FOOD AS A NOBLE ART

MANOR FOOD: Five of Denmark’s historic castles and manors have joined forces to produce food and drink according to the old virtues that characterise good and simple craft, proud traditions and respect for the quality and taste of the ingredients.

Food is not only to be eaten, but also to be experienced, with everything that involves of aromas and visual impressions. Part of the experience is knowing the origin of the ingredients, while the focus is on quality and taste based on simple principles. A fresh chicken that has been bred using common sense and given good, varied and natural food, tastes, all other things being equal, best.

This history and experience carries through when you put your teeth into aromarich, tender and juicy manor chicken from one of Denmark’s largest manors, Frijsenborg, which is located in scenic surroundings in the forests of central Jutland. The more than 300 year old estate is part of a collaboration between five of Denmark’s largest castles and manors. Each of them has their own speciality that forms part of a unique product programme, covering everything required for a Danish lunch table.

The collaboration and brand De 5 Gaarde [The Five Farms] comprises Schackenborg Castle in southern Jutland, Frijsenborg and Constantinsborg in central Jutland, Gyllingnæs in eastern Jutland and Wedellsborg on Funen. The castles and manors are part of more than 500 hundred years’ Danish history.

“The agricultural production in the estates signals all the old virtues that characterise good and simple craft, proud traditions and respect for the quality and taste of the ingredients,” says head of sales Erik Jensen of De 5 Gaarde A/S. “We see that consumers are willing to pay what quality costs. We will under all circumstances not compromise. And that applies to every step from earth to table. Animal welfare, hygiene at the production locations, traceability and durability are allimportant. Consumers need to know what it is they are eating and where it comes from, as well as enjoying a good taste experience.” The product range from De 5 Gaarde currently comprises flour and bread, chickens, sausages, cheeses, potatoes, beers and distilled spirits.

“We constantly carry out product development to help broaden the collaboration,” says Erik Jensen. “One of the next products, from which we expect a lot, will be meat production from young bullocks grazed on the meadows of Schackenborg, Prince Joachim’s castle. We will pick up the thread from the earliest Danish agricultural exports, which were live bullocks for the European market. Now it will be as ingredients in highly processed food.”

Oak aquavit from Schackenborg

Schackenborg Castle

The latest product from De 5 Gaarde is a unique aquavit from Schackenborg Castle. The aquavit has been developed by HRH Prince Joachim who owns the castle whose history dates back 350 years. The castle is run as a modern agriculture and forestry company. When some several hundred year old oak trees had to be chopped down, Prince Joachim used the heartwood to give flavour to an aquavit, which has been praised by connoisseurs. The aquavit consists purely of barley malt, water and oak wood, with the barley malt being distilled in Denmark’s new micro distillery, Braunstein. In each bottle, a tiny oak rod is placed, which after a couple of months develops a distinct taste and colour, making the aquavit an exceptional taste experience. The bottle is labelled with a forest map and exact GPS coordinates of where the tree grew. During 2007, the oak aquavit will be marketed on Denmark’s neighbouring export markets, where collaboration partners currently are sought.  

Bread with traditions

Frijsenborg

In addition to producing manor chickens, Frijsenborg grows most of the corn used for the production of bread from De 5 Gaarde. Frijsenborg is among Denmark’s largest landed properties. The estate has developed a number of cereals, which are used for baking rye bread, one of Denmark’s traditional types of bread for the lunch table. The breads are sold through the bakeries of COOP, Denmark’s largest supermarket chain. In addition to producing cereals, Frijsenborg is one of Denmark’s largest producers of decorative greenery. The castle is owned by Count Bendt Wedell, who is the 12th generation of the castle’s original owner. The Constantinsborg manor, which is 350 year old and beautifully situated in an old moraine landscape in eastern Jutland, is one of the farms that supply the wheat for the light bread.

Beer with taste

 
Gyllingnæs

Danes’ liking for good beer dates back to the Viking age and Danish beers – with names such as Carlsberg and Royal Brew – are known throughout the world. In recent years, there has been a strong increase in the number of new microbreweries that help to set new standards for beer quality with novel types of beers. De 5 Gaarde has developed a range of speciality beers, which are associated with the location of the manors, since the names of former owners and supervisors have been used to name the various beers. The label on each beer has a small history about the person. The beers are brewed according to a simple method where the focus is on the raw ingredients: the barley malt from their own fields, with added hops, yeast and water.

Finely crafted cheese

Constantinsborg

Gyllingnæs manor is located in one of Denmark’s most beautiful countryside areas, with meadows and beach areas overlooking the Kattegat. The manor breeds the dairy cattle which supply the milk for the De 5 Gaarde’s production of Kirstine cheese, a mild, soft and tasty cheese of the Danbo type. It is stored for 10-12 weeks before it is supplied to restaurants and COOP supermarkets. The cheese production itself is carried out in a neighbouring dairy, where the cheese is matured according to the best craft traditions.

Gyllingnæs is the youngest of the manors in De 5 Gaarde. The estate was established in 1801 and the current main building is from 1865. Its extensive fields and meadows are a paradise for game and wading birds.

The Danish Lunch

Wedellsborg

The basis of much of De 5 Gaarde’s product range is selected cereals from Wedellsborg, a manor with 4,000 hectares of land used for growing cereals and for forestry. The estate is beautifully located on a peninsula projecting into the belt, which separates Funen from Jutland. The main building of the estate is more than 500 years old.

The corn from De 5 Gaarde is cultivated without using straw shorteners, and all foods are produced using the fewest possible additives, so that the original taste of the ingredients is maintained.

One of the successes is a range of castle bread, with which a complete lunch can be prepared comprising experience-rich products from the farms. The Danish rye bread with coarse seeds is especially a delicacy, which has played a part in making Danish open sandwiches worldrenowned.

http://www.de5gaarde.dk