The coast of Ceredigion is made up of a long coastal plain that contains high cliffs, coves, large bays and estuaries. The coastal plain gets narrower towards the more mountainous north of the county Pressdee, Colin: Colin Pressdee's Welsh Coastal Cookery, page 12. London: BBC Books, 1995. and is cut by the wide estuaries of the Teifi and the Dyfi.Davies, Gilli: A Taste of Wales, page 130. London: Pavilion Books Limited, 1995. The broad and fertile Teifi valley is ideal for dairy farming and mixed farming.Pressdee, Welsh Coastal Cookery, page 12Pressdee, Welsh Coastal Cookery, page 13 Heavy rainfall washes the minerals out of the soil and results in the mountainous areas of the county having relatively poorer, acidic soils. The plough line can be as low as 700 feet, which restricts cultivation.Hughes, M. E. and James, A. J.: Wales, page 88. London: University of London Press Ltd, 1964Davies, A Taste of Wales, page 130
Sea fish
The sea around Ceredigion has traditionally been rich in fish and for many centuries great shoals of herring would be caught in Cardigan Bay. The fish would be landed and sold at all the Ceredigion ports, including Aberaeron, Aberporth and Aberystwyth.Flavours of Wales: Recipes, page 13. London: The Francis Frith Collection, 2011. Bobby Freeman: Traditional Food From Wales, page 71. New York: Hippocrene Books Inc., 1997. At Aberystwyth the volume of herring landed increased significantly after the harbour was enlarged during the eighteenth century. Here, the fish were salted between September and November and then packed in barrels for transport by train to England.Francis Frith, Flavours of Wales, page 12 Herring was also an important food source for local people and the fish were salted in the autumn for winter use.Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 72
In South Wales, herring are known as Ysgadenyn (or Sgadan for short); in North Wales, they are known as Pennog. At Aberporth, herrings were sold to the following: Sgadan Aberporth, Dau fola ac un corff, Sgadan Aberporth, Dau enaid mewn un corff Aberporth herrings, two bellies in one body. Aberporth herrings, two souls in one body Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 71
Swper Scadan, or Supper Herrings, is a traditional baked dish from the area and contains six to eight herrings which have been cleaned, scaled and filleted. A seasoning of mustard, salt and ground black pepper is spread on the inside of each herring fillet and the fillets are then rolled and laid on top of layers of thin potato slices, onions and apples, which form a base. The whole dish is topped off with more sliced potatoes, additional seasoning and a dessert spoon of sage. Boiling water is added and then the dish is baked in foil which is removed, when nearly ready, in order to brown the potatoes.Francis Frith, Flavours of Wales, page 12 Historically, this dish is considered to be an interesting recipe because it reflects the simplicity of the traditional Welsh kitchen prior to the introduction of the frying pan. At this time boiling, roasting and stewing were the most common methods of food preparation and kitchen utensils included the griddle, the tripod (which was used for roasting), the bakestone and a great iron pot which would be suspended over a fire.Grant, Chris: Welsh Country Cooking, A Selection of Traditional and Well-loved Recipes, page 23. Llanrwst: Gwasg Carreg Gwalch, 1993. Salted herrings would also be roasted on the tripod, as an alternative to baking.Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 72
The traditional importance of fishing, and in particular the herring trade, is reflected in the coat of arms of the county, which were officially granted on October 21, 1937, and which have emblazoned in the top right quarter a herring against a background of the sea, to signify the fishing industry of Ceredigion
Mackerel (Macrell) are also plentiful in Cardigan Bay. They are in season from late June to early September and are considered to have an excellent flavour when fresh. Bobby Freeman commented that this fish is at its best when "the sea-green colours are very brilliant and beautiful, and the eyes are bright". In Ceredigion, Mackerel was usually fried in vegetable oil or olive oil. The olive oil used to be imported into the Ceredigion ports that used to trade with the Mediterranean.Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, pages 67-68 It is reported that in the 1880s, the fishermen of Aberaeron and New Quay once caught over one million mackerel over two nights. The fish were sold for a farthing each and what remained unsold from the mammoth catch was used on the fields as fertilizer.Francis Frith, Flavours of Wales, page 13
Monkfish is commonly caught in Cardigan Bay and Colin Pressdee comments that this fish is particularly suitable for kebabs due to the solid texture of the flesh, which is not grainy or flaky. He comments that the large tail can also be roasted French-style, like a leg of lamb and explains that this gives it the French name of 'gigot de mer'. He notes that in Ceredigion, some restaurants cook the fish in this way and accompany it with a red wine sauce.Pressdee, Welsh Coastal Cookery, page 92
Teifi Fish Bake is a traditional local fish dish made from fillets of cod and smoked haddock which are skinned, cubed and covered in a parsley sauce. Diced potato and Teifi cheese are added before the dish is baked and garnished with fresh parsley. Davies, Welsh Calendar Cookbook , page 12
