There is a dairy farm on the Ards Peninsula in Northern Ireland which has been home to the Taylor family since 1856. It is called Glastry Farm. The Irish translation of Glastry is “the townland of the green pastures” which is as perfect a description of a place as we can think of.
The land is lush, thanks to the area’s unique micro-climate which makes it a little warmer than other parts. The cows that graze on that lush green grass seem to know that they are on a nice little number. Their milk tastes so creamy and good. We think it is because they are such happy girlies (and the chappies who help bring the new calves into the world) but science tells us it also has something to do with the tetraploid rye grasses and the white clover which “fix” nitrogen into the soil.
Anyway, that’s the science bit. After decades and decades of milking the cows just for the milk, like his forefathers, Will Taylor had a lightbulb moment. He was on an apple farm in Slovenia on a Department of Agriculture trip at the time. They were turning their apples into cider and he thought what could I do with my milk to add value? He discounted cheese, mostly because of his sweet tooth and decided on ice-cream instead.
He tasked Loughry College’s Food Technology Centre with creating the best Vanilla ever. They duly obliged and taught him the ropes and so Glastry Farm Ice Cream was born in 2007. The first member of the family, Vanilla Bean, is still the head honcho, but SO many other flavours have been added since then. We have even branched into sorbets. These have been developed to be 100% VEGAN (as well as gluten free) making them suitable for all.
We don’t like to brag but our awards shelf is groaning these days… Great Taste Awards, Blas na hEireann Irish Food Awards, JFC Innovation Award, Good Food Ireland Producer of the Year, Grassland Farm of the Year, Northern Ireland Dairy Farm of the Year … pretty much every flavour has an accolade…you’ll see when you scroll down the list. It is growing all the time so make sure to check in with us on social media for news of new flavour combinations and where to buy them. In the meantime, we’ll keep on milking, churning and delivering them across the land and beyond…
