Part 4 - Brambletye biodynamic apples and Orchard Eggs
Brambletye Fruit Farm & Orchard Eggs
On the final leg of our tour we headed out to the High Weald of Sussex, where an area of natural beauty hides Brambletye Lane, home to one of the UK’s few biodynamic farms. We’ll come on to explain biodynamic in more detail, but in simple terms – it’s organic … and then some!
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The farm supplies fruit and eggs to farmers markets, supermarkets and local independents. We visited Brambletye, as the team got ready for the first harvest of apples this year – the lovely sweet, juicy Collina.
The entire team is made up of just two young families, who have built their own self-sufficient homes on the farm, and several friends and Biodynamic apprentices. The farm is managed daily by a core team of under 10 people, and then when harvest time comes around they pull in as many people as they can to pick the fruit before it drops.
Stein and Ellie took us on a tour of the orchards with their 6-month old baby Tristan. First stop is the chicken coop, home of Orchard Eggs, and just in time to release the birds so they can spend the day roaming the orchards freely.
There are a total of 3,000 chickens at Brambletye, and each has a key role to play in biodynamic farming. They feed off the fallen fruit and bugs, which not only protects the trees, but when nature calls, it provides the best fertilizer a tree could want. This holistic cycle is the key to biodynamic farming. Its principals are based on a closed system – giving back to the earth what you take out. Very little waste is created as it's mainly farmed back into the land, and since no pesticides or herbicides are used, biodynamic farming will only use a minuscule amount of outsourced materials.
Unlike commercial farming, biodynamic farms take far longer to yield fruit good enough to sell in any kind of volume. For example, at Brambletye, they've been waiting 5 years for their pear trees to harvest a good yield to sell on. In commercial farming – it would typically take 2 – 3 years to get your first good yield. So you've got to love a bit of gambling too! Nature rules.
Despite the wait and sacrifices you have to make, fruit grown in this way tastes so much better. At Brambletye they grow 15 varieties of apples, pears, blackberries, and redcurrants. We tasted the blackberries and early Collina apples and they’re definitely worth waiting for.
In taste tests, seasonal fruit will always win. Fruit grown on biodynamic farms will also play well on your conscience – they’re 100% free from chemical nasties, and you’re giving back to the earth, helping to secure the future growth of the fruit we love.
The other great thing about biodynamic farming is the presence of animals (a key difference to organic farming). Biodynamic farming is a regenerative farming system focused on soil health and the integration of plants and animals. At Brambletye it's all about the chickens - taking the concept of free range to a whole new level. By day, chickens do as they please, running around the farm and orchards – some of them even followed the pickers to join them for a cup of fresh mint tea with raw honey oozing straight from a honeycomb. By night, the chickens get some much needed sleep in their coop laying lots of eggs in the morning.
The biodynamic cycle paves the way for happier, healthier chickens, which ultimately results in tastier eggs. The eggs are sold under the name Orchard Eggs and can be bought from local farm shops and markets in and around Sussex, such as Infinity Food Shops in Brighton, and Tablehurst Farm Shop in Forest Row. If you’re not local to Sussex, you can also get hold of delicious Orchard Eggs through a number of home delivery box schemes. Visit their website to find your nearest shop.
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Dutch Apple Pancake
Brambletye presented us with the perfect combination of delicious ingredients to combine - eggs and apples. This is our kind of pancake - the low effort, no flip, no fuss kind. Great for a sweet breakfast or add some fresh cream to turn it into a homely dessert. The flavours in this dish really conjures up a farmhouse feel, even better when baked in a real farm house wood fired oven like we did at Brambletye.
Freshly picked red currants and blackberries straight from the orchards completed the pancake along with a drizzle of raw honey from their hives.
Ingredients (use organic ingredients where possible)
Serves 4-6
4 medium British grown apples 50g + 15g butter 5 medium eggs 3 tbs coconut flour (opt 2 tbs coconut flour + 1 tbs of arrowroot) 4 tbs maple syrup ½ tsp baking soda ¼ tsp sea salt ½ tbs vanilla extract ¼ tsp nutmeg 1 tsp + 1tsp cinnamon ¼ cup water Opt: coconut palm sugar to finish or raw honey
Instructions • Preheat your oven to 200C • Heat 15g of butter in an ovenproof 9inh frying pan/skillet • Cut the apples length ways, first into quarters and then into thirds, removing the core if you like. • Fry the apples with 15g of butter and 1tsp of cinnamon on a medium heat for 10-15 min, stirring occasionally and allowing the edges to brown. • Gently melt the 50g of butter in a saucepan and put to one side to cool. • Whisk the eggs in a bowl. • Add the rest of the ingredients one at a time including the melted butter, while continuing to whisk. • Remove the apples from the pan and pour in the pancake mixture, then arrange the apples on top - sprinkling with a little coconut palm sugar. Or just pour the pancake mixture straight onto the apples. • Bake in the oven for 20 min or until golden brown on top. • Finish with a drizzle of raw honey and some yoghurt or cream