NEWS FROM 2021
Lemon Curd – past and present – January 2021
Lemon Curd is a traditional British curd made with sugar, butter, eggs and lemons and is delicious spread on hot toasted tea cakes or used as an ingredient in dessert recipes.
Our chairman Walter Scott has memories of Lemon Curd making from the time he first arrived at Tiptree in the 1985. Walter recalls making both Lemon Cheese and Lemon Curd in his previous company before he came to Tiptree.
“At Tiptree we developed a recipe in the early 1980’s; we used butter, sugar, eggs and lemons and called it Lemon Curd. It is quite unique, we use butter and for years our cooks actually cracked each egg from Tiptree but we now use pasteurised egg. Our lemon concentrate comes from Sicily, where the best lemons are grown, and it gives an intense flavour. Tiptree Lemon curd is cooked in small pans on a much lower heat than jam and marmalade”, Walter adds “if we used our jam pans we would end up with a big omelette or scrambled eggs!”
We have included some recipe ideas on our web site: a delicious Lemon Curd and White Chocolate Roulade created by the Waitrose winner Sophie, a simple idea for combining fruit and Lemon Curd with pancakes and a celebration Lemon Curd & Fruit Pastry Puff. Our friends in North American often use Lemon Curd in pies and tarts, some of which are topped with meringue.
Other interest in Lemon Curd
Old recipe books continue the debate Lemon Cheese versus Lemon Curd, in some parts of the country Lemon Curd is the same recipe as Lemon Cheese while in other regions the difference is distinct. We found a reference to a Lemon Cheese recipe in “Gleanings from Gloucestershire Housewives” cookery book published in 1948 using sugar, eggs, juice of lemons and butter with a lovely comment: “…stirring all the time until it resembles a thick cream”. In “Farmers’ Fare” a collection of recipes from Farmers’ Weekly first published in 1946 there is a recipe for Lemon Cheese using eggs, lemons, sugar and butter whereas the recipe for Lemon Curd uses sugar, lemons eggs and a small amount of margarine. The comment from the author of the Lemon Cheese recipe. “I find this recipe most useful as a means of using up cracked eggs,” perhaps these were eggs collected from her own hens.
Searching for earlier comments about Lemon Curd we looked in two editions of Mrs Beeton’s Household Management dated pre-1924, neither Lemon Curd or Lemon Cheese are listed in the index but there is a recipe for Lemon Cheesecakes which uses sugar, butter, eggs and lemons to make a filling for the pastry cases which is very similar to the Lemon Curd we know today.
Tiptree Chimneys moved from skyline – February
You may have noticed that our Tiptree Jam Factory chimneys have disappeared from the skyline. Two years ago we upgraded to a more efficient energy centre at Tiptree which now powers our factory, so our three old chimneys were no longer needed. We recorded a short time-lapse video of their safe removal. This was something which we wanted to capture as they have been part of our history for so many years. Please rest assured that our steam powered factory hooter continues to sound, and will continue to signal key times of the day. We have kept the top of the chimney with the ‘TIPTREE JAMS’ lettering, and will find a home for this historical piece in the grounds of our Tea Room & Visitor Centre at Tiptree.
Mayor cuts the ribbon as tea rooms re-open – May
The Mayor of Witham Cllr Angel Kilmartin visited the Tiptree tea room at Cressing Temple Barns on Monday the 17th May 2021 to mark the re-opening of the inside areas following the pandemic.
Cllr Kilmartin’s visit was part of a series of outings to eating establishments in and around Witham marking the re-opening of indoor seating after the recent closure. During her stop at Cressing The Mayor gave a live interview to Sadie Nine at BBC Essex talking about supporting local businesses and her love of a cream tea with a good cup of tea.
“It was so good to see the customers enjoying an afternoon tea inside again without having to dodge the showers; and we really appreciate the support they have given us over the last few weeks when they have braved the weather to sit in the garden huddled in their coats enjoying a cooked breakfast,” said Aimee Smith, tea room marketing manager
JB of JLS boyband fame filming “Summer on the Farm” at Tiptree – June
JB caused huge excitement in the jam factory and the Tiptree tea room when he was spotted filming for Channel 5 “Summer on the Farm” which will be screened for the first time on Wednesday 16th June 2021at 8 p.m.; it will be part of a week of programmes about farm life in the UK from Cannon Hall Farm South Yorkshire. JB has a special interest in farming and now has his own farm in Kent rearing Kelly Bronze turkeys and Tamworth pigs while continuing his music career.
