A Week on the Estate: Creamery News, Fine Produce & Filling Notebooks

“Our cheese is still under development. We’re creating a Tomme cheese in the Alpine style. Last year’s cheese is now one-year old and the taste and texture are pretty good. We’ll try it at 18 months but a year may be enough. The maturing cheese has a nice rind and a light, yellow-orange colour. As you’d expect given the pasture-raised Lincoln Red milk that goes into it, the cheese is incredibly smooth and creamy and carries a sweet, fresh hint of spring pasture.

“We’re doing all sorts of lovely things with Lincoln Red milk. The frozen custard has been a big hit on the tours. Years ago, classic English custard sauce was the starting point for ice cream. We do it the same way now with no additives. It’s made with Lincoln Red milk, sugar, egg yolks and vanilla: that’s all! Lots of people want to buy it but we haven’t quite got enough milk yet. Rest assured, it’s in the pipeline.

“The dairy herd will be increasing every year. There will also be a dairy parlour with a creamery attached. The distance from milking to production to point of sale could be down to metres one day. Keep watching this space.

“This might surprise people but we’re developing soap from Lincoln Red milk. I’m working with Georgina to develop milk-based, natural-oil soap and there’s been a lot of interest in it. The basic saponification simply involves adding an alkali to dairy fat to create soap. We add lye to frozen milk to get the reaction going, add essential oils, blend it all, pour it into a mould, allow it to set over weeks then cut it into bars.

“You have to start with frozen milk to prevent burning as the reaction produces heat. Lincoln Red soap is smooth, creamy and excellent for moisturising. We’ve got three types in mind: anti-bacterial soap with thieves’ oil, rosemary, thyme and lemon, exfoliating soap with honey and oats, and natural moisturising soap with essential oils. We’re hoping to start selling the soap later this year and we’ve secured enough frozen milk for 1,500 bars.

“I’m enjoying my job and I’m learning all the time. I’m never without a notepad as I can’t type on my phone quickly enough to keep on top of my things-to-learn and jobs-to-do lists. Besides cheese, frozen custard and soap, the Manor Farm poultry operation is going to get bigger with lots of investment in buildings and equipment.

“I’m also developing a plant-based drink. Ideally, we’ll want to use the Estate’s own oats and barley to avoid unnecessary imports and food miles. Getting the flavour right is the hard part. It needs to be naturally sweet but not too sweet. Pulling a balanced sweetness out of carbohydrate is key.

“Whatever I’m doing, I like to tackle a project properly and to a high standard. Meeting customers who value what we do is a real boost. From 2023, we may well have an exciting range of new products on sale and we’ll have official organic status by then. I’ve got loads of work to do but I’m hoping for a day or two off when the Lincs Wolds Outdoor Festival finishes. I think I’ll need them.”

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