The New Forest is a gastronome’s paradise, as it is home to a multitude of locally owned and operated award-winning restaurants, gastropubs, and food producers.
For additional information, have a look at our tips on the top New Forest pubs and places to shop in the area. Guests will be able to sample a wide variety of locally sourced foods that are sold at restaurants, farm stores, and farmer’s markets located across the area.
Keep an eye out for the New Forest Marque when you’re shopping for tasty treats to take home with you. This recognizable blue badge can be found on more than one hundred products that were either made locally or sourced locally.
These products include not only food and drink but also handmade gifts, wooden crafts, plants, and more. Those items that have been given the official seal of approval by the New Forest National Park Authority as having been grown, bred, fished, brewed, manufactured, or processed in the New Forest are the only ones that are allowed to wear the New Forest Marque.
We have narrowed it down to just a handful of our favorite food and drink products that are produced and created in the New Forest, and we strongly suggest that you give them a try while you are here. Each of the items features the New Forest Marque, which indicates that the product’s authenticity, as well as its quality, can be verified.
Lyburn Farmhouse Cheesemakers
The Lyburn Farmhouse Cheesemakers are widely regarded as the best cheesemakers in the New Forest region. They manufacture seven distinct kinds of cheese on their farm using their own cow’s milk that has been pasteurized.
They include the oak-smoked, garlic and nettle, and Winchester, which has a flavor that is somewhere between that of cheddar and gouda. Other kinds include nettle and garlic.
You can find the whole list of stockists here. Their cheese can be purchased in a variety of cheesemongers, farm stores, and even Waitrose deli counters around the UK, in addition to at their very own farm shop, which is located in the northern part of the New Forest, close to Landford.
A Pinch Of Salt Curing
A Pinch of Salt creates an assortment of charcuterie products, including pancetta, salami, chorizo, and bresaola, using meat that is procured from free-range farms and small holdings located inside the boundary of Hampshire.
They specialize in employing meat obtained from the nearby Pennington Fa
rm as well as wild boar from the New Forest in their goods. In addition, the smaller pedigree pig breeds that they use come from their own breeding program.
You may either place an order for several of their charcuterie goods through their website or buy them in person at the T. Bartlett & Son butchers located in New Milton.
You could also see their wood-fired oven making the rounds at a local food festival while you’re there, where it will be cooking up delectable pizzas topped with cured meats. If this is the case, you should definitely stop by and check it out.
Dancing Cows
Beers, ales, and spirits of varying styles are just some of the alcoholic beverages that Dancing Cows has available for purchase. Particularly well-known among their products is the Lymington Gin, which in 2016 took home the award for Beverages Product of the Year at the Hampshire Life Food & Drink Awards.
In addition to that, they make Damson gin, rye, and rum; also, their Lighthouse golden ale and Pony amber ale are quite well known.
You may purchase their beers and spirits directly from their distillery and brewhouse in Lymington if you’re seeking to pick up a couple of bottles.
Lymington is the location of both of these establishments. Several of their goods are also offered by a number of local wine experts in addition to being available for purchase on their website and in their online store.
You may also find Dancing Cows performing at local markets and culinary festivals throughout the year. Some examples of these events are Cowes Week on the Isle of Wight and the Lymington Seafood Festival.
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Bakehouse24
BakeHouse24 is an artisan bakery located in Ringwood that crafts delectable loaves of bread by employing time-honored sourdough production techniques and utilizing only locally sourced, organic ingredients.
They are extremely dedicated to their work and even provide full-day workshops for aspiring bakers in which they teach the techniques involved in making sourdough bread. In addition to producing bread, they also bake a selection of delicious hand-crafted cakes and pastries for customers to enjoy.
You may try out the baked goods for yourself by going to the bakehouse on Lynes Road in Ringwood. There are also a few farm stores in and around the New Forest that offer their products.
Fordingbridge Fudge
A trip to Fordingbridge Fudge is the place to go if you’re searching for a tasty memento to bring back with you from your travels. The classic stove top fudge made by these confectioners is made using milk and butter from Guernsey. Both of these ingredients are sourced locally.
