Cuisine of Monmouthshire
The cuisine of
The book's historical significance was noted by Bobby Freeman who, in 1991, arranged for the book to be republished by the Brefi Press together with an introduction explaining its historical significance and the background of Lady Llanover's life.[1][2]
Lady Llanover championed Welsh cuisine in the kitchens of her home at Llanover House and during her lifetime was famous for her hospitality, where the following motto hung above the dining room:[3]
Da i bawb cynhildeb yw
A thad i gyfoeth ydyw
Thrift is beneficial to all
And is the father of wealth
Gilli Davies notes that although some of the recipes in First Principles of Good Cookery may have a Welsh origin, others originated from Lincolnshire where Lady Llanover was brought up.[4] Monmouthshire has three main agricultural areas. The central and eastern part of the county is made up of the large valleys of the rivers
According to Davies, Monmouthshire has been successful in expanding the breadth of its food production into areas such as viticulture, horticulture and organic farming. In addition, food marketing initiatives have been created for specialist producers which have thrived, according to Davies, due to good transport links and the close proximity of the county to the markets of England. This helps in food distribution and in the development of a high quality restaurant trade, with the latter having developed due to the efforts of some key individuals. Davies comments that there is "a rare and appealing quality to the food in Monmouthshire".[7]
Meat
Lamb and mutton is a popular ingredient for stews, broths and casseroles and is produced by the hill farms in the north of Monmouthshire. It has been a popular dish in local hotels and inns since the start of tourism in the county.
Wirt Sikes, an American journalist and writer known for his writings on Welsh folklore and customs, toured Wales in the 1880s and wrote a book of his travels called Rambles and Studies in Old South Wales. On his visit to Monmouthshire he commented on the quality of its lamb, noting that the chop of lamb served at the Old Croft Inn at Caerleon were "done to a turn... with the true Welsh tenderness and juice..."[8] However, at The Beaufort Arms in Monmouth, Sikes commented on the ubiquity of this staple on the restaurant menu as follows:
"the resources of the inn, when tested to their utmost, will produce at the last, and inevitably, chops - neither more nor less. What can you give me inside half an hour?" I ask. "Anything you like, sir" the woman answers with unblushing effrontery, and a respectful cordiality delightful to see in such a connexion, I am tempted to ask for
prairie chicken, roast saddlerocks, and watermelons, but compromise with "How about a fowl?" "Fowl, sir? - take about an hour to cook a fowl, sir." But it is idle to defer the climax of this thrilling - or grilling - tale, I had chops for dinner."
Taruschio comments that Welsh lamb has the potential to be a perennial feature on a restaurant menu because lowland lamb is available in early spring, upland lamb is available in summer and mountain lamb is available from late summer to late autumn. He notes that mountain lamb is born out of doors and feeds off grass and herbs.[9]
Up until the Victorian era, Welsh Mutton Hams were part of Welsh daily fare. Freeman mentions that the old mutton recipes from Wales "make one's mouth water and one's spirits fray with frustration" and suggests that some of the recipes may be worth adapting to Welsh lamb dishes.
In Lady Llanover's book, an anonymous traveller dines with a hermit and comments on Welsh mutton as follows:[10]
"Although real Welsh mutton was admitted by all
epicures, and by medical men, to be the very finest for flavour, and the lightest of digestion of all the breeds of sheep known in Great Britain, very few prizes were ever given for the encouragement and preservation of so invaluable a breed of animals"
However, the Traveller, like Sikes, found that not every Victorian tourist inn produced a tasty chop:[11]
"..even at Welsh inns, during his last absence, he had been sickened by large coarse mutton, though within a mile of mountains, where the best Welsh sheep were to be had, and could alone live and flourish. He added that, at private houses, the same complaint may often be made in Wales as well as in London, from whence the rich, nevertheless, send abroad for all sorts of foreign luxuries for their table, on which the best Welsh mutton is seldom ever found"
Llanover's book attempts to right this wrong with various recipes, including one for Boiled Shoulder of Mutton. This requires the mutton to be boiled for two and a half hours together with onions, celery, marjoram and a small sprig of thyme.[12] There is also a recipe for Welsh Lamb Pie, where the bones from a neck of lamb are cooked together with vegetables and left overnight. Pastry for the pie is made the following day, the meat and vegetables are then added and, after the pie has been baked, the melted jelly from the meat is included.[13]
Annette Yates recommends a recipe for Welsh Mountain Lamb with Honey, Rosemary and Cider (Cig Oen gyda Mel, Rhosmari a Seidr), noting that lamb with honey and rosemary is a traditional combination to which cider can be added. The dish is cooked until the lamb is soft. Yates comments that the juice from the lamb is sweet and this becomes caramelized and golden, due to the honey. Yates notes that several cider producers are concentrated in this part of Wales.[14]
Monmouthshire Broth is a local recipe that includes neck of lamb. The neck is left simmering in a saucepan for two hours together with chopped onions and sliced carrots. Potatoes are added half an hour before serving and, when ready, chopped parsley is sprinkled on top as a garnish.[15] Monmouth Stew (Stiw Mynwy) is a lamb stew which includes leeks and pearl barley. Parsley, thyme, and a bay leaf are added for seasoning.[16]
In her cookery book Welsh Country Puddings and Pies, Freeman notes that Anne Hughes, who worked a successful farm on the
Cattle have been an important component of Welsh agriculture since Roman times.
