The Taste of Britain. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
some new cultivars developed in the Victorian years, but what perhaps makes the medlar quintes-sentially British was the enjoyment of the bletted (rotten) fruit by drinkers of port at the end of a meal. Not everyone appreciated these ‘wineskins of brown morbidity’ (D.H. Lawrence, quoted by Davidson, 1991) and their number reduced as time went on, but their use as a jelly which accompanies meats has seen their survival in a sphere wider than the private gardens of a handful of connoisseurs. (See also Medlar Jelly, East Anglia p. 136.)
TECHNIQUE:
Medlars are propagated by grafting or budding. Various species have been used to provide rootstock; today, the quince is most commonly employed. The fruit are left on the trees until late autumn and may be quite hard when hand-picked. At this stage they are considered astringent and inedible. The fruit is stored in moist bran or sawdust until it becomes brown and soft. Effectively, this is a controlled rotting of the fruit. They used to be brought to the table in a dish still covered with bran or sawdust and cleaned off by the diners who scraped out the pulp to eat with sugar and cream, and to accompany port.
REGION OF PRODUCTION:
SOUTH EAST ENGLAND.
Strawberry (Royal Sovereign)
DESCRIPTION:
ROYAL SOVEREIGN HAS SMALL TO MEDIUM ROUNDED BERRIES OF A BRIGHT INTENSE RED, AND IS STILL THOUGHT BY MANY TO HAVE THE BEST FLAVOUR OF ALL BRITISH VARIETIES. MODERN STRAWBERRY VARIETIES TEND TO HAVE MUCH BIGGER, POINTED FRUIT AND A LESS INTENSE FLAVOUR.
HISTORY:
Although wood strawberries, Fragaria vesca, are native to Britain, the history of the strawberry in its modern form really begins in the early nineteenth century. At this time, Michael Keen, a market gardener in Isleworth (Middlesex), used the Chilean strawberry (F. chiloensis) to produce improved varieties. The first of these was Keen’s Imperial; the second which he raised, Keen’s Seedling, caused a sensation, and became very important both in its own right and as a parent of other varieties. There was much interest in strawberry growing during the mid-nineteenth century. One of the most influential of Victorian nurserymen, Thomas Laxton at Bedford, bred Royal Sovereign. This was esteemed for its appearance and flavour and for the fact that it cropped early.
Royal Sovereign lost commercial favour around the time of World War II as producers, driven by necessity to cultivate disease-resistant stock and by the changing needs of processors, began using the Cambridge varieties (bred from the 1930s at the Horticultural Research Station of Cambridge University) and their descendants. For many years, Royal Sovereign was grown only by amateurs, but interest is reviving among commercial producers on the south-east coast of England. This region came into its own as a centre of market gardening at the end of the Victorian period. London, its chief customer, had outgrown its eighteenth-century envelope and was fast expanding into land on its western side which had until then been the main area of commercial gardening. Simultaneously, efficient railway transport enabled producers to base themselves further away than those who had depended on water-borne delivery, carriage on foot or by cart, or conveyance in panniers slung each side of a donkey. The counties along the south-eastern coast of England have been noted areas for strawberry production for over 100 years. Hampshire was known for its early strawberries, a trade now severely eroded by foreign imports.
TECHNIQUE:
Strawberries are now grown from virus-free runners produced by specialist growers. The old method was to grow under glass cloches, now superseded by polythene tunnels. Soil sterilization is also practised to control disease. In the old days, the ground was mulched with straw. The berries are grown both for dessert and processing. Royal Sovereign is a dessert variety which is grown by similar methods to other strawberries, but requires special care in handling as the berries are delicate and soft. Cambridge Favourite is regarded as a good dual-purpose type. The growth of pick-your-own farms has meant that many people have access to supplies of very fresh strawberries.
REGION OF PRODUCTION:
SOUTH EAST ENGLAND.
Victoria Plum
DESCRIPTION:
A VICTORIA PLUM WEIGHS 30-50G AND HAS DARK RED SKIN, PALE GREEN FLESH, AND A GOOD SWEET-ACID BALANCE OF FLAVOUR.
HISTORY:
The cultivated plum has been known in Britain since Roman times. Plums continued to be grown in Britain through the medieval period, with new varieties being introduced in the fifteenth century (Roach, 1985). The development of specifically British varieties is noticed under Dittisham Plum, above, and Cambridge Gage, below. The eighteenth-century varieties, including Fotheringham, Coe’s Golden Drop (much used as a parent for good quality, late-season dessert plums), Magnum Bonum, Damascenes, and Gage were delicious and valuable, but it is the work of the Victorian nurserymen that has had most lasting significance. They raised several varieties still grown today, including Early Rivers and Czar. Several local varieties, including Aylesbury Prune, were also widely grown for drying. One of the few local seedlings which has become important in recent years is Marjories, which was discovered growing in Berkshire in 1912.
However, the Victoria plum is the most popular in modern Britain. It was a chance seedling from Alderton in Sussex found in 1840. Development took place in a nursery at Brixton, south London. It soon became established as a commercial variety in the main orcharding areas of southern England. It was used for crossing in experiments to produce new breeds in the early 1900s, especially by the Laxton brothers; although several were introduced, they have failed to maintain a place in commercial production.
Victorias now provide the majority of dessert plums, most of those for commerce grown in Kent. It is also the most ubiquitous breed in English gardens: it is easier and less sensitive than most comparable varieties. Jane Grigson (1982) wrote tellingly of their dangerously bland flavour: ‘Victorias are for canning. Victorias are for plums and custard, that crowning moment of the school, hospital, prison and boarding house midday meal: I reflect that Mr Bird invented his powder round about the time that Victoria plums were beginning their career.’
TECHNIQUE:
Plums require shelter from frost and a soil which holds moisture well. Old orchards are on strong rootstocks, giving large trees. Dwarf rootstocks, planted in rows about 6 metres apart are now favoured. Some varieties require pollinators, although Victoria is a variety which is largely self-fertile. Provided the soil is correct, and the land sheltered from frost, plums do well in Kent and its region. After the first 2 years, little maintenance beyond light pruning is carried out.
REGION OF PRODUCTION:
SOUTH EAST ENGLAND, KENT.
Carolina Cheese
DESCRIPTION:
A PRESSED SHEEP’S MILK CHEESE. DIMENSIONS: TRUCKLES APPROXIMATELY 8CM HIGH, 5CM DIAMETER OR 14CM HIGH, 14CM DIAMETER. WEIGHT: ABOUT 750G (SMALL); 2-2.7KG (LARGE). COLOUR: ALMOST WHITE. FLAVOUR: WELL-ROUNDED, WITH A MILD SHEEP NOTE.
HISTORY:
An ancient origin is claimed for the recipe from which these cheeses were evolved: the monks of a Cistercian abbey near Chard, Somerset. This is not impossible; there are parallels in the north of England, where Wensleydale and related cheeses almost certainly owe their origin to monastic dairy skills.
In its current form, Carolina was developed by John Norman in the Chard area; the name was taken from a field name of land he farmed. In the early 1970s, he began to make a sheep’s milk cheese, continuing until ill health prevailed. Ten years later the current maker, Harold Woolley, bought the recipe and transferred production to Kent, where