7 minute read
Cow’s at?
Dairy delights
Smooth, velvety and flavoursome are just some of the descriptions that come to mind when thinking of the vast range of dairy products available from Welsh producers. Read on to discover some the best of the batch on offer that will surely awaken your taste buds. Not only very tasty but many also pushing the boundaries of sustainability.
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Milk
Cotteswold (Gloucestershire / Conwy)
On the 1st May 1938, a 20-year-old Harry Workman purchased a 30 gallon per day milk round, a Morris 8 van, milk churns and bottles to deliver milk door-todoor using a bucket and ladle. By 1943 the growing business had relocated to Cotteswold Road in Tewkesbury (a suitable name), and before long Harry’s passion for quality milk saw his business spread to Wales.
Cotteswold Welsh is sourced from traditional Welsh family farms that practice traditional farming methods and are Red Tractor Assured. Their Welsh Farms take pride in the cows having the freedom to graze on the lush countryside, with the best quality product and great tasting milk coming from happy cows.
2 litres of Welsh Milk for £2.32 (Whole, SemiSkimmed, or Skimmed)
who has over fifty years of farming experience, now runs Daioni alongside a small team including his eldest son, Tom, who is now Head Farmer. Together they care for 1,000 dairy cows and over 2,000 acres of land, and are counted among the foremost names in Welsh organic farming.
All these years on, the Harrises and the team at Daioni are still committed to maintaining the highest standards of ‘goodness’ in what they do – and this where the name Daioni comes from. That means ensuring that their land, animals, and products live up to the very best practices of organic farming. No chemical pesticides, herbicides, or fertilisers are used on the farm, and nor are hormones or antibiotics. Daioni Organic milk products are all-natural, and completely free from preservatives, colourings and flavourings. Did we mention that they taste exceptional?
Calon Wen Organic Milk (Pembrokeshire)
Dairy farmers have always wanted to sell their own milk to local people through their own company, so in 2000 that is exactly what Calon Wen did. Initially there were four members, now there are a total of 25 family farms. Calon Wen pays farmers for the quality as well as the quantity of milk they produce, meaning farmers are not pushed towards high yielding systems.
Calon Wen believes in providing exceptional organic milk, cheese and butter that taste great and are sustainably produced. Its dedicated farmers like to keep things simple, ensuring the cows are properly looked after and graze on the fresh, clover rich pastures which have not been treated with sprays or chemicals.
1 litre of Organic Milk for £1.10 or 2 litre for £2.00 (both Whole or Semi-Skimmed)
Daioni Organic (Pembrokeshire)
Ffosyficer Farm in Pembrokeshire has been in the Harris family for over seventy years. When Laurence Harris took over from his parents in 1970, the seed was planted that would become Daioni Organic. Laurence,
Whole, semi-skimmed, or skimmed organic milk is available for £2.10 per litre. Daioni also produces naturally flavoured milk and chilled coffee products.
Cream
Ty Tanglwyst (Bridgend)
Farmed by the Lougher family for the last four generations, Ty Tanglwyst is a traditional Welsh family dairy farm. The effective traceability (each cow’s milk is individually quality tested every month) of their pedigree Holstein cows makes milk and cream that has won awards at The Royal Welsh Show, The Great Taste Awards and Wales True Taste.
Ty Tanglwyst comprises 25 acres of ancient oak woodland which is under a conservation management scheme. The remaining 125 acres is lush green pastureland. This grassland is largely divided by ancient hedgerows to create a patchwork of paddocks, which are grazed by these same cows and young calves.
Double, Whipping and Single Cream all available in 2 litre bottles. Double cream is also available in 250ml.
Totally Welsh (Pembrokeshire)
Since 1990, Totally Welsh have been on a mission to keep Welsh dairy produce here in Wales. By keeping things local and reducing food miles, they offer milk that is fresher for their consumers and better for the
environment too - and Totally Welsh cream is no exception to this rule!