Filmed on one of the hottest days of the year JB started the morning looking at strawberry growing, hearing about the delayed harvest of Little Scarlet strawberries and getting an update on the latest technology on the farm from Chris Newenham, joint managing director of Wilkin & Sons, who said: “we very much enjoyed our time filming on the farm with JB, he was highly engaging and the staff were thrilled to meet him, sadly he didn't sing for us though on this occasion!”
JB was keen to see strawberries being made into jam so Tracy Warren took him on a short tour of the factory, before he had a cream tea in the tea room’s secret garden.
Editors’ notes
The late frosts in April have delayed the crop of Little Scarlet strawberries by at least three weeks, but there should be a good harvest once they start picking in early July.
Celebrations on National Cream Tea Day - June
The Cream Tea Society’s National Cream Tea Day on the 25 June 2021 celebrated sharing a cream tea, in reality or virtually, while raising money for charity. This year the Cream Tea Society worked in partnership with local and national charities: Mid & North Essex MIND, Essex & Herts Air Ambulance, The Wave Project, The Royal British Legion and Hospitality Action.
Social media was busy from early morning until late evening with comments on National Cream Tea Day from celebrities, chefs and busy scone makers from the UK and overseas.
The Tiptree highlights included:
Hannah Ingram Moore, daughter of the late Sir Captain Tom Moore who spoke about The Royal British Legion and her late father, a very special contribution,
Reece’s amazing Banoffee scones bake-along was a great success with the youngsters, he was winner of Junior Great British Bake Off,
Juliet Sears announcing the winner of the Cream Tea Society’s colouring competition, Juliet will be replicating the scone shortly,
A drinks & graze board and topping ideas for great scones,
Perfect Scones - as Phil Khoury joined Tiptree and James Hillery showcased his bakes.
The great Tiptree tea room raffle at Barleylands raised over £2,600, thanks to donations from local businesses and the work of the tea room team. All the Tiptree tea rooms encouraged customers to enjoy a cream tea as £1 from each sale went to the Mid & North Essex MIND; the tea room staff raised a total of £3,043.68 for the charity, well done.
A huge “thank you” to everyone who contributed to the success of National Cream Tea Day as we shared some great experiences, while raising funds charity. A busy fun day for the Cream Team at Tiptree preserves and Rodda’s Cornish Clotted Cream. www.creamteasociety.co.uk
It’s ‘jam today’ for Tiptree driver Tim, as UK’s first exclusive Mercedes-Benz Actros Edition 2 hits the road - August
Tiptree jam is running the country’s first, stunning Actros Edition 2 from Mercedes-Benz Trucks; just 400 are being built, with a dozen going to UK operators. The truck has some unique comfort and safety features – if you spot it travelling across the UK - do let us know.
Transport Manager Kevin King explained: “We’d been relying on two tractors for some time but decided to replace a 10-year-old 26-tonner with a third because we’re so busy, and because the loads we’re delivering, particularly to supermarket RDCs, keep getting bigger.” Kevin added: “We were running Mercedes-Benz products when I joined this company 31 years ago, and we’ve remained loyal to the brand ever since. Mercedes-Benz trucks have always been reliable and cost-effective to operate, of course, but in recent years the manufacturer has really raised its game in terms of driver appeal too.”
“We like to look after the lads and provide them with the first-class equipment they deserve as ambassadors for our business. That’s never been more important than in these current times of acute driver shortages – if we can put smiles on their faces by giving them vehicles they enjoy driving, then they’ll want to keep coming to work for Wilkin & Sons.”
Driver Tim Sharp and his colleague Bradley Scott, who drives the Actros Edition 1, take a huge pride in the appearance of their vehicles and we hope to see them winning more awards for these vehicles at special events in 2021/22.
“I do realise how incredibly lucky I am,” insisted Tim Sharp. “In fact, I’m still pinching myself. The Edition 2 is fantastic to drive and has the looks to match; it’s just awesome.”
-Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival – Market Weekend - 26th and 27th September 2021 is in the spacious grounds of Snape Maltings. The Tiptree team will be pleased to see you at this market style event, but it may be wise to book your tickets online.
