Welcome to our first blog in some time and apologies for the very long wait from us!
When my Grandfather Reg Lambert was young, he dreamt of being a farmer. His parents decided to send him off to the Middle East to work on the telegraph (morse code) and see the world and forget farming. He returned to England with malaria and a continued desire to live his farming dream.
In spring 1922 he took on part of a small farm called Bradfields. He kept the farm going through the Depression, the Second World War and numerous other challenging times. So 2022 should have been a year of celebration for 100 years of Lamberts farming at Bradfields, but the year began with our mother’s funeral and was swiftly followed by Dad having a 7 week stay in hospital with a badly broken leg and a further 6 months of physio and recovery. So fair to say we weren’t really in a celebratory mood for our centenary.
But a new year always brings fresh start and 2023 will be our 101st birthday and that is worth celebrating too.
In the USA 101 is used as the code for a beginners education course and 101 is commonly used to mean an introduction to a topic. So in 2023 we are going to bring you the 101 to Bradfields Farm to celebrate our 101st birthday and introduce to a bit more information about what we do on the farm.
Our Plans for the Year
Blogs and Newsletters
We have been a little uncommunicative recently due to everything that has been going on with us. But we aim to get back on track with regular blogs to let you know what is happening on the farm, with an email newsletter each season for those who like a more traditional approach. Our blogs will be available on the website and links sent out via Facebook. If you want to sign up to our newsletter you can sign up to receive them via our website.
Farmers Markets
We will be restarting our “on the farm farmers markets” after Easter when the fields should be dry enough for parking (fingers crossed). Dates for the Dairy Diary
Saturday 15th April (provisional depending on the weather)
Saturday 13th May
Saturday 10th June
Saturday 15th July
Saturday 19th August
Saturday 16th September
Saturday 14th October (provisional depending on the weather)
Farm Open Day
This year we are holding our annual Farm Open Day a little early than normal so it can be our Centenary Plus One Celebration on Saturday 13th May
Farm Tours and Cheese Tastings
Once the weather improves and the farm is a little less muddy, we will be restarting our bookings for group tours and cheese tastings which we stopped doing due to Covid. So you can learn a little bit about the farm, how cheese is made and taste our different products. We also hope to set up regular family calf feeding and milk experiences this year which, we already get lots of enquiries for.
Product of the month
We also want to tell you a bit more about our products, how we make them and how you can cook with them or just what to eat with them. Starting this weekend with our crème fraiche.
Crème Fraiche – What is it?
Crème Fraiche is a sour cream with a high fat content, that means it doesn’t curdle as much as sour cream when you cook with it and it is beautifully rich and thick. We make ours using our 65% extra thick cream and little bit of milk and a probiotic starter culture which gives it a mild but lemony tang. It is kept warm for 24 hours to let the taste develop, poured warm into our pots and deep chilled to set making it thick and spoon able, but it will pour if stirred or warmed. Because we use a probiotic starter culture, it is good for the guts like yogurt but much sweeter and creamer to taste.
Crème Fraiche – What should I eat it with?
Crème Fraiche is often used to swirl into soups, it is used make salmon pates, pasta dishes, and salad dressings or anywhere you would use sour crème, but it is so versatile it can be used as a sweet addition too because it is so creamy and rich. You can uses it a straight replacement for double cream on scones, soft fruit or fruit pies and puddings.
Anything else about it?
You can turn Crème Fraiche into mascarpone by straining it and adding a little sugar.
Want to try it?
If you haven’t tried our crème fraiche yet we are giving away free mini pots this Saturday 28th January while stocks last. So why not pop done and have taste or take a sample away with you.