Local Flavours
Bedfordshire clanger
The Bedfordshire Clanger is Bedfordshire’s traditional dish! It is an elongated suet crust dumpling and buy-LOCAL’s very own bakery Gunns are still baking them for us! It has a meat filling at one end and a fruit filling at the other, comprising main course and dessert in one item. Traditionally, it was made by women for their menfolk to take to their agricultural work.
Our Bedfordshire Wines!
In 1846, the Bedfordshire Times wrote of the site of Warden Abbey
'would any modern ever think of planting either a 'greate or lyttel' vineyard in England at this day?'.
One hundred and forty years later, the answer was 'yes' for in 1986 after a fact finding tour of the Bordeaux Region, Jane Whitbread planted 4 acres of vines on the site of the 'lyttel' vineyard.
The first vintage was 1990 and every year since then one or more of our wines have won awards including several from the prestigious Wine Magazine International Challenge (for which more than 5,000 wines from all over the world are entered). We also won the Country Landowners Association English/Welsh Wine of the Year Award in 1996 and 1998 and the East Anglian Wine of the Year in 2003.
Buy-Local offers you exclusive home delivery of a range of Warden’s fantastic Bedfordshire grown wines. So go on - try your local wines today!
Locally Produced Rapeseed Oil for Cooking
As only one of 3 farms in the UK producing Rapeseed Oil, Duncan Farrington’s ‘Mellow Yellow’ is a true local gem.
Mellow Yellow is produced by the Farrington family at Bottom Farm in Hargrave, just a few miles from Bedford. They have been farming for four generations and take pride in nurturing healthy crops, grown to LEAF Marque standards. LEAF (Linking Environment And Farming) supports viable agriculture which is environmentally and socially acceptable and ensures the continuity of supply of wholesome, affordable food while conserving and enhancing the fabric and wildlife of the British countryside for future generations.
Mellow Yellow is grown, harvested, pressed and bottled before leaving the farm. You are guaranteed a product with provenance, freshness, traceability and the minimum food miles.
Cold pressing means the oil is simply gently squeezed from the seed at temperatures below 40°C to retain all the natural goodness within. It contains a natural balance of Omega 3, 6 and 9 oils, which provides a good source of the essential fatty acids. The oil also contains natural vitamin E, which is a powerful antioxidant utilised by the body to combat the effects of free radicals (ageing toxins), keeping us full of vitality!
Mellow Yellow is truly versatile. Its subtle nutty taste lends itself seamlessly to salad dressings, fish and pestos or simply drizzled on bread as a tasty alternative to butter. When used in cooking this subtleness allows the flavour of foods to come through and is an ideal substitute to margarine when baking; whilst the oleic acid gives a high smoke point of around 230°C, making it the perfect high temperature cooking oil, ideal for roasting and all types of frying.
Our Bedfordshire Beers
Wells & Young’s is one of the leading independent regional brewers in Britain. All of our beers are brewed on the banks of the River Great Ouse in the county town of Bedford.
Wells and Young’s joined forces in 2006 bringing together two great names in British family brewing and over 300 years of expertise. The Wells Family still run the brewery, as they have done since 1875.
All of our beers are made with natural mineral water extracted from the brewery’s own well
Bedford is a lively cosmopolitan town located in quiet unspoilt countryside. Brewing in the town of Bedford can be traced back to the 1700’s. With Bedford’s rich history and heritage a programme of festivals and events, such as the Bedford River Festival, the International Kite Festival and the Victorian Christmas Fair are held annually.
Wells Bombardier: ‘Drink of England’ 5.2% ABV
Roger Protz, Editor, The Good Beer Guide
“Wells Bombardier has become synonymous with St. George's Day and all that is English, throughout the length and breadth of the country.”
Bombardier is uniquely brewed using natural mineral water from an independently accredited source; our own well. English ‘Crystal’ malt is carefully crushed, not ground; this delivers the rich flavour and deep copper colour.
A burnished copper colour, it has a rich, tempting aroma of peppery hops and raisins, while the palate is dominated by more dark fruit, juicy malt and tangy hops
Bombardier goes so well with a shoulder of lamb or a great local steak!
Our Famous Local Christmas Turkeys!
Browns have been producing quality Farm Fresh Traditional Turkeys at Stagsden Manor Farm just outside Bedford for nearly 60 years.
In that time they have concentrated on providing a personal service to our customers, many of whose families have been buying turkeys from them since the beginning.
Reared traditionally, using home grown, Quality Assured grain they produce succulent, full flavoured broad-breasted turkeys that bring customers back year after year. Not just beautiful - SIMPLY THE BEST!
You can get exclusive home delivery of your local Christmas Turkey from buy-LOCAL.net – but we recommend you order in plenty of time to avoid disappointment!