New - Tiptree Bus Jam Advent Calendar
A new Tiptree Bus Jam Advent Calendar containing 24 mini jars of fine preserves will be released in time for the Advent season. The non alcoholic preserves are suitable for children and adults and will complement the existing Advent Calendar English Spirits for adults.
The bright red bus contains: three miniature 42g jars of each of eight varieties of our most popular Tiptree conserves; Little Scarlet Strawberry, Raspberry, Black Currant, Strawberry, Morello Cherry, Orange Marmalade Fine Cut Peel and 'Tawny' Orange Marmalade Thick Cut Peel.
“Customers love a foodie gift that is fun for children and practical for adults; our new Advent Calendar gives them a selection of Tiptree jams and marmalades”, said Scott Goodfellow joint managing director of Wilkin & Sons Ltd. “We hope some customers will use it as a taster box exploring products they haven’t tried before or perhaps they will just enjoy the different quotes under the lids.”
The Tiptree Jam Advent Calendar is modelled on our original 1967 Routemaster Double Decker Bus which we operate as a mobile Tiptree Tea Room and Cocktail Bar. The calendar contains 24 mini jars, one for each December day in the lead up to Christmas.
Enjoy the preserves on toast, with a pastry, in porridge, or for a festive cream tea, we love spreading our conserves onto a freshly baked spiced cranberry scone with a generous helping of clotted cream.
The cardboard packaging and the glass jars can be recycled.
rrp £29.99 Available from independent stores, from Tiptree Tea Rooms and Jam Shop.
RABI Cream Tea September
Members of the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution celebrated their annual summer gathering with fundraising cream teas in several locations across the county.
Bakery business delivering vaccines crowned - September
Bread Hero by the Tiptree World Bread Awards with Brook Food
'A vaccine is like a cream cake’
The UK’s ‘Bread Heroes’ of 2021 have been announced by Tiptree World Bread Awards with Brook Food. John Foster, Managing Director of Fosters Bakery in Mapplewell near Barnsley, South Yorkshire was selected as Overall Winner.
The speed and scale of the vaccine roll out meant there were thousands of doses needed at every GP Practice in Barnsley. John and his team stepped forward to assist: providing numerous vehicles and personnel to help deliver the vaccine doses to the Practices.
For a few days every week, over a period of 6 weeks, up to five Fosters vehicles and drivers were distributing vaccines all over the borough. Each day involved 20 - 30 deliveries, across a 20 mile radius.
This was all at short notice and in addition to the standard business of the family run bakery, which has been a staple part of village life in Mapplewell for over 65 years.
Initially, the NHS doubted Fosters’ capability until John Foster reassured them that 'a vaccine is like a cream cake; it requires a fragile, temperature-sensitive, time-critical delivery, and Fosters have been doing those for over 50 years.'
‘As a direct result of Fosters’ intervention we were able to create a Barnsley wide delivery schedule that enabled all Practices to vaccinate their patients.’ says James Barker, Chief Executive Officer of Barnsley Healthcare Federation, ‘In real terms this meant we could offer 37 local vaccination sites across the town, it is due to the efforts of the Fosters team that this was possible.
Over 75% of Barnsley residents have been vaccinated by GP Practices, which is an outstanding achievement.’ continues Barker, ‘The Fosters team deserves full recognition for the role they played in making this happen.’
The judges were blown away by John’s efforts. ‘Like many of our nominees, John has demonstrated a tremendous resilience when faced with life’s challenges, in this case a very serious illness. His work and support for the NHS during the lockdown was exemplary.’ said Scott Goodfellow, Joint Managing Director, Tiptree, ‘What made John the outstanding candidate was the personal attention to service and care that he gives to each and every customer.’
In normal times, the Tiptree World Bread Awards celebrates the bread; loaves from around the country would be delivered for assessment by a panel of esteemed judges. Building on the great success of last year, the Awards once again celebrated the UK’s Bread Heroes - the people behind the loaves: from farmers and millers, to bakers and educators.
Hundreds of nominations were sent in from across the UK. ‘All the nominees in this year’s Awards truly deserve recognition for their generous, considerate and often altruistic initiatives to help others.’ said Stephen Hallam, Chairman of the Judges.
One of the judges, Britt Box, She Who Bakes, said, ‘It has been another strange year and it is so lovely to read stories of the bread heroes who have carried on, diversified, given back and risen to the challenge (pun intended!). They are all an absolute credit to their communities.’
