Food & Drink

No Kidding - We Should Taste More Goat.

By Rachael Rowe

January is a time when people look to healthier lifestyles and apart from ‘Dry January’ or ‘Veganuary’, there’s a real opportunity to integrate foods into our diets that are less calorific and have health boosting properties. And that’s when I discovered the benefits of goats - seeing as it’s a Capricorn month.

For some reason, Dorset is a popular place for goats, with around 8300 animals in the county. They make up just over a third of the South West’s population and 10 per cent of the national stock. And that means there are lots of opportunities to sample some local produce.

If you are like me and first tasted some unappetising samples of goat meat on a Greek holiday, you are in for a treat. The Boer goats at New Barn Farm at Knowlton are bred specifically for their meat. Owner, Louisa Matthews describes them as the “Aberdeen Angus of the goat world.” For those looking to improve their new year diets, goat has less fat and cholesterol than other red meats and contains more iron. There are also fewer calories in goat meat. And if you are environmentally conscious, goats produce less methane per kilo of body weight than cows.

There are 100 or so goats at New Barn Farm and judging by the smile on Edwin the buck’s face from his pen shared with five females, there will be a few more soon. Several kids were born during the Christmas holidays, given festive names, and were happily playing in the barn.

Louisa and her family decided to focus on goats “because with ten acres there is a limit to what is possible, and there are a lot of health benefits from goat.” The farm is unusually located within Knowlton Henge, an ancient settlement site, and the family have plans to expand to include a cafe later this year. sells fresh meat as well as other local foods and gifts (and a chance to see the goats in person). Hand crafted goats milk soaps are another Dorset product by Maycottage.

You can also buy fresh goat meat online via their farm website – worth noting during lockdown.

So for a first timer cooking goat, what’s the best way to do it? Louisa advises:

“You can cook a shoulder or leg of goat like you would lamb but because it has less fat you need to cook it at a lower temperature and slower. We also have burgers and sausages as well as diced meats and chops.”

And after sampling some of the goat meat for supper, I can recommend it as a high quality healthier choice of food from Dorset.

Rachael Rowe is a freelance food, health and travel writer in North Dorset. Her portfolio is at www.rachaelrowe.com

by Simon Vernon

If you’re hunting for where the wine usually sits, I know you’ll join me in sending Sadie our warmest thoughts; we hope she’ll back with us very soon. Meantime, Simon has stepped into the local drinks market for you... Ed

A new year and a new lockdown; dry January probably is not at the top of most people’s agenda for 2021!

That said, have you considered the alternative healthy drink, Brod® Kvas? It’s brewed under franchise by Jonathann Cocogne in Yeovil, a Frenchman who is deeply passionate about his product This range of soft drinks is an alternative to kombucha, fermented tea; Kvas is an ancient drink first brewed about 5000 years ago, made with bread, sugar and water using a lactic acid fermentation process. The alcohol content is extremely low, about 1.5%, and so is considered a soft drink, a probiotic and therefore great for the gut. The range consists of the original rye plus flavoured options, all made from 100% natural ingredients, very refreshing and a wonderful alternative to alcohol. It can be found locally in Ceres health food shop in Yeovil. It is Mat, you may remember, won MasterChef in 2009; a Kiwi who has made his home in Dorset. He recently opened his new restaurant Bramble, in Sherborne, and as a man of many talents, he also created a range of fruit liqueurs under the name Mûre which is moving production to a new home in raw, live, unpasteurised, naturally sparkling and packed full of lactobacillus cultures. A new drink which is rapidly gaining in popularity, look for it in the chiller. For more information check out the website www.

I was introduced to Mat Folass by Carl, the producer of Viper Gin, www.viperspirit. co.uk, the excellent local gin made in Cerne Abbas.

thekvascompany.com Sherborne, www.mureliqueurs. com.

This range of liqueurs started with Blackberry, a Great Taste award winner, and is expanding, with four flavours currently. Personally I love the Marmalade whisky, made with Seville oranges, a wonderful orange flavour combined with warm whisky, great over ice.

Wonderful products made locally and worth searching out, Brod Kvas and Mûre, great alternatives to try and during this difficult time and always great to support local. Cheers!!

Notes From An Epicurean

I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas albeit slightly different to what we are used to. Now our thoughts turn to 2021.

Epiphany has already passed so the Galette de Rois (King Tart) will have been eaten - this was originally a French tradition which has now spread to other countries, eaten around 6th January, a flat tart of puff pastry with a layer of frangipane inside.

Like our tradition of having a sixpence in the plum pudding, Galette de Rois usually contained a fève (broad bean) hidden inside. These days the fève is usually a trinket, and it celebrates the arrival of the three Kings in Bethlehem.

January is often a time for healthier eating, a great excuse, especially with our lockdown, to indulge in some caviar, one of the ultimate luxury foods, high in protein, vitamin D, B12, and essential minerals. Caviar was originally only eaten by royalty and in the finest households, but during the nineteenth century the price was lower due to America having a large stock of native sturgeon, the fish that produce the eggs. During that period, it was so plentiful in America that they gave it away free in some of their bars to encourage people to drink more due to its salty flavour.

Unfortunately, that did not last as the Sturgeon were overfished and virtually wiped out - most was shipped to Europe to be sold at a much higher price. Caviar is now all farmed as stocks of wild sturgeon have been depleted to such an extent that there is a worldwide ban.

Kings Fine Food have a wide range of farmed caviar for those wishing to try some; do not forget metal taints the delicate flavour of the eggs, so a non-metallic spoon such as mother of pearl should be used. Eaten it on its own to savour the flavour, or it can be eaten with boiled eggs, blinis, sour cream, or red onion. January also means it is “Veganuary” time again, one month of trying a vegan diet. Once considered difficult, it is now relatively easy with so many meat alternatives. With the success of “Veganuary”, the livestock industry in the UK is fighting back with “Reganuary” (Regenerative Agriculture January!), a campaign to promote traditional livestock farming methods which aims to increase biodiversity, enrich soil, and improve the ecosystem. As an ex-livestock farmer, I have my own views on this, but I suggest researching on the internet to decide for yourselves which diet is better for the planet. Happy New Year - hopefully it brings more varied menus to everyone’s table! Simon Vernon Food consultant & Great Taste Awards Judge