The secret behind the unique tastes and textures of Brue Valley Farm Butter

Date: Tuesday, October 1, 2024

As Leicestershire-based food and dairy machinery suppliers Machinery World Group celebrate 25 years of trading, one of their first customers, Simon Clapp of Brue Valley Farm, explains their own transition from cheese to butter suppliers, and how Machinery World have been with them every step of the journey.

Nestled in the lush Somerset levels with views to Glastonbury Tor is Brue Valley Farm, where the Clapp family have farmed the land for almost 500 years, raising herds of relaxed and happy cows to produce quality milk.

Traditionally cheese-makers, they started to experiment with producing high quality bespoke butter options in 2005 – and within eight years their business had switched completely to focus solely upon small batch butter and their award-winning fior di latte mozzarella.

“We started supplying M&S over 38 years ago, producing many of their own brand cheeses,” explains Simon, who has grown up making cheese and butter on the farm. “When they asked us to take on a butter project for them, we grasped it with both hands – and haven’t looked back.”

Initially produced in a small space at the back of the dairy, the butter business grew quickly, spreading across the former cheese factory to enable the family to make more and more butter.

It was during these early growth years that Simon turned once again to Paul Crowter who, in 2007 had expanded the Machinery World Group to include the ROKK Processing arm of the business, supplying their own brand machinery for the dairy industry.

“I knew Paul from his inaugural days of starting Machinery World,” says Simon, “and he always had something interesting to sell. I liked his straight dealing approach and family values which resonated with our own, so when he showed me the ROKK butter homogeniser, a partnership was formed.”

Simon and Paul worked closely together on this early model homogeniser, making small changes to enhance the performance of the machine and developing additional features and options to increase flexibility.

Brue Valley Homogeniser

“What’s really refreshing about working with Machinery World is that they genuinely listen to their customers and take on board their suggestions, which is why their own-brand machinery is so good,” says Simon. “The key things I look for in a machine are durability, value for money, simplicity and the back-up of high-quality servicing. The ROKK homogeniser and Machinery World engineering team give us all these things, plus the flexibility to create batches in a variety of different sizes, which is vitally important to our business.”

It is this versatile and explorative approach that has made many big name retail and wholesalers long term partners of Brue Valley Farm, as Simon explains:

“Both we – and our customers – recognised that we could do what the big players can’t do, which is to make exceptionally high quality small and bespoke batches, experimenting with different flavours, shapes and portions.”

Unlike many other butter manufacturers, who have turned to more modern methods, the Clapps continue to follow procedures passed down through generations of the family, using traditional old-fashioned barrels, batch churning and hand salting to create an open-textured product with a depth of flavour.

Brue Valley Salted Butter

“We are always happy to try something new,” says Simon. “In fact, I would say it’s a core driver of ours to continue to challenge the norm, trialling new tastes and styles, but always backed up by the finest of ingredients, traditions and machinery.”

Over the past 3 months a further six new retailer products have hit the shelves bursting with the unique tastes and textures of Brue Valley Farm.

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The secret behind the unique tastes and textures of Brue Valley Farm Butter

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