You can get their fudge, which has a texture similar to that of butterscotch and melts in your mouth, in a wide range of flavors, from the more conventional ones like vanilla, chocolate, and butterscotch to the more out-of-the-ordinary ones like lime, passion fruit, and even liquorice.
All of their delicious confections are available for purchase both online and at a variety of local retailers located around the state of Hampshire. Also, you can find them at a number of the farmer’s markets located across Hampshire, where you are more than welcome to taste some free samples of their delectable flavors.
New Forest Scotch Egg Co
The New Forest Scotch Egg Company is renowned for its handcrafted gourmet scotch eggs, which they produce on their farm close to Ringwood. They manufacture Scotch eggs in a variety of flavors by making the most of the locally sourced ingredients that are available, such as eggs from free-range chickens and meat from local butchers.
In addition to the traditional pig flavor, they also create spicy chorizo, venison from the New Forest, vegetarian falafel, and gluten-free variations of all of these products. No matter which option you go with, you’re in for a mouthwatering snack.
The handcrafted Scotch eggs are available for purchase at a variety of festivals and fairs all across the nation, such as the New Forest Show, Poole’s Taste of the South Festival, and the Romsey Show, to name just a few of these events.
Marlings Vineyard
When you think of vineyards, the warmer climates of the Mediterranean may be the first thing that comes to mind. Nevertheless, there is a vineyard right here in our very own New Forest that produces award-winning wines. In addition to two single-barrel red types, Marlings produces still and sparkling white and rosé varieties.
The rosé comes in both still and sparkling forms. Even more impressively, the 2013 Vintage of their Sparkling White Wine was awarded a Bronze Medal at the 2017 UK Wine Awards.
Due to the fact that they are a micro-winery, their wines are exclusively sold at a select number of local establishments, including Priory Wines close to Lymington, New Forest Wines in Ringwood, Stewarts Garden Centre close to Christchurch, and The Forage Deli in Lyndhurst.
New Forest Wild & Exotic Mushrooms
Since they cultivate and produce a wide range of wild and exotic mushrooms on their own private estate, New Forest Wild & Exotic Mushrooms is able to provide customers with an extensive selection of mushroom types that are typically difficult to find.
There are both fresh and dried types available, and among the more exotic sorts that may be purchased are black trumpets and chicken of the woods. They also specialize in wild garlic and a variety of exquisite items made with truffles, such as truffle oil, truffle salt, and truffle honey.
Their mushrooms and other wild delicacies may be purchased at a number of the neighborhood markets, and the Stewarts Garden Centre, located close to Christchurch, is another one of their well-established stockists.
Parkside Produce
Parkside Produce specializes in making jams, chutneys, marmalades, jellies, curds, and cordials, all of which are created in small amounts from a cottage kitchen. They use fruits, vegetables, and herbs that have been freshly harvested from the garden.
From traditional summer berry conserves to spicy and delicious Moroccan chutneys, the selection of more than 120 variations makes it possible for everybody to pick the condiment that best complements their meal.
Items are available for purchase either directly from the cottage in Rockbourne via a limited number of local retailers or at the Sandy Balls Farmers Market in Godshill, which takes place on the third Sunday of every month.
Beaulieu Chocolate Studio
The Beaulieu Chocolate Studio began operations in 2006 and currently produces more than thirty distinct types of filled chocolates, in addition to chocolate bars and presents centered around chocolate.
The filled chocolates offered come in a variety of flavors, some of which are more commonplace, such as chocolate fudge and caramel, while others, such as forest fruit truffles, are more out of the ordinary.
Their novelty chocolates, which are formed into amusing shapes such as automobiles, horses, and guitars, are excellent presents. Choose from among these and other options.
You may even see the chocolatiers at work if you visit their shop on Beaulieu High Street, which is part shop and part chocolate factory if you are interested in purchasing any of their chocolates. The shop is located on the same street as the chocolate factory. The majority of their wares are also available for purchase on their website.
