On 5/4/09 12:41, in article , "Derek
Turner" wrote:

On Sun, 05 Apr 2009 09:01:34 +0100, Sacha wrote:

On 4/4/09 22:35, in article , "Derek
Turner" wrote:

On Sat, 04 Apr 2009 22:03:25 +0100, Sacha wrote:

On 4/4/09 19:02, in article , "Derek
Turner" wrote:
snip
It is said that the taste of 'real' Jersey Royals was largely down to
the salt and iodine in the vraic. snip

I hope President Obama appreciated them. ;-) Certainly those grown
with vraic taste infinitely better than any others.

Any idea why we IMPORT rather than EXPORT asparagus Sacha? ISTM that we
have absolutely ideal conditions for growing it! Disease? takes too
long? can't be arsed?

My guess is because it's such a short season and so many other countries
do it now. The Jersey Royal is unique in its origins and has an
appellation controlée sort of 'glamour' to it.

Yebbutt Evesham asparagus flown in at £4 a bundle in Checkers...

Flown in from Evesham?! Eh?


In the days when there
were more and bigger herds on Jersey, I never understood why we didn't
make a lot more cheese and yoghurt.

Mode=namedropping I was at a dinner-party at Government house last year
with the MD of the Jersey Dairies and asked him just that. To be fair, JD
make both yoghurt and ice-cream to die for. But the cheese is 'cheddar'
and very ordinary indeed. OTOH Classic Herd up at St. Peter have broken
away from the JD cooperative and stated making the style of cheeses that
the rest of Normandy makes - and winning prizes for it. Their yoghurt
isn't a patch on JD's, though - thin and grainy. Anyhoo apparently the
cheese is not considered to be important to their business and is made in
the West Country, apparently (unless he was pulling my leg). It has (the
cheese) improved over the last year

It wouldn't surprise me if it is made off-island from Jersey herds somewhere
'down here'. A lot of Jersey herd milk is used in the making of ice cream
and someone makes a blue cheese on Exmoor, I believe.
I recognised a few of those names in the Classic Herd set up, though that's
new since I left the island. Nice to know they're still in farming.


Now, whenever I visit I'm pushed to
see a Jersey cow, it seems to me! My son has some land in Grouville
which nobody's interested in renting for farming and my guess is that
with the advent of the financial industry, young people would rather
work in a warm office 9-5 for a good salary than out in the fields from
6 to 8, rain or shine for a comparative pittance!

But surely, that's what the Scots/Madeirans/Eastern-Europeans are for!
And asparagus is not exactly high-maintenance, is it? Plant once, harvest
for 15-20 years.


The imported Labour still has to have farms to work on which are owned by
Jersey people with qualis to live on the island etc. And if the young are
getting out of farming and not taking over from their parents, then farming
is going to the wall. I wonder how many farms are now posh houses where
the land is used for grazing ponies where once, even if the house had been
gentrified, the land was let back to a farmer. Last time I drove past St
Saviour's hospital I saw several fields that were rank grass - very sad. I
just hope the Perchards are still going, otherwise I know the game's up!
;-))
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
Exotic plants, shrubs & perennials online