good Supplier of the Year Award 2016.
You can sample some of their amazing produce in lots of local Brighton restaurants or pop over for a visit yourself on one of their open days.
The grounds of the farm itself are stunning. A family run plot, which has been in the family for years, incorporates both knowledge and expertise with passion and a homely feel. I loved the different areas of the farm from the beautiful home, in which i was lucky enough to try some of their produce, to the buzzing bee hives and the rows upon rows of apple trees.
Silly Moo Cider
With the farm itself having around 1600 trees it's not only beautiful but fruitful too. Having started the orchard first the trees there are a range of varities growing on the farm. The cider, made by the daughter of the family Rachel, is not only grown on the farm but pressed and fermented there too.
I am a huge fan of cider and for me it is a perfect autumn drink but, strangely, I had never tried a cider apple before.. it was not what I expected! The apple had bitter undertones with a background of sweetness; everything you need for a good cider. The cider itself is actually a mix of two apples both desert and cider which is what gives it that range of flavour. With the harvest usually happening in mid-October it will likely have just been picked and ready for the next stages.
Trenchmore Wagyu beef
Let's be honest, I am not a born country girl. I love the countryside and try to focus on locally grown produce but I didn't really have much knowledge on what it took to get wagyu beef. The farm itself actually only has three bulls, all of which are full Wagyu or Sussex-Cross Wagyu. The wagyu herd are slow grown and grass fed, there is an amazing selection of land carefully managed and provided to them in the summer. For the winter time the herd are housed in their roundhouse, the centre point for the farm, and an amazing space for the herd to eat and sleep.
What I had no idea about was the thought that went into it, everything from the grain they eat to the pink hymlian salt they are given is carefully planned by the family. The farm really considers everything from beginning calfing which happens twice a year, around January and August, to end focusing on consitently well looked after animals and high quality produce.
To try it yourself look out for the beef on speciality boards or as a part of the menu at places like The Gingerman, Etch and Drakes.
Heritage grains
The third produce to come from Trenchmore is their stoneground flour and heritage wheat berries. Initally when I heard about the wheat berries it would be fair to say I was sceptical... but I was wrong. Having tried them on my visit to the farm in two ways I was also lucky enough to take some home to enjoy at my leisure too. Have them either mixed with the flour and made into a deliciously filling and flavoursome sourdough, find their no-knead and completely delicious bread recipe here. You can also try the berries as a grain subsitute; soaked and cooked with a rich tomato sauce or slwo cooked into a creamy risotto.
Keep an eye on my blog for more recipes with the flour and berries soon.
Did you see my last blog post? Its October which means October Best is back! We headed to The Coal Shed to try their £20 menu and you can read the review here
No comments
Post a Comment