Why Pasture Fed Dairy Is the Choice of Cheese Connoisseurs and Eco Conscious Shoppers This Christmas

Hollis Mead is one of the few dairy farms in the UK that is 100% pasture fed and certified as such by Pasture for Life. 

But what is it that makes Pasture Fed Dairy so special? Especially at Christmas when the conscientious shoppers are looking for gifts with a sustainable difference?

Pasture fed dairy is nutritionally superior.

According to Angus Birditt food writer and Pasture for Life Marketing Manager “It’s clear pasture fed dairy is superior nutritionally. This is based on the premise that whatever we feed our animals will eventually impact the nutritional quality of meat and milk. Pasture-fed produce is much higher in omega-3 fats, and is particularly rich in vitamins A and E, and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium.”

So, for people who are looking to feed their health as well as their tastebuds this Christmas, pasture-fed cream, butter, and cheese is the better choice.

Feeding cows on natural, organic pasture is better for the environment.

Organic, Pasture for Life farms like Hollis Mead, use no pesticides, herbicides or artificial fertiliser and no grains, soya, concentrates, or industrial feeds are used in the cows’ diets.

Pasture fed dairy farms are more naturally ‘regenerative’, meaning they put nutrients back into the soil and enhance biodiversity in their local ecosystem. Native pasture grass and wildflowers naturally capture and store more carbon than land used to grow grain and cereals. This in addition to cows’ dung, removes the need for chemical fertilisers (that degrade soil health and negatively impact biodiversity).

So not only is pasture fed dairy better for human health, but better for the health of the environment and biodiversity too.

Natural Pasture Fed Dairy tastes better!

At Hollis Mead we produce a wide range of pasture-fed, organic dairy products from our high-quality milk. Some of the most popular products we produce are our premium cheeses such as the Benville Brie, winner of 3 Stars at the Great Taste Awards 2022 and our Truffled Benville, winner of 3 Stars at the 2023 Great Taste Awards.

Founder Oliver Hemsley, launched Hollis Mead to demonstrate we can farm in a way that enhances nature, produces delicious, healthy products, and demonstrate that it is possible to build a profitable UK natural dairy business whilst at the same time protecting and enhancing biodiversity.

“At Hollis Mead, the quality and richness of our pasture fed, organic milk is the key to everything we produce. Our cows are milked only once a day compared to an intensive, industrial dairy farm and as a result are happier, our milk richer in nutrients and you can taste the wildflowers in our award winning cheeses”.

Why not try some of the award winning, pasture-fed, organic Hollis Mead products and see for yourself?

All Hollis Mead Pasture Fed dairy products are available from https://hollismead.com.

Feeding Christmas Nostalgia with Natural, Pasture-Fed Dairy from Hollis Mead

With Christmas just around the corner, who doesn't look forwards to those special nostalgic indulgences like cheese?

Hollis Mead is one of the only certified 100% Pasture Fed, organic dairies and creameries in the UK and produces a growing selection of award-winning soft cheeses.

Their organic Benville Brie and Truffled Benville Brie have both won 3 Stars in the Guild of Fine Food, Great Taste Awards in 2022 & 2023, an accolade given to less than 1% of the 14,000 entries each year. And their special edition Corscombe Camembert, also returns this Christmas and joins their Brie's to form the perfect Christmas triad of cheese!

Founded in 2020, the vision at Hollis Mead is to help people fall back in love with natural, organic, dairy. To do this they realised they need to demonstrate there is a different, healthier, and more natural way of consuming dairy which is in balance with nature.

They are developing a unique dairy brand which disrupts conventional dairy and the growth of plant-based, highly processed alternatives. Their cows eat 100% pasture from our organic farmland and live outside for most of the year until the weather makes this intolerable for their wellbeing. They only milk their cows once a day which means much less stress on the animal and (they believe), a much higher quality of life for them.

From their 100% pasture-fed, organic milk, they produce a glittering array of award winning, natural dairy products including cream, yoghurts, fine cheeses, butters, crème fraiche, cottage cheese and cultured kefir's as well as exclusive Christmas products like Brandy Cream and Brandy Crème Fraiche.