Pork has been part of the diet in Wales since early times with the pig being mentioned in the Laws of Hywel Dda. Until recently, almost every family living in the countryside would keep a pig and they would often be left to feed on waste ground and in woodlands.[20] In The First Principles of Good Cookery, Lady Llanover provides detailed instructions for curing ham.[21] In Welsh Calendar Cookbook, Davies refers to a recipe for Braised Monmouthshire Pork with Savoury Welsh Cakes, where the Welsh Cakes are used to garnish the pork.[22]
Goat meat remained popular in Wales long after it ceased to be eaten in England. Goat hams were called 'hung venison' and in early medieval times they were eaten in place of bacon. Thomas Pennant noted that young goats, known as kids, were "a cheap and plentiful provision in the winter months" in Wales. In the past, goat meat was considered inferior to venison and was known as 'hung venison' or 'rock venison'. However, Freeman notes that the best goat is sweet and fat and makes an excellent pasty.[23] Taruschio writes of a recipe for Kid with Orange, Marsala and Coriander, he comments:[24]
"We always have kid on the menu in the spring. So many people nearby have goats either for their milk or for their wool. If they have too many billies we have them….Kid meat is a sweet tender meat with hardly any fat."
Poultry and game
Poultry remains an important part of Monmouthshire food production [7] with turkey, chicken and duck being bred organically on some farms[25]
Llanover's book contains a recipe for Welsh Salt Duck which is considered by Freeman to be "a most successful and unusual dish",
Llanover's book also has a recipe for The Hermit's Chicken and Leek Pie. However, Freeman believes this recipe does not originate from the ancient tradition of Welsh cookery but was probably from a later tradition, probably being a dish made by the wives of well-to-do
Game is also plentiful in Monmouthshire, and includes teal, woodcock, partridge, hare, rabbit and venison. Taruschio comments:[34]
"When the game season starts with red grouse on 12 August, it always brings a sense of excitement. This must be because one never knows what is going to arrive from the shoots. Game is plentiful around here; ….Pheasants are so abundant one can see them in almost every field."
Taruschio has a recipe for
Fish
Monmouthshire once had important Roman settlements (see: Wales in the Roman era). cockle and oyster, were popular shellfish eaten during this period, with some excavated Roman sites having revealed vast quantities of shells.[36] However, once the Romans retreated from Wales fish was less popular because, according to Freeman, Celtic Christianity associated fish with paganism and the goddess Venus.[37]
The rivers Severn, Wye and Usk are well known for their salmon and trout. Davies nuotes that the Wye is considered to be the most important river for salmon in England and Wales and is one of the most productive stretches of river in Britain.[38] During the 1980s the catch by fishing rod on the Wye was approximately 8,000 fish per season, excluding commercial fishing in the estuary. However, since then the rod catch has declined to about a quarter of that level. Tourism from fishing contributes considerably to the local economy with hotels and restaurants catering for recreational fishing throughout the season.[39]
On the Severn, records indicate that large quantities of salmon were traditionally caught by net and by fish trap during the nineteenth century, with 22,500 fish caught in 1870, 30,000 in 1883 and 20,950 in 1902. However, by the twentieth century the numbers recorded had reduced to 15,500 in 1919 and had further reduced to 5,127 in 1959.[40]
On the Severn
The form of basket known as a putt was less commonly used, with the last putt weirs at Goldcliff being abandoned in the 1920s [43] because they required much greater skill in basket weaving due to their larger size. Putts were only used on the Severn estuary and were made up of three sections, known as the kipe, butt and fore wheel. The baskets were made at Redwick and were designed to catch all kinds of fish from salmon to shrimps [44]
The
In Wales, poaching was the usual way to cook salmon, using milk to which a bay leaf was added. The salmon would then be served hot with parsley sauce, or left to cool and be eaten with bread and butter. Freeman comments that salmon poached in milk and eaten cold with cream can be considered as "an idea borrowed from the kitchens of Heaven!" [52] Llanover explains, in her book on cookery, how to crimp salmon. This was a common practice in Victorian times in order to 'set' the flesh before the curd. The curd is the white substance which lies between the flakes of flesh and if it melts it can make the fish oily. Once crimped the salmon would be served with a strong sauce. Llanover recommended a Granville sauce, which Freeman considers to be an unusual type of sauce. The sauce is said to be named after Sir Richard Granville, an ancestor of Lady Llanover.[53]
