The cuisine of the Vale of Glamorgan (), Wales, is noted for its high-quality food produced from the fertile farmland, river valleys and coast that make up the region. The area has a long history of agriculture that has developed from the Roman era.
The Vale is not a valley in the geographical sense, but a plateau. It lies at between above sea level and rises to at Mynydd Margam and Garth Hill. This makes it a homogeneous region with distinct characteristics which set it apart from the adjacent regions.Evans, C.J.O: Glamorgan, Its History and Topography, pages 7, 8. Cardiff: William Lewis (Printers) Ltd, 1938.
Most of the Vale is made up of prime agricultural land due to its fertile, rich soil which is light and easily worked. As a result, the area has developed a mixed farming economy. It produces wheat and other cereals, grows hay for pasture and is good for animal husbandry.Evans, Glamorgan, Its History and Topography, page 8, 26, 131
The Vale has many small villages and market towns which are relatively evenly distributed and are often hidden in secluded river valleys and connected by country lanes. The rivers are relatively short in length and have their source in the adjacent uplands, known as the Blaenau Morgannwg, which consists of a line of hills to the north of the Vale and which form the foothills to the higher mountains of Brecknockshire.Evans, Glamorgan, Its History and Topography, page 3, 6 The southern boundary of the Vale is made up of the coastline of the Bristol Channel, which has a tidal range of up to 40 ft. There are few good harbours, other than Aberthaw which was a popular location for smuggling in the eighteenth century.Evans, Glamorgan, Its History and Topography, page 6
Arterial roads run through the Vale and connect the more populated nearby areas of the South Wales Valleys to the north, Cardiff to the east, and Neath and Swansea to the west. Since the Industrial Revolution these more densely populated areas have provided markets for the sale of the Vale's beef, lamb and dairy products.Howell, David, W.: Land and People in Nineteenth Century Wales, page 12. Abingdon: Routledge, 2016.
Meat Glamorgan cattle is a Welsh traditional cattle breed with a chestnut coloured coat and a broad white stripe which runs along the backbone to the tail and under the abdomen. Morgan Evans comments that the breed was once highly prized and belongs to a class of cattle called middle-horns. In character and antiquity of descent they rank with Hereford cattle, South Devon cattle, North Devon cattle, and Welsh Black cattle.Coleman, C., J., D., B.: The Cattle of Great Britain, being a Series of Articles on the Various Breeds of Cattle of the United Kingdom, their History and Management &c, page 118-119. London: The Field Office, 1875.
The breed originated from an ancient variety which, according to Freeman, has an identical counterpart in the Pinzgauer cattle of Austria. It is believed that the Celts brought them to Wales during their migration westward. The Norman lord Robert Fitzhamon, who took control of Glamorgan, cross bred these with cattle from Normandy to give the present breed of Glamorgan cattle. According to William Youatt the influence of Devon cattle can also be seen in the bloodline because they were introduced into the Vale by Richard de Grenville, one of the Twelve Knights of Glamorgan.Bobby Freeman: Traditional Food from Wales, page 152. New York: Hippocrene Books Inc., 1997.
Glamorgan cattle continued as a distinct breed because farmers were careful to maintain the purity of the bloodstock. They would be fattened in England at six or seven years old and then sent to London and other English cities to supply beef. Evans comments as follows:
“The Glamorgan cattle produced a rare quality of meat, highly prized in the metropolitan and provincial markets. They were profitable to the butchers, being well lined inside with tallow, and their meat, from its first-rate quality, always commanded the highest price.”
Before mechanisation a strong ox was required to plough the land and if the breed could also provide milk then this was considered the best combination. Glamorgan cattle were recognised for these qualities and also yielded up to 800 to 1,200 pounds of beef. Consequently, the breed was popular in the grazing counties of Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire and Leicestershire. George III also had a herd at his farm at Windsor Great Park. However, during the nineteenth century the move toward stall and grain feeding made it more profitable to feed shorthorn cattle which were more productive and by 1872 the American Agriculturalist commented that:The American Agriculturalist. New York: 1876
“As a race which has passed its point of usefulness it has almost disappeared, and will soon be forgotten, and exist only in the records of the past”.
Morgan Evans explains that the breed declined because of the high price of corn during the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. This led to the replacement of old grazing pastures by larger fields devoted to growing corn. After the price of corn stabilised Glamorgan farmers reverted to shorthorn varieties which had advanced through selective breeding and were good for beef and milk.Coleman, The Cattle of Great Britain, page 118-119
It was believed that Glamorgan cattle had become extinct in the 1920s, but a herd was discovered in Sussex in 1979 and the entire herd was purchased by West Glamorgan County Council. These cattle are now kept at Margam Country Park and this saved the breed from extinction.
During the twentieth century Hereford cattle became the main beef breed, while Holstein Friesian cattle were popular as a dual beef and milk producer. In more exposed areas Galloway cattle and Welsh Black cattle were preferred.Rees, J., F. (editor): The Cardiff Region, A Survey, page 141. Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 1960.