The Great British Cheese Hamper - £50

Treat your tastebuds to their award-winning Sustainable British Cheese Hamper. Hand made with fresh milk on the farm, using only traditional methods. Unique in quality and taste, because of their 100% pasture fed organic cows' milk.

The hamper contains their Benville, an award winning triple cream cheese (250g), their Truffled Benville, an award winning brie style cheese with wild truffles (250g), their Corscombe - a delicious camembert style cheese (250g) and their unique Cottage Cheese - a creamy, protein rich cottage cheese (300g).

The Hollis Mead Christmas Hamper - £60

Treat family and friends to their award-winning dairy products this Christmas! Made by hand with fresh milk on the farm, using traditional methods. Unique in quality and taste, because of their 100% pasture fed organic cows' milk.

The hamper contains their Benville, award winning triple cream cheese (250g),  their Truffled Benville – award winning brie style cheese infused with wild truffles (250g), their Corscombe Camembert, their popular camembert style cheese (250g), their Salted Butter, award winning and hand rolled brandy butter (200g), their special Christmas Brandy Crème Fraiche, made with their 100% pasture fed organic cow's milk with a splash of Brandy (300g), and their Brandy Cream, made using 100% pasture fed organic cow's milk with a hint of brandy (300g).

All Christmas products will be available from https://hollismead.com from mid-November 2023.

Photograph courtesy of Richard Budd Photography (https://www.richardbudd.co.uk).

Celebrate the Christmas Magic With Luscombe's 'Open Fire' and 'The Sicilian' Cocktails

Whether  you're looking to host a festive gathering, toasting with loved ones or simply unwinding after a long fun-filled day at Christmas, Luscombe's Christmas cocktails will add a wonderful touch of style to celebrations.  

Capture the spirit of the season with their cosy fireside cocktail, 'Open Fire' or citrus delight, 'The Sicilian'.  Cheers to a joyful and merry Luscombe Christmas!

Open Fire

Combining the warmth of Luscombe's famous multi-award-winning Hot Ginger Beer with rum, the sweetness of honey and chestnuts and the zing of lime, 'Open Fire' is perfect for kicking off the festive season.

Ingredients

Luscombe Hot Ginger Beer

35ml Premium Navy Strength Rum

15ml Chestnut Liqueur

15ml freshly squeezed lime

15ml runny honey 

Garnish - Lime wheel

Suggested glass - Rocks or tumbler 

Method

1. Combine the rum, chestnut liqueur, squeezed lime and runny honey into a cocktail shaker filled with ice

2. After a good shake to dissolve the honey, strain into an ice-filled tumbler

3. Top with Luscombe Hot Ginger Beer

4. Garnish with a chunky lime wheel 

The Sicilian

Blending Luscombe's traditional Sicilian Lemonade with sloe gin, Campari and sweet vermouth, 'The Sicilian' is pure joy.  It's simply Christmas in a glass. 

Ingredients

Luscombe Sicilian Lemonade

35ml Premium Sloe Gin

20ml Campari 

20ml Sweet Vermouth 

Garnish - Clove-studded orange peel

Suggested glass - Rocks / tumbler 

Method

1. Stud a long slice of orange peel with cloves, don't be shy with the cloves!

2. Put the sloe gin, Campari and sweet vermouth in a mixing glass with ice and stir for a good 15 seconds

3. Strain into a rocks glass with the studded orange and lots of ice

4. Top with Luscombe Sicilian Lemonade

5. Give the drink one last little stir for luck and to get the cloves working

Luscombe

Luscombe is the proud holder of a Royal Warrant, over 100 Great Taste Awards from the Guild of Fine Food and was the first drinks brand to gain organic accreditation from the Soil Association. 

Passionate about crafting exceptional tasting premium organic drinks, they source the finest quality organic whole fruits from trusted growers around the world. Luscombe expertly blends these with their own source of Dartmoor spring water to create their range of fruit juices, crushes, bubblies, tonic waters and mixers. 

Owner and founder, Gabriel David, is justifiably famed for his pursuit of perfection and no compromise approach to creating an elegant and multi-award-winning range of drinks.  The team takes great pride that all of their drinks are made from gently pressed organic ingredients, picked at their ripest in the climates where they grow best.

For further information visit luscombe.co.uk or follow Luscombe on Instagram: luscombedrinks or 'Like' on Facebook.