Sea trout (known as Sewin in Wales), trout and grayling are also caught in the rivers of Monmouthshire. Grayling is similar to trout with an excellent flavour but does not keep as well after it has been caught, so should be eaten as soon as possible. Grilled Grayling is one simple method of cooking this fish to which herbs can be added, such as chervil, chives, tarragon or parsley, along with butter, salt and pepper. Trout farms can be found in the county where farmed trout is sold, for example, at Crucorney Trout Farm.[54]
Another important freshwater fish from Monmouthshire is the eel. Davies notes that fishing for young eels, known as elvers, along the Wye is an ancient tradition.[7] The elvers are caught in special nets which are set in rows. Davies mentions that the nets are shaped like outsize lacrosse sticks. Fishing for elvers is a seasonal activity and depends on the phase of the moon. The eels breed in the Sargasso Sea and the elvers travel across the Atlantic Ocean to swim up Monmouthshire's rivers where they remain for most of their lives, returning to the Sargasso Sea to breed again when fully grown. The Wye is favoured by eels probably due to its tidal nature. As the eels swim alongside the river banks, on their journey inland, local fishermen scoop them out of the water with ancient-looking nets. Davies comments that the fishermen return each year to the same locations in order to scoop up the tiny eels as they move up the Wye.[55]
Elvers are considered a delicacy and were caught in vast quantities every year in the lower Severn Valley as they entered the river with the
Fresh fish can be found on the menu of Monmouthshire restaurants, such as Smoked Sewin and Salmon terrine from
Vegetables
Monmouthshire grows a wide range of fruit and vegetables, including
Taruschio mentions that his practice as a
"We have three spots which have become firm favourites for our mushroom gathering forays, and each spot has a breath taking beauty. Our most prolific area is a wood in the Black Mountains. The terrain is difficult but the beauty of that wood and the baskets of
, the sun slanting through the branches in little patches, the sound of the waterfalls gushing down to the brook below and the smell of the mushrooms transport one away."
The symbol of Wales, is the leek, which is associated with Saint David's Day and this is referred to in Shakespeare's history play Henry V, Act V scene 1, where reference is made to Welsh soldiers wearing leeks in their Monmouth caps:
Fluellen: "If your Majesty is remembered of it, the Welshmen did good service in a garden where leeks did grow, wearing leeks in their Monmouth caps, which your Majesty knows, to this hour is an honourable badge of the service, and I do believe, your Majesty takes no scorn to wear the leek upon Saint Tavy's day".
King Henry: "I wear it for a memorable honour; for I am Welsh, you know, good countryman".
Henry V was born in the tower above the gatehouse of Monmouth Castle, and for that reason was sometimes called Henry of Monmouth.
Sauces and condiments
Freeman notes that Hot Sour Pickle Confection (Suryn Cyffaith Poeth) is an ancient Welsh sauce which has its roots in liquamen, one of the earliest condiments of the Romans and which was also called
Rowan jelly is a traditional condiment for mutton and lamb. Freeman comments that it has a more subtle flavour than redcurrant sauce and that it has been served since the earliest times. Freeman comments that rowan berries, when ripe, "hang like scarlet curtains along the deep, narrow lanes" of Wales and commends them for making a "lovely deep, scarlet red jelly".[62]
Bread and cakes
Due to the large, fertile river valleys of the Wye and Severn and the county's relatively sheltered location Monmouthshire has the greatest acreage of land under wheat production in Wales. Generally, Wales is too wet and mountainous for large scale wheat production, but the geography of Monmouthshire provides the rich soil and dry, sunny weather that wheat needs during ripening and harvesting.[63] However, the county's many gristmills have since disappeared. >[6]
Freeman notes that the old varieties of bread from Wales were mostly rough or coarse varieties that were made with flours from whole grain, barley meal, oatmeal or rye. Bread was usually baked in a wall-oven, which was specially heated for the day, or in a bread-oven housed in a separate small building of its own, near to the house. In areas where peat provided fuel a large cast-iron pot with a lid, similar to a Dutch oven and known as the ffwrn fach, would be used to bake bread. The ffwrn fach would hang on a tripod over a peat fire indoors. The inside of the pot was greased and the dough placed inside.