Colin Pressdee comments that the Vale produces exceptional quality beef and recommends that when buying it the flesh should be dark “with speckles of fat in the lean” which is called marbling. This keeps the meat moist during cooking. He comments that a roast of rib steak is the best way to eat beef, as smaller pieces can become overcooked.Pressdee, Colin: Colin Pressdee's Welsh Coastal Cookery, page 100. London: BBC Books, 1995. Traditionally, for smaller pieces of beef, a stew would be made and this would produce two meals, the first of meat and vegetables and the second a broth.Anon:Favourite Welsh Recipes, Traditional Welsh Fare, Bwyd Traddodiadol o Gymru, page 32. Sevenoaks: J Salmon Limited, 2018.
Many mixed farms also raise sheep. The Glamorgan Welsh is a local breed and is the largest of the Welsh Mountain Sheep breeds. According to the South Wales Mountain Sheep Society it shares the same primitive ancestry but has been “bred to a definite local type”. It is also known as the Nelson or South Wales Mountain Sheep and is found in the hill districts of Glamorgan, Gwent and south of the Brecon Beacons. Other sheep breeds in the Vale include the Hill Radnor, Suffolk sheep and Clun Forest sheep, which are often cross bred.Rees, The Cardiff Region, page 142
Some farms in the Vale have been in the same family ownership for many generations and many use a traditional rotational grazing system producing lamb, beef, and pork. Farms nearer the coast specialise in rearing and fattening cattle with a focus on fat lamb and beef.
Farmers in Glamorgan used to trade their livestock at the mart at Cowbridge, which was granted a charter in 1254. The mart allowed stock to be sold directly to buyers and this led to Cowbridge developing as a centre for food shops, delicatessens and restaurants. However, the Cowbridge mart closed on 1 September 2020, leaving the closest marts at Raglan, Carmarthen and Brecon.
In 2014, a group of Glamorgan farmers established “Cows on Tour” to educate children about the story of food and farming. They visited schools and gave workshops on how to milk a cow and how to make butter with the aim to teach pupils where food comes from and how it is used in common brands of food.
The pig is often a subsidiary part of the mixed farm.Rees, The Cardiff Region, page 242 In 1918, Glamorgan farmers established The Old Glamorgan Pig Society. This was in response to the restriction on imports of pork and bacon due to World War I. This was the first pig breeding society in Wales and its first herd book was published in 1919. In 1920 the society amalgamated to form the Welsh Pig Society because similar breed types were also being raised in Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire. This created the breed known as the Welsh pig which has had its own herd book with the National Pig Association since 1953.
Black Pudding (Pending Gwaed) is a traditional recipe made with the pig's blood on the day the pig is killed. Tibbot refers to a recipe from Nantgarw and notes that the blood is poured into a large bowl and stirred while warm to avoid clotting. It is then diluted with water, salt is added and it is left to stand overnight. The pig's small intestine is thoroughly washed and left in salt water overnight. Chopped onions are coated with fat from the intestine. Oatmeal and herbs are added and then mixed in the blood. The mixture is then added to the intestine which is tied with string at both ends, leaving room for expansion when boiled. The pudding is then boiled in water and hung to dry. Slices of the pudding are then fried with bacon.Tibbott, S. M.: Welsh Fare: A Selection of Traditional Recipes, page 17. Cardiff: National Museums and Galleries of Wales; New Edition, 1976.
Fish The Glamorgan coastline extends to about 90 miles in length, with the eastern shore formed by low-lying flats made up of alluvial deposits which continue until the estuary of the River Taff. Between Penarth and Lavernock the coast forms cliffs and then continues as a low rocky shore until it reaches Barry. From there, the coast leads to extensive sand dunes and then to Swansea Bay and the Gower Peninsula.Evans, Glamorgan, Its History and Topography, page 10
Fish caught along the coast of Glamorgan include cod, sole, haddock, bream, hake, skate, common ling, conger eel and whiting in their respective seasons. However, halibut is rare and haddock and plaice not very abundant.Evans, Glamorgan, Its History and Topography, page 140
The rivers of the Vale are relatively small and include the Ewenny, Ogmore, Ely and Thaw. They hold game fish such as brown trout, grayling and sea trout. Pressdee notes that salmon are known to run up the Ely and Ogmore. However, there is little commercial fishing, because the geography of the Vale means that the rivers are short in length. This means that fish are caught for domestic consumption and are usually baked or grilled.Pressdee, Welsh Coastal Cookery, page 10
Welsh dishes for trout tend to be simple. Baked Trout with Oatmeal is a dish where the trout is cleaned, gutted and rolled in oatmeal, bacon fat is added and the fish is then baked.Freeman, B: Welsh Country Cookery, Traditional Recipes from the Country Kitchens of Wales, page 53. Talybont: Y Lolfa, 2003. Trout with Bacon involves wrapping the trout in bacon which lubricates the fish and to which lemon and parsley may be added.Freeman, Welsh Country Cookery, page 23
Milk products