Yogurty ramblings

Since beginning this challenge just over three weeks ago, things have been surpisingly hairy with dairy. It might be cool for cats, but it's turning out to be hard to track down outside of the supermarkets.

I expected to run into trouble finding things like loo roll and kitchen cleaner (which actually have turned out to be easy thanks to the amazing hardware heaven that is Wilkos) but I never gave dairy products a thought.

Admittedly you can find a pint of milk almost anywhere (although it may not be as simple to find out where that milk has come from) and cheese is also easy thanks to the number of delis, farm shops, market stalls and cheesemongers that I know of. But when you start looking for things like yogurt and sour cream it gets curdlingly hard.

Creme freiche, I discovered last week, is the holy grail of the supermarket-free dairy product - pretty near impossible to find. It took me two lunch hours of power-walking around Derby, asking puzzled market stall holders and shopkeepers for help in an increasingly panicked voice, and sending my hair into frizz-overdrive by repeatedly pulling my bobble hat off and on as I dashed in and out of shops, before I eventually hit the jackpot in Jack Rabbits. And even then, they'd not got any in stock and it took a phonecall to the amazingly helpful co-owner Julie to secure a pot for the following day.

Then I hit an even bigger hump trying to find my favourite yogurt. You see, I love a pot of Rachel's Choice organic yogurt (the ginger and rhubarb flavours in particular) and used to make special trips to Sainsbury's to buy it, but that just won't wash any more.

I tried tweeting the company to ask if they knew of any independent stockists and they promised to get back to me. But I've not heard a peep since so I'm assuming that's a no!

So time to consider other yogurty options....

I found some promising-looking pots in Hasland Fruit and Flowers, the greengrocer just round the corner from our house. They even had rhubarb and orange flavours, which sent me into such a flurry of excitement that I tried to stack too many pots in my arms at once, then became further inflamed at the sight of cottage cheese by the same company, and ended up loosing my personal yogurt-Jenga game and dropping a pot on my way to the counter, splattering the shopkeeper in the process.

Of course I insisted on paying for the dropped pot as well as the pots I took home. My clumsiness is becoming something of a theme on this blog. Apparently I'm pretty useless without a nice metal shopping trolly to hang onto!

The yogurts I didn't drop!

Once I got home I decided to Google the yogurt-producers, Longley Farm, to see if I could find out where my yogurts had come from. I was delighted to see that the firm is in fact an independent, family-run dairy based at Holmefirth, not too far away in Yorkshire. But there wasn't much more information online so I decided to email the firm to find out more.

The response I received, from a lady called Rachel Liles, less than a day later, is proof that actually it's pretty easy to find out more about your food if you simply take the trouble to ask a few questions.

Rachel told me that the Longley Farm website was currently undergoing an upgrade to make it more informative, but in the meantime she was happy to answer my questions.

She explained that all the firm's "black and white milk" (from black and white cows) was sourced from farms within 15 miles of the dairy, saying "we deal directly with the farmer and given them one of the best milk prices".

And she went on to explain that many of Longley Farm's products are made with milk from Jersey cows, and that the firm pays the farmers the "top price in the country for this niche market".

So it's nice to know Longley Farm is giving farmers a fair deal, but what about the magnificent ladies who make the milk?

Rachel explained that the cows have "a summer field-based system and housing through the winter".

She wrote: "I personally visit all our farmers at least once per year and have constant telephone contact, all our farms are Red Tractor Farm Assured and I can honestly say that all the animals, in many cases, are better looked after than their kids!

"Our own Jersey farm is based in Barnsley and we currently milk 300 Jersey cows, with the young female cows spending the summer grazing at Longley Farm. We are a family run company and operate as one extended family, staff turnover is very low and the majority of our staff have at least 10 years service."

So it all sounds pretty good and I'm very glad I asked the questions. I can now enjoy my yogurts and cottage cheese, bought from an independent shop just two minutes away from my house and sourced from a decent dairy farm.

In the market for romance

It’s amazing what you can find at a farmers’ market – cheese, meat, pies, vegetables and bread – and yesterday I even stumbled across a little bit of romance.

I was out on my lunchtime walk with a shopping list of lasagne ingredients and I ended up at the monthly Derby Farmers Market.

Derby Farmers' Market

It was a smaller affair than usual, no doubt due to the time of year and freezing weather, but there were still a few stallholders out braving the cold in impressive layers of rustic knits and fingerless gloves. 

I immediately got chatting to Mary Button, from The Really Good Cheese Company, who was really excited to hear about My Year Without Supermarkets and offered some lovely words of encouragement.

I asked her where her business was based and she nodded to the man selling pork products at the next stall along.

“With him!” she said.

It turns out Mary and the sausage seller Ashley Hedges are an item and they live together at Smith Hall farm in Hulland Ward, in Derbyshire, where they rear pigs and also have an organic field kitchen. 

“Please tell me you met at a farmers’ market?” I asked.

“We did!” she laughed. “We met here actually, at Derby Farmers’ Market, three years ago.”

And is it all romance down on the farm?

“Oh yes, very romantic,” she quipped. “Getting up at 5am to feed the pigs together!”

I bought cheddar from Mary and some organic pork and leek sausages from Ashley, who had been up since 4am to do his chores on the farm before heading down to Derby for the market. It's inspiring how much effort these farmers put into getting their produce out there and I really do think we, as consumers, should support them rather than just flocking to Tesco.

With the promise of a visit out to the farm in the spring to see the organic pigs, I moved onto another brilliant stall selling Lincolnshire Poacher Cheese.

The stallholder frankly looked freezing, but he still managed to muster enthusiasm as I told him about my challenge. I needed a block of Parmasan, which he hadn't got, but instead he gave me a taste of the next best thing - a strong cheese that his wife uses on her lasagne. When did you last have an interaction like that in a supermarket?

I finished my little shopping trip with a visit to Jack Rabbits, a brilliant cafe/deli/food store in Queen Street that offers loads of different cheeses, pickles, locally-produced jams, artisan breads, a few veggies, eggs and other bits besides.

I bought mozzarella and butter, which Julie, one of the owners, described as "really creamy", but unfortunately they didn't have any creme freiche. I was really impressed by how helpful the staff were though. After checking that there wasn't any left in the shop next door, I was told that a delivery was expected and I could ring the shop at any time and they would happily set something aside or order something or me.

Fast forward to this lunchtime and I took them up on the offer, and telephoned to see if the ellusive CF had arrived (lazy I know but it's a 20 minute walk from my office and it's snowing!). Julie called me back to say that it had so I've just been to collect it, and bought some nice sourdough bread in case we really do get hit by snowmageddon this weekend and I can't get out. It's panic buying non-supermarket-stylee!

Produce from the farmers' market

It’s the little interactions like this that make avoiding the supermarkets so worthwhile and enjoyable. I'm now back in the office with a very cold nose, but filled with warmth thanks to all the lovely people I’ve met. Forget 2013 - this challenge is good for the soul. It may be a resolution for life!