22.10.26
A New Home At Little Woodbatch
Back in July we visited Little Woodbatch Farm as part of our Best of British series - we were there to focus on the Shropshire Good Food Partnership - who bring together producers, growers, communities and organisations to help create a stronger local food system. Little did we know that Little Woodbatch Farm also the new home of Long Mynd Cider, a company originally ran by Hugh Chapman until last year. After deciding to take life in a new direction, Hugh passed on his craft Cider process to Daphne and Dave Du Cros, who have brought it into their ecosystem of Little Woodbatch Farm near Bishop’s Castle. A mile away, as the crow flies, but with no other houses between them, they realised the craft cider business had simply been passed next door… and even closer to its namesake of the Long Mynd. We spoke with Daphne to find out more.
How Is Craft Cider Made?
Well, the process is a long one. “Pressing starts in the orchard, where we’re watching the progress of the apples. When they start to drop from the trees, and cider apples are generally later in their season than eating apples, we know it’s harvest time” Daphne explained. After the apples are collected, “they are washed, pulped, wrapped in cloths and pressed between slats in our hydraulic press to extract the juice. The juice is then pumped into huge tanks and left to ferment with the wild yeasts from the apples for the winter months.”
Across October Daphne and Dave have collected over 17 tonnes of apples from 5 orchards across Shropshire and Herefordshire, which will make over 9000 litres of juice! “We believe in our local landscape, so we focus on sourcing from our Bioregion of the Marches.”
Passing On The Tradition
This traditional multi-part process has been passed on by Hugh through a yearlong period of ‘hand holding’. “He has been apprenticing us, sharing two decades of knowledge, resources and techniques. We have wanted to keep the product as close to his recipe and quality as possible so that customers still experience a consistent product.”.
It is also a process that adheres completely to the rhythm of the seasons. Which is what Daphne & Dave love about it. Weather, soils and varieties of apple vary year to year, creating different flavour profiles each season. This year some varieties are being fermented in old Jim Beam Whisky barrels, which will add another subtle taste to next year’s batches. The fermentation process alone can take up to 18 months, so it is a real relationship with nature and time. A true slow food.
Producing and supporting local cider is also a “push-back against the industrial approach” Daphne explained. “Conventional cider can have as little as 30% juice and take just a few weeks to ferment before it is processed and comes onto the shelf – it’s the ‘fast food’ of cider.
Community & The Future
Community is the undercurrent through Daphne and Dave’s work at Long Mynd Cider and as part of the Shropshire Good Food Trail. Over the last few years, they have invited the community over on special apple pressing days to join the process and to raise money for the Bishop’s Castle Community Land Trust. Locals bring their own apples and containers and can share the facilities and presses to create their own apple juice! The idea is to share their knowledge and engage the local community in these processes.
Daphne’s work across the Shropshire Good Food Trail is centred around food resilience, and this community sharing helps to bolster that. With the knowledge of our local produce and the skills to cultivate it, we can become more resilient in the face of food challenges. In partnership with Shropshire Good Food, Little Woodbatch runs courses on seed saving, veg production, orchard care, composting and food preserving. Encouraging the power in self-sufficiency, to produce something from the land that we live on.
On our visit in July, whilst exploring the farm Daphne told us the farm’s water tank had in fact run dry. A 10,000L tank, bought to last the year had been used up just halfway through the season! Climate extremes are a real threat to production and are becoming more common, “very wet winters and dry summers present challenges, as do late frosts which can kill back blossoms and hold back pollinators.” The vast contrast in seasons and its effect on growing fruit will be challenging in the year ahead, but Daphne is determined to share the highs and lows and to encourage people to get more involved with their local producers and start to consider our relationship with food and produce more carefully.
Kadai Connection
At Kadai, our Best of British series is all about celebrating the producers, makers and food businesses that champion quality ingredients, traditional skills and a strong sense of place.
We want to encourage greater time spent outdoors, through gathering with friends or to cooking on open flame. We want to get to know our local producers, their processes and the people behind them. So, when you read through our upcoming Cider braised Pork Shoulder recipe, you’ll know we used Long Mynd Cider that was pressed by Hugh last year and passionately continued by Daphne and Dave at Little Woodbatch Farm this year.
Visit Long Mynd Cider at www.longmyndcider.com