Before the cream comes the milk though, and Totally Welsh milk comes direct from the farm – Welsh milk, from Welsh cows, bottled and packaged in Wales. Sourced in Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion, all Totally Welsh dairy produce is produced within a forty-mile radius of their packaging plant in Haverfordwest.
Double Cream 284ml and Single Cream 284ml, Double Cream 2.27 litre bottle
Mead Farm Foods (Newport)
Th e Hembrows are another success story putting the family in ‘family farm’, with Lawrence and Izabela on site with their two young children as a sixth(!) generation of dairy producers. Th eir Mead Farm adventure began in September 2016, with this deeprooted understanding of farming as a family seeing their venture nurture and grow.
Mead Farm Foods is a dairy dynamo, pasteurising and bottling not only fresh milk and double cream, but also butter - all from milk produced on the farm. Th ey also source free range eggs and traditionally cured bacon from local farmers. Mead Farm Foods delivers all its range of fresh produce three times a week early in the morning ready for a perfect breakfast.
250 ml Double Cream in Glass Jar for £1.99, Double Cream 250ml for £1.60
Butter
Shirgar (Carmarthenshire)
Th is traditional Welsh powerhouse brand of butter was almost lost in the past due to changes in the dairy industry, but Gower View Foods was successful in bringing Shirgar back to Carmarthenshire. Subtly salted with Welsh sea salt and churned to a creamy, tasty consistency, we’re glad Shirgar is still going strong!
But don’t just take our word for it, here’s what the Great Taste Awards had to say when Shirgar was awarded 3 Gold Stars in 2015: “Butter doesn’t get much better than this. Th e butter’s balance of sweet notes and saltiness was likened to alchemy with judges identifying notes of malt and caramel.”
Salted Welsh Butter 250g
Dragon (Gwynedd)
Th e award-winning cheese and butter of Dragon is sourced entirely using 100% Welsh milk from their 154 farm co-operative. Some of these members have been supplying Dragon with milk for generations, while all of them are red tractor assured and work to conserve the Welsh countryside. cows that graze on lush grass and enjoy some of the most spectacular views that Wales has to off er – including the Llŷn Peninsula and Snowdonia National Park – we’re not surprised it tastes so scrumptious!
Salted Welsh Butter 250g
Castle Dairies (Caerphilly)
Castle Dairies is a family run business and if there’s one thing that the Lloyd family understands, it’s cream. John Emyr Lloyd has been churning cream for over 40 years – his fi rst job was on a dairy farm where he worked his way up from churn cleaner to wagon driver. Aft er years of mastering every aspect of the process, John eventually bought Castle Dairies in 1986.
However, the cream and butter obsession doesn’t end there. Having learnt his trade in New Zealand and Australia, John’s son Nigel has now brought all his experience to the family business too. It’s little wonder Castle Dairies produces only the fi nest range of Welsh and British butters.
Welsh Spreadable Butter 500g
Yoghurt Llaeth Y Llan (Conwy)
Since 1985, Llaeth Y Llan has been perfecting the art of making great yoghurt – with every pot packed full of live cultures and wholesome Welsh cow’s milk. Th e yoghurt is still produced on site, right next to the old farmhouse where Llaeth Y Llan started its dairy journey over 30 years ago.
Tal Y Bryn farm has been home to the Roberts family going on four generations, with the milk used to create Llaeth Y Llan yoghurt sourced from neighbouring farms all within a 20km radius. Th is ensures traceability and high welfare standards to comply with Red Tractor Assurance Schemes.
Small pots 125g and big pots 450g
Rachel’s Organic (Ceredigion)
For three generations since 1952, the Rachel’s family believed the tastiest dairy produce could only come from the best that nature has to off er. From day one, Rachel’s Organic yoghurts have been made on site in West Wales, inspired by original family recipes and using only local British milk.
In 2016 Rachel’s Organic won the Good Dairy Award, which celebrates companies that demonstrate a fi rm commitment to higher welfare standards for dairy cows. And a year later, Rachel’s used thinner plastic for their 450g pots – saving over 113 tonnes of plastic since. Recycled cardboard sleeves are also now in use across all their products.