An exhibition of portraits by photographer Henry Kenyon of the Bread Heroes will be touring the country
Baker who rose from hardship crowned Bread Hero of the USA - November
The winners of the Bread Heroes campaign by Tiptree World Bread Awards USA supported by the International Baking Industry Exposition (IBIE) were announced on Wednesday November 3, 2021 in a special online awards evening, celebrating the incredible endeavours of the bread community.
The Overall Winner was Manolo Betancur of Manolo’s Bakery in Charlotte, North Carolina. Manolo, who came to the USA 20 years ago with very little money, clothing or English, has worked hard to rise from washing dishes to today owning a thriving bakery business.
After arriving from Columbia, Manolo spent his first few months working odd jobs in Miami. He then went on to win a scholarship to study at King University, Tennessee and graduated with a BA in Modern Languages.
A few years later, and with more experience under his belt, Manolo moved to Charlotte, NC, where he became involved in the city’s first Hispanic bakery. In 2011 he bought that bakery, and 7 years later he renamed it Manolo’s Bakery.
Today, the bakery is thriving; it produces over 65 types of artisan breads and a vast variety of cakes and desserts. Manolo’s supplies baked goods to more than 100 stores, restaurants and supermarkets in North Carolina and Virginia.
Manolo is a strong believer in supporting his local community. His bakery’s vision is: Nuestro Pan, Nuestra Gente, Nuestro Futuro (Our Bread, Our People, Our Future).
As part of his support for the local community, Manolo’s donate 10% of their profits from the week of Epiphany (the most profitable time of the year for the bakery) to a local charity. In 2021, the team decided to donate thermal blankets to Charlotte’s homeless neighbours in the encampments uptown.
Reflecting on what lies ahead Manolo says, ‘With so much going on and all the uncertainty, many think they can’t change what’s happening around them, but with the right support, we can change our future by creating opportunities that will allow us to grow and keep dreaming.’
In normal times, the Tiptree World Bread Awards celebrates the bread; hundreds of loaves would be delivered to Manhattan for assessment by a panel of esteemed judges. Building on the great success of last year, the Awards once again celebrated the USA’s Bread Heroes - the people behind the loaves: from farmers and millers, to bakers and educators.
Nominations for the Bread Heroes came in from across the USA. ‘All the nominees in this year’s Awards truly deserve recognition for their generous, considerate and often altruistic initiatives to help others.’ said Stephen Hallam, Chairman of the Judges.
This year’s illustrious judging panel, chaired by Stephen Hallam, included Zachary Golper, Baker and James Beard Foundation Award nominee, Bien Cuit, Dana Cowin, Founder, Speaking Broadly and Maurizio Leo, The Perfect Loaf.
‘We’ve been exporting Tiptree jam to the USA for decades, and in normal times I’d be popping over to meet the retailers and bakers who use our products,’ said Scott Goodfellow, Joint Managing Director, Wilkin & Sons Ltd. ‘I can’t do that right now, but what I can do is recognise the contribution that American bakers have made to their communities in challenging times. It’s inspiring to read their stories.’
One of the judging panel, Babette Kourelos, Owner, Baker and Educator @Babette's Bread said, ‘These stories serve as a reminder of the versatility of bread and the immense generosity of bakers.’
Tiptree Bus in Downing Street - November
The red Tiptree bus was spotted at several events during the year including Barleylands and the Aldeburgh Food & Drink Festival. In November it made a very special trip to London for a trade show in Downing Street meeting and greeting customers and potential buyers while enjoying a taster.
Tiptree in Country Life – November
A great day out at Tiptree with a visit to the farm, factory and tea room featured in a super article in Country Life on the 23 November, written by Nick Hammond.
Nick was taken on a tour of the fruit farm and introduced to the Tiptree New Growing System by Chris Newenham where they talked about innovative methods of fruit growing and sampled the most delicious fresh strawberries.
Donning whites (coat and hairnet) Mark Smith took Nick to see jam making in action before venturing into the old warehouse where pallets of jam waited to be chosen for labelling using one of the many different language labels for destinations across the world.
It’s always good to read someone else’s observations on our innovative and traditional ways especially from such a gifted writer.
Merry Christmas Rum Liqueur on ITV
“Love your Weekend” with Alan Titchmarsh and guests tasted an array of Christmas tipples including Tiptree Merry Christmas Rum Liqueur during the ITV programme in November; a great start to Christmas celebrations..
