The Midlands

When I think of the Midlands I first think of Birmingham and spaghetti junction as I frequently travel up the M40, M42 and the greyish M6 to visit my father, but alongside the great heartlands of the industrial revolution are, paradoxically, some of the most fertile agricultural countryside in Britain.

The Midlands covers a vast area from the Welsh borders in the West to Lincolnshire in the East, and can be roughly split into two halves. The West Midlands which encompasses Herefordshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire - and then the East Midlands incorporating Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Northamptonshire and
Nottinghamshire.

As the land is so fertile a high level of milk production makes the Midlands a major cheese-making region, giving us the king of all cheeses, Stilton, along with Sage Derby, Shropshire Blue and Red Leicester as well as all manner of soft cheeses from both goats’ and cows’ milk.

Fruit and vegetables grow in abundance across the region. The Vale of Evesham goes green with asparagus in May followed later by some of the finest plums that England has to offer. The region’s cider and perry are both celebrated products, with the Bramley apple having originated from Nottinghamshire, and pears even featuring on Worcester’s
official coat of arms.

On the livestock front, the Tamworth pig is the choice of most pork producers. It’s no wonder when only the best ingredients are needed for the most legendary pie of all, the “Melton Mowbray” pork pie. Beef takes pride of place with the white faced Hereford, a cross between the native red long horned cattle and cattle from Flanders. This innovative
breed has been attributed to Lord Scudamore around 1650.

The region’s food is made truly diverse with the addition of Britain’s favourite food, the curry, with tikka marsala and kedgeree having been invented by the region’s Asian population. The Midlands also boasts two of the country’s most well-known brand names of grocery products, namely Lea and Perrin’s Worcestershire sauce and Marmite! Fish is available here too, but comes from rivers and lakes rather than the coast, in this land-locked region. Think Rutland trout, pike and the famous elvers from the River Severn.

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