Category: History

Lincolnshire Plum Bread is a regional speciality that has been enjoyed by the people of this county since time immemorial. While the original recipe was created to feed field workers; it has since become a popular staple of Lincolnshire cuisine and is sold by butchers and bakers throughout the North of England.

The term “Plum Bread” is actually a misnomer as it is not technically bread, rather it resembles a kind of thick fruity cake. Also, while dried plums may be included in the recipe, most loaves will contain a wide variety of dried fruits, for which the old term was “plum”. Originally, the dough would be made using lard made from pig fat; Lincolnshire is pig country after all. As society became more health conscious however, the denser, lard enhanced loaves were replaced by lighter, healthier versions using butter or margarine to cut down on their fat content.

In recent years the popularity of traditional Lincolnshire foods, in particular Plum Bread, has been on the rise even in areas outside of Lincolnshire and the UK, and organisations have been set up to promote Lincolnshire food products.

The Lincolnshire Plumbread Company for example was set up in 2010 by fifth generation Lincolnshire bakers specifically to promote Lincolnshire Plum Bread outside of the county. The Company exclusively produces high quality Lincolnshire Plum Bread and distributes it across the world to countries as far afield as the US, China and even Australia.

In fact, due to this growth in demand, bakers across Lincolnshire are campaigning for their product to be given protection as a regional and traditional speciality. This would mean only Plum Bread baked within the county in the traditional style would be considered the “true” version. This would prevent knock- off versions made outside the area benefitting from its renown.

If you feel like having a bite of Lincolnshire history yourself, it can be found in most independent Lincoln butchers and bakers, as well as local chains such as the specialist Lincolnshire food retailer Curtis of Lincoln.

Or if you fancy trying your hand at baking some yourself, be sure to use the traditional method to get the best of this Lincolnshire delicacy. The ingredients are easy to find: dried fruit, sugar (preferably brown) and self-raising flour. Recipes too are easy to find and, even for such an ancient product, available online for the 21^st century baker. A handy recipe can be found on the BBC website here.

When most people think of Lincolnshire, they think, of rolling fields, herds of cows and good food, or at least that’s what I think of. However, at Oslinc you will find creatures that seem almost entirely out of place in this county, because Oslinc is an ostrich farm.

Owned and operated by the Grundy family, Oslinc have been breeding ostriches since 1994. They have 27 breeding ostriches that spend their days grazing in the fields sell all manner of ostritch related produce, from ostrich eggs to ostrich steak to feather dusters made from ostrich feathers. They also sell Bill Grundy’s Real Dairy Ice Cream, handmade at the farm and named in honour of the Grandfather of Lillian Grundy, the current owner.

While ostriches may seem like an unusual choice of livestock for Britain, ostrich farming in the UK dates back to 1980. The birds had been farmed in small numbers in the UK for over 150 years mainly for their feathers but the market only really took off After World War 2. Ostriches were bred at first for their skins and feathers but during the 1980’s people began to realise the health benefits of their meat and their eggs.

The British Domesticated Ostrich Association was established in 1992 to support the growing industry. Today, ostriches are bred all over the world and their meat is readily available in countries such as the US, Australia and Canada.

Lillian Grundy, owner of Oslincs is very keen to emphasise the health benefits of Ostrich meat “Ostrich meat is very low in fat,” she told me in an interview:

“It’s lower in cholesterol than both chicken and turkey and it’s red meat too. Plus it cooks so quickly and it’s really tender. For my money there isn’t a better alternative on the market.”

Oslinc mainly sells its produce over the internet but also has a stall in the Lincolnshire Farmer’s Market where they sell ostrich burgers as well as frozen ostrich steaks and eggs.

“We have quite a few regular customers who have a standing order with us which is good,” says Lillian:

“We also have plenty of people wanting to try ostrich meat just because of the novelty of it, I think people really like the idea that it’s something new for them to try as an alternative.”

No matter how out of place Oslinc and its unusual livestock seem in Lincolnshire, it’s clear they are here to stay.

The Lincoln Red is one of the UK’s oldest native breeds of cattle. It is believed their ancient ancestors, the bos ururs were bought to the country by Viking invaders in AD870.

In 1695 English poet and writer Gervaise Markham noted in his book “A Way to Get Wealth”, that the cattle of Lincolnshire were “exceedingly tall, long and large, lean, strong hoved and indeed fittest to labour and draft.” The nature of the county’s cattle has, however, changed since then. Long gone are the days when they were considered mere draft animals. Now the Lincoln Reds are valued for the quality of their delicious beef.

It is believed that the modern Lincoln Red breed was created between the 18^th and 19^th century. Lincolnshire breeders attempted to create beef and dairy cattle by cross breeding the local draft cows with Durham and York Shorthorns. This resulted in the cherry red short- horned cattle you will find in fields throughout Lincolnshire today.

The Lincoln Red Shorthorn Association was formed in 1895 and re-named The Lincoln Red Cattle Society in 1960. The group began as a collection of local farmers attempting to keep track of the diverse range of cattle in the area and were one of the first groups to employ herd- books, official records of individual or herds of livestock detailing their ancestry. This society is present wherever Lincoln Red cattle can be found and their membership includes breeders and farmers from around the world.
While Lincoln Reds are prized among beef farmers across the globe, they are still popular here in the UK and especially in their home
county of Lincolnshire. Indeed most of the beef found in supermarkets across the north of Britain comes from these animals and they are exceptionally popular among fans of local produce.

The Lincolnshire Red Alehouse in particular, serves steaks made exclusively from Lincoln Red beef. Its owner, 23 year old entrepreneur Christopher Regan shares my own passion for Lincolnshire cuisine, “Lincolnshire has such a great history of fine food, Lincoln Reds are just a small part of that”, he told me in a short interview. “I just felt like there needed to be a restaurant that really celebrated local produce and showed visitors what Lincolnshire is all about.”

Whether producing beef or milk, the popularity of this historic breed of cattle looks set to continue for a long time.