food & drink New fresh no fuss mash straight from the farm of nutrient-packed vegetable side dishes with long shelf life, offering customers guilt-free convenience. Launched at Scotland’s Speciality Food Show (27-29 March) in Glasgow, the initial seven flavours - chorizo mash, wholegrain mustard mash, cheesy mash, haggis ‘n’ mash, colcannon mash, root veg mash and classic creamy farm mash cook in under four minutes and whistle when the mash is evenly warmed and ready to eat. www.upperdysart.co.uk
Grown, Malted, and Distilled in Northumberland The Perfect Provenance for Northumberland’s Ad Gefrin Whisky Distillery
Ad Gefrin is delighted to announce that the inaugural barley growers for making its
Copyright Sally Ann Norman
The enterprising farming family behind Stirfresh has launched an innovative range of fresh ‘no fuss’ premium mash, cooked and packed on their farm on the East Coast of Scotland. With emphasis on the taste and texture of home cooking, the Upper Dysart Larder mash is sealed for freshness for 30 days, without the need for preservatives. Andrew and Anita Stirling have farmed potatoes at Upper Dysart Farm near Montrose for 30 years and in the early 2000s Stirfresh was set up, supplying washed and peeled fresh vegetables for schools and hospitals across Scotland. In recent years, they have built on this to create convenient ‘easy veg’ for retailers, from turnip mash, soup packs and parcooked baked potatoes and are the largest supplier of washed potatoes to Aldi in Scotland. With the rise in demand for healthy convenient meals, they have invested in the latest technology to create a series
Ad Gefrin Barley Farmer Tom Jackson Northfield Farm, Lowick
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Northumbrian Whisky, will be farms all within 10 miles of the Distillery itself. The barley will be stored locally, and malted in Berwick Upon Tweed, by Simpsons Malt, before delivery to Wooler. Fully traceable the whole operation is happening within a 20-mile radius of Ad Gefrin! Northumberland is renowned for producing the very best quality barley and it is in demand throughout the world. The type of barley chosen for Ad Gefrin is Diablo, the highest yielding spring barley on the market. The four farmers selected to grow in the region of 400 tonnes between them for Ad Gefrin, are Tom Jackson, growing at Northfield Farm, Lowick, George Farr of Pallinsburn, David Warcup of Letham Hill Farm, Etal and Cameron Shell of Brandon near Powburn. Ben Murphy, Head Distiller at Ad Gefrin said, “It is so
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exciting to be able to produce a malt which will be grown by local farmers, and malted by Simpsons Malt, who are literally just up the road. The relationship with growers will be collaborative, as the barley is grown and malted specifically for us.” Ad Gefrin will be the first ever commercial whisky distillery in Northumberland and will be opening its doors to the public in the Autumn of this year. As well as creating the first Northumbrian Single Malt Whisky, and in the region of 50 jobs, this £10.4m development will include a world class cultural visitor experience celebrating Northumbria’s Golden Age.
FARMING SCOTLAND MAGAZINE Next issue out July 2022