Peat coals were put on top of the lid. Llanover mentions using the fwrn ffach in many of the recipes contained in her cookery book. It was usually used to bake white bread, which was considered a great luxury until, during the twentieth century, commercial production made white bread more common.[64] However, Freeman notes that the health benefits of whole grain bread have subsequently led to greater demand for this type of bread in Wales.[65] White bread has a historical connection with the county.
Bakestone Cakes (Teisennau Criwsion) are traditional Monmouthshire cakes which were originally cooked on a bakestone but are now usually cooked on a griddle or heavy bread pan. They are made from flour, salt, baking powder, butter and cream and resemble scones more than a cake.[67]
Other traditional breads include
"The preparation of oatmeal is particularly well understood in Wales, as well as in Scotland; but, by an extraordinary perversity, the kilns necessary for its preparation are becoming very scarce in the Principality, and in many districts of South Wales the people are beginning to suffer very much from the kilns not being kept up, or being appropriated to some other use. Next to bread and good water, oatmeal may be considered as one of the first necessaries of life to a rural population; indeed, in some parts of Wales it still (as in Scotland) takes the place of bread in many instances; and when this is not the case, its valuable and nutritive properties, in sickness and in health, when it is converted into a variety of wholesome and nourishing dishes by the Welsh, render it to them almost a Staff of Life."
The Real Bread Campaign is a campaign that promotes bread made by local, independent bakeries and that is free of artificial additives. Bakeries in
Yates notes that
"….mountains of bread and spiced cakes take the family through the week. Nowhere has the bakestone been more utilized than in the Welsh kitchen – to make pancakes, griddle cakes and bread. There are cakes that can be rustled up for unexpected guests and cakes that will keep for several days, ready to fill the lunch boxes of hard-working hill farmers, miners, quarry workers and fishermen"
Milk, cheese and ice cream
Monmouthshire produces milk of a high quality and the county is an important milk-producing area. The Caldicot and Wentloog Levels form a low-lying belt of flat, reclaimed land which stretches from Chepstow to Cardiff and is protected by a sea wall. It is a traditional summer grazing area that has diversified into dairy farming in order to satisfy the demand for butter and cheese from Newport and Cardiff.[72]
Monmouthshire also produces
Tintern cheese is a mature cheddar cheese with a creamy texture it contains fresh chives and shallots. Justin Rees, in his book Welsh Cheese Recipes, has a recipe for a Cheese spread made from Tintern Cheddar, butter, eggs, salt and mustard. Y Fenni cheese has a tangy mustard flavour, moist texture and pale-yellow colouring. It is coated with wholegrain mustard seed and Welsh ale and is preserved in a cream-coloured wax. Rees recommends this cheese for a ploughman's lunch, a Welsh rarebit or to accompany a steak.[75] In relation to cheese made from
"I confess that when the Hermit first told me that his best cheese owed its superiority to the addition of sheep's milk, I thought he was jesting….. but I am now fully aware that the milk of that valuable animal (the Welsh sheep), when mingled with that of the cow, produces cheese which is not only excellent to eat new, but, when old, is more like Parmesan than anything else I ever tasted"
Llanover writes that the proportions for such a cheese require one quart of ewe's milk to five quarts of cow's milk (or six quarts of ewe's milk to thirty quarts of cow's milk). This will make a cheese weighing from twelve to fourteen pounds which will be "of a most superior quality, with the sharpness much admired in Parmesan".[76]
Up until the 18th century large goat herds provided milk for cheese and there has been a revival in the production of goat cheese since the twentieth century, particularly around Abergavenny. .[77] Pantysgawn Farm produces a soft goat's cheese based on an old recipe called Pantysgawn. The farm also produces St Illtyd Cheese, a mature cheese made with garlic, white wine and herbs; St David's Cheese, a continental-style washed-rind cheese; and Y Fenni cheese, a mature cheese milled with ale and mustard seeds.[78] Rees writes that Y Fenni Cheese has a tangy mustard flavour, moist texture and pale-yellow colouring. It is coated with wholegrain mustard seed and Welsh ale and preserved in a cream-coloured wax.[79] Davies refers to a recipe called Breast of Chicken filled with Y Fenni Cheese, where this cheese is used as a stuffing with parsley [80]
Davies notes that cheese making in Wales remained a
Fruit and puddings
Monmouthshire was once one of the main fruit producers of Wales with production equal to the orchards of Herefordshire and Worcestershire. Monmouthshire orchards were once particularly plentiful along the Herefordshire border.[6]
Gwrth y marched hyn yn union
Nyddu rhai gwlanenni meinion
Trin seidr o'r perllamau tewfrith
A gweithio heliau gwellt y gwenith
The women here are employed
In spinning some fine flannels
In making cider from the bounteous orchards
And in making hats from wheat straw.
