Hampshire and the Isle of Wight

by Helen Gaffney

Hampshire and the Isle of Wight have fertile soil with a sufficiently rainy climate to keep the crops well watered. The Isle of Wight lies off the south coast of Hampshire, within the jurisdiction of which it is included. The Solent sea, separating it from the mainland, varies from four to six miles across, while at one point, near Hurst Castle, it is no more than a mile. The island is of a lozenge shape, 22.5 miles from east to west, 13 miles from north to south, about 65 miles in circumference and 93,341 acres in area.

Hence farming of all types is carried out here and cereal staples such as wheat, barley and oats, as well as various root vegetables, are grown. Glorious countryside, a superb coastline and vibrant towns combine with a rich cultural heritage to make both Hampshire and the Isle of Wight ideal places for the food-lover to visit. Hampshire is less than an hour from London, and easy to reach for a day-trip or longer stay.

One of Hampshire's most famous crops is that of watercress, one of the great salad vegetables of England. Thought to have originated in Ancient Greece, watercress is strong and peppery as well as rich in iron, vitamins and flavour. In England, by the early nineteenth century, it was a staple of the working classes and was most often used as a breakfast sandwich. And if people were too poor to afford bread, they'd just eat the watercress. Known as 'poor man's bread' it was first grown commercially in the chalk streams of Hampshire, and was then taken by train to London's Covent Garden market for sale in loose form. Street sellers would then buy it and add their own value to the watercress by forming it into bunches. In those days, bunches were handheld and eaten in an ice-cream cone style. Watercress even appeared as one of the 'cries of London' in Charles Dickens' 'Oliver Twist'. The Watercress Line steam train still exists as a tourist attraction - travelling the short distance from Alresford to Alton - but now it carries people and not plants.

One of the most important centres for watercress production is the Test River Valley, around Alresford and Whitchurch. It is not actually cultivated in the river itself, nor is it allowed to be grown in river water. Rather, watercress is grown commercially alongside the river in stone beds, some of which have been used for generations. Many of the watercress beds being farmed today date back to the turn of the twentieth century and traditionally it has been very much a family industry. The water that flows continuously over the leaves comes from artesian springs that arise from the catchment area of the hilly North Downs.

Today watercress is available all year round with a distinctive character and flavour that can be enjoyed even in the winter. A bunch of watercress served with sliced oranges and a vinegar and oil dressing makes an excellent salad. It is also delicious in omelettes and flans or simply placed between two slices of buttered bread. One favourite recipe is that of Watercress Soup, which can be served chilled in the summer or hot in the winter.

If you are lucky, you may find wild trout from the River Test, although these tend to be consumed close to where they are caught. Other fresh fish, such as pike and zander (a relative of the perch) are farmed to a small extent. Sadly, they are hard to come by outside the local area.

The Isle of Wight is a small production centre for garlic - that deliciously aromatic member of the lily family, which is said to have many medicinal properties as well as being useful for warding off evil spirits.

img src="images/stories/regional_cooking/hampshirepig.jpg" alt="Hampshire pig" width="182" height="182" hspace="0" vspace="5" align="right">Hampshire, like many parts of Britain, has a tradition of pork cookery, since pig farming is an ancient activity. Hampshire Haslet is a pork loaf and is a simple, favourite country dish. The Hampshire pig is a variety of saddleback that is mainly black with a white 'saddle' on its back and has very erect ears. The county holds a sausage competition in February each year, known as The Great Hampshire Sausage Competition - one of the largest competitions of its kind in the country.

The competition is organised by Hampshire Fare and British Meat and sponsored by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) and Hampshire County Council. It is one of the largest competitions of its kind in the country.

As well as pigs, Hampshire is also home to a variety of sheep known as the Hampshire Down, whose flocks were established more than 150 years ago. The breed originated by crossing the Wiltshire Horn and the Berkshire Knot sheep with the Southdown. These flocks became very important in maintaining fertility on the thin soils of Hampshire, Wiltshire and Berkshire and were numerous across the whole of southern England. There were massive sales at Wilton, Overton, Weyhill and other fairs with as many as 20,000 sold at each fair.

Isle of Wight doughnuts are unique. Deep-fried pastry and fritters are not well represented in British traditions so these are something of an exception. They did not have jam in the centre, but rather used plums, although variations used currants or candied peel, and were lard-browned. There was even a doughnut shop in Newport called Westmore's Doughnut Shop, which was on the corner of Scarrots Lane and Lower St. James Street.

Some nine-hundred years ago, the battle-worn Norman Duke, William I, established a New Forest in the woods and heathland between Southampton Water, the Solent and the Avon River. The area was created specifically for the preservation of royal deer and, for generations, strict laws ensured that the hunting of deer and other game remained a sport for nobility and gentlemen only.

With the advent of commercial farming venison today is available to all year-round and is exceptionally good when roasted or made into a stew. Nevertheless, in the New Forest crown lands and elsewhere, strict rules and regulations still remain for the hunting and killing of roe, fallow, sika and red deer. The animals can only be hunted at certain times of the year, which vary depending on the species, sex and particular habitat.

There are several breweries in the county. One of the best-known is George Gale and Co. in Portsmouth, which is one of the largest, surviving independent family brewing companies in the UK, a process no doubt assisted in this century by their production of prize-winning ales. Today the company owns over one hundred public houses spread throughout South and South East England. Other local brewers include Ballard's Brewery of Petersfield, the Ringwood Brewery and Goddard's Brewery in Ryde, on the Isle of Wight.

As well as the traditional brewing industry, the revival of English wine came about in Hampshire too. It was at Hambledon, just off the A3 between Petersfield and Portsmouth, that Sir Guy Salisbury-Jones planted the first modern commercial vineyard in 1952. Today there are many others producing superb wines. Luscious fruits too - raspberries, strawberries, sloes, cherries and pears - are fermented into sweet or dry country wines, which are innocuously innocent, one thinks, but surprisingly potent.

So, the county that gave birth to Jane Austen has much to offer the traveller. Both Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are justly proud of their food delicacies and traditions. Long may this continue.