Shellfish gathered from the shore once formed an important source of food for Ceredigion families. One traditional dish included scrambled eggs to which limpets (llygaid meheryn) and common periwinkles (gwichiaid) were added, these were then fried in bacon fat. Limpets would also be boiled with nettle tips, to help tenderise them, before being fried in oatmeal.Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 88 S. Minwel Tibbott, in her book 'Welsh Fare', has a recipe for Limpet Pie (tarten lygaid), which is a traditional dish from Aberporth. The limpets are boiled for half an hour and then bacon and leeks are added to a pastry-lined dish before being baked.Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 89 Sand eels (llymriaid) were also eaten as part of the local diet and were usually fried in bacon fat.Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 88
Lobster and shellfish are an important sea food industry for Ceredigion. However, by the 1980s, the lobster stock of Cardigan Bay had become seriously depleted and this led to the Development Board for Rural Wales commencing a restocking programme. As a result, 19,000 baby lobsters were tagged and released off Aberystwyth between 1984 and 1988.Davies, A Taste of Wales, page 135
Although fishing has been a traditional activity in Ceredigion for generations, fish stocks became heavily depleted due to commercial fishing. Today the trade is mainly restricted to local, part-time fishing boats.Davies, A Taste of Wales, page 130 Gilli Davies comments that this means fishmongers and restaurants in places like Aberaeron usually serve fresh fish which may have been caught the same day, compared to deep sea fishing where the catch may spend up to two weeks at sea, before being transferred to market and consumed.Davies, A Taste of Wales, page 134
The traditional importance of sea food to the local economy is now celebrated with the Cardigan Bay Seafood Festival. This seafood festival is held each July at Aberaeron harbour. Aberaeron also hosts an annual Mackerel festival, in late August and early September, in order to celebrate the traditional importance of this fish to the economy of the town.Francis Frith, Flavours of Wales, page 13
Freshwater fish
Freshwater fish were also a traditional and important part of the Ceredigion diet. The River Teifi is noted for its salmon and sewin.Davies, A Taste of Wales, page 130 The source of the river is located near Tregaron. The river then runs through a valley that was once "thick with mansions and former great houses" before entering the sea at Cardigan. It is said that during the nineteenth century salmon was so plentiful that servants begged not to be fed it more than three times a week.Davies, A Taste of Wales, page 130 As a result, 'Teifi salmon sauce' is found in almost every collection of Welsh recipes from the kitchens of the Welsh country houses. Freeman notes that Welsh eighteenth century recipes tend to use a large quantity of butter, which reflects the fashion in most country house cooking of this period.Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 66 Lady Llanover, in her book 'First Principles of Good Cookery', gives detailed instructions for crimping fresh-caught salmon in order to 'set' the flesh before the curd (which is the white substance between the flakes of orange flesh) melts and makes the fish oily.Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 63 Fennel, which grows wild in Ceredigion, was often used in sauces for fish, especially salmon and mackerel.Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 67
Gerald of Wales commented on the spectacular sight of salmon leaping at the waterfalls at Cenarth Pressdee, Welsh Coastal Cookery, page 12 while Bobby Freeman recalls that when she ran a hotel in Pembrokeshire in the 1960s, salmon from the river Teifi would be dropped off by bus outside the hotel, with the bus conductor carrying them in boxes to the kitchen. The fish had been packed in cool, fresh bracken with six or seven big fish to a box.Freeman, Traditional Food From Wales, page 61Pressdee, Welsh Coastal Cookery, page 13
Salmon is in season in Wales from February to October, but the main runs of fish tend to be from June to September. When in the river salmon use their energy to produce roe ready for spawning and so the flesh begins to deteriorate quickly. For this reason Pressdee notes that gravid fish, which tend to be darker and thinner, should be avoided and left in the river to spawn.Pressdee, Welsh Coastal Cookery, page 82 He also notes that wild salmon are considered to have a more solid and defined texture and flavour than farmed salmon and comments that this reflects their diet of shellfish, while farmed salmon, although more readily available, tends to have less muscular flesh and a more buttery taste.Pressdee, Welsh Coastal Cookery, page 82
Trout are also plentiful in the rivers of Ceredigion and are farmed commercially at Rhydlewis Trout Farm where the trout are raised in pools fed by the rivers Teifi and Ceri and smoked in wooden chambers.Davies, A Taste of Wales, page 132
Lamb
The flavour of lamb from Welsh Mountain Sheep is influenced by geography. Ceredigion's coastal cliffs are subject to westerly winds which cover the cliffs in salt spray. The spray is caught by goose grass on which the lambs graze and this influences the flavour of the meat. Along estuaries and salt marshes, such as the Dyfi Estuary Mudflats, wild spearmint, samphire and sea beet give the meat a rich flavour, with saline nuances while lamb from upland areas, like Cader Idris, feed off mauve flowering heather in summer which gives the meat a more aromatic flavour.Pressdee, Welsh Coastal Cookery, page 94
The flavour of Welsh lamb is also influenced by the seasons. Spring lamb appears on sale from May each year and is sweet and mild-flavoured. Pressdee notes that this makes it ideal for light spring casseroles, particularly if warmth of flavour is required. Autumn lamb, however, acquires a stronger, gamey taste but can be richer in flavour and can be enhanced by the addition of fresh, wild field mushrooms.Pressdee, Welsh Coastal Cookery, page 94, page 98