The orchards of Monmouthshire also made an impression on William Wordsworth who refers to them in his poem Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey:
The landscape with the quiet of the sky.
The day is come when I again repose
Here, under this dark sycamore, and view
These plots of cottage-ground, these orchard-tufts,
Which at this season, with their unripe fruits,
Are clad in one green hue, and lose themselves
'Mid groves and copses.
Some of the first
The remains of various types of fruit have been found on board the
Taruschio notes that the bilberry is "a wonderfully flavoured tiny purple fruit with a grey bloom" and notes it grows on low, dense bushes which makes them back-breaking to pick but worth the effort. He comments that in Wales bilberries are known as whimberries and that they grow in profusion on the Black Mountains and other mountains around Abergavenny.[88] The Abergavenny area offers a number of locations where produce can be hand-picked.[83] Berry Hill Farm, located in the village of Coedkernew, is noted by Davies as an example of a farm where fruit can be picked between June and October and where there is a farm shop.[89]
A Welsh
Raglan Pudding, named after
Davies refers to a meringue recipe called Monmouth Meringue Pudding, which uses lemon rind, caster sugar, butter and seasonal fruit, such as strawberries, or jam.[94]
Fruit pies are usually made with fruit such as apple, plum,
Drinks
After the
The re-establishment of traditional
Monnow Valley Wine is located at Great Osbaston Farm and was planted in the 1980s on a
Lady Llanover was a strong supporter of the
Many farms in Monmouthshire have their own cider presses.
The county has an increasing number of orchards producing cider and perry with a developing reputation based on the high quality of its fruit. The Welsh Perry and Cider Society was established in 2001 and supports Welsh producers, it is credited with reviving Welsh cider production. The Welsh Perry and Cider Festival is held at Caldicot Castle where the Welsh Perry and Cider Championships are judged. Springfield Cider of Llangovan won a gold medal in Camra's National Cider and Perry Championships in 2013 for its Wobbly Monk cider which is produced from a 100-acre orchard. CJ's Surprise is a cider produced by C J Watkins near Usk. Tynewydd Farm at Llanarth, Monmouthshire is one of two licensed cider houses in Wales and produces Raglan Cider Mill cider and a perry.[109] Bishop's Fancy is a perry made from a variety of Monmouthshire winter pear, it is produced at Three Saints farm from ancient orchards using traditional production methods. Ty-Bryn Cider is produced in Grosmont from a traditional orchard in a cellar built in the 1700s. It uses old varieties of apple such as Tom Putt and modern varieties like Dabinett.[110] Apple County Cider produces single variety ciders from varieties such as Dabinett, Michelin, Vilberie, Brown Snout and Yarlington Mill. The cider is cold fermented through the winter.[111](See also: List of cider and perry producers in the United Kingdom).The Welsh Perry and Cider Society has a museum orchard outside Llanarth where they analyse the DNA of Welsh apple and pear varieties.[112]
Wye Valley Meadery uses local honey to make different varieties of
Restaurants
The book Relish Wales, published in 2011 and 2016, notes the following restaurants in the county: 1861 (located at
Festivals
Food festivals held in Monmouthshire include the Abergavenny Food Festival, Monmouthshire Food Festival, Newport Food Festival, and the Welsh Perry and Cider Festival.
Further reading
- Extract from proof copy of Lady Llanover's cookbook, 1867 Original held by Newport Community Learning and Libraries.
- People’s Collection Wales, Welsh Fare Archive of Welsh traditional recipes.
See also
- Welsh cuisine
- Cuisine of Carmarthenshire
- Cuisine of Ceredigion
- Cuisine of Gower
- Cuisine of Pembrokeshire
- Cuisine of the Vale of Glamorgan
References
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- ^ a b c Davies, A Taste of Wales, page 70
- ^ Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 135
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- ^ Llanover, First Principles of Good Cookery, page 204
- ^ Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 204
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- ISBN 978-1905582150
- ^ Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 115
- ^ Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 122
- ISBN 086243 749 0
- ^ Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 138-139
- ^ Taruschio, Leaves from the Walnut Tree, page 134
- ^ Taruschio, Leaves from the Walnut Tree, page 122
- ^ a b Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 19
- ^ a b Yates, Welsh Traditional Recipes, page 61
- ^ Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 23
- ^ Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 131
- ^ Taruschio, Leaves from the Walnut Tree, page 63
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- ^ Davies, A Taste of Wales, pages 76, 78
- ^ "Menter a Busnes, Usk Vale Poultry".
- ^ Taruschio, Leaves from the Walnut Tree, pages 121-122
- ^ Taruschio, Leaves from the Walnut Tree, pages 162
- ^ Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 42
- ^ Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 40
- ^ a b Davies, A Taste of Wales, page 21, page 70
- ^ Pressdee, Food Wales – a second helping, page 117
- ISBN 978-0715365465
- ^ https://www.livinglevels.org.uk/stories/2019/8/12/putcher-fishing#:~:text=Putcher%20fishing%20declined%20during%20the,to%20cease%20operation%20in%201995.
- ^ Jenkins, Nets and Coracles, pages 44-45
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- ^ Davies, A Taste of Wales, page 22, page 70
- ^ Taruschio, Leaves from the Walnut Tree, page 206, page 52
- ^ Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 132
- ^ Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 144
- ^ Hughes, M. E., and James, A. J.: Wales, page 88. London: University of London Press, 1964.ASIN B000S34OVA
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- ^ a b Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 94
- ^ "Friends of Friendless Churches, Llanfihangel Rogiet Church" (PDF).
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- ^ Llanover, First Principles of Good Cookery, pages 305-306
- ^ "What is #RealBread? | Real Bread Campaign". www.sustainweb.org.
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- ^ Hughes and James, Wales, pages 96, 97
- ^ Davies, A Taste of Wales, pages 72, 73
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- ^ Davies, A Taste of Wales, page 72-73
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- ^ Davies, Welsh Calendar Cookbook, page 42
- ^ Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 147
- ^ a b Pressdee, Food Wales – a second helping, page 116
- ^ a b Davies, A Taste of Wales, page 70, page 75
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- ^ a b "Gwent Wildlife Trust, Gwent Orchards Project".
- ^ Freeman, Welsh Country Puddings and Pies, page 16
- ^ Taruschio, Leaves from the Walnut Tree, page 238
- ^ Pyke, Chris (July 3, 2015). "The best farms where you can pick your own in Wales". WalesOnline.
- ^ Skinner, Flavours of Wales, page 42
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- ISBN 0-7117-0535-6
- ISBN 978-0862434922
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- ^ Yates, Classic Recipes of Wales, page 45, page 70
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- ^ Dorrigo, Favourite Welsh Teatime Recipes, page 10
- ^ a b Davies, A Taste of Wales, page 22
- ISBN 978-0862431334
- ^ "Parva Farm Vineyard - Vineyard in Tintern, Tintern". Visit Monmouthshire.
- ^ "Wine Trail Wales, Parva Farm Vineyard".
- ^ "Ancre Hill Vineyard - Vineyard in Monmouth, Monmouth". Visit Monmouthshire.
- ^ "VINEYARDS". WVA.
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- ISBN 1-85793-2935
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- ^ "Britain's Secret Treasures: Number 19: Monmouthshire Leopard cup". September 25, 2012.
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- ^ "Abergavenny Chronicle; Forget Somerset, DNA tests reveal Monmouthshire's forgotten cider heritage".
- ^ "Beekeeper's hobby becomes award-winning mead firm" – via www.bbc.com.
- ^ "Making a business from honey: Beekeeper's mead mission". October 19, 2019 – via www.bbc.com.
- ^ Hill and Green, Relish Wales: Original Recipes from the Regions Finest Chefs, page [ ]
External links
- Black Rock Lave Nets Site of the last lave net fishery in Wales
- Living Levels Web site with information on the Gwent Levels
- Country diary 1947: discovering a taste for Welsh snails Article on snails as a delicacy in Monmouthshire