Love in a Cold Climate

Photo © Rob Jones

January 25th is a big day for foodies.

If you’re Scottish (see AMM’s post today), then you’ll be gearing up for a Burns Night supper.  It’s also National Irish Coffee Day (who knew?) and it’s also the curiously named National Opposite Day, when people are encouraged to say and do the opposite of what they would normally say and do. 

In Wales, many people have only just psychologically recovered from parading the Mari Lwyd horse’s skull through the village, engaging in a musical battle with householders as to why they may or may not gain entry and be given food and ale. Let’s face it, would you invite some bloke under a sheet carrying a horses skull on a pole into your home? Really?

Plus, the bills are coming in, and the hastily contrived fitness schedule is beginning to break down.

So, for many it’s a time of emotional fence mending.

And what better way to do it than by falling in love.  If only there was a patron saint of love in January. Do we really need to wait until February 14th for St. Valentine with his somewhat dubious origins and contemporary commercialism to kick in? 

Actually no.

May I introduce to you – St. Dwynwen. The Welsh patron saint of Love.

Where’s she been all these years?  Sadly, playing second fiddle to St. Valentine, who may never have existed, having possibly been a construct of Chaucer.  But whereas Valentine has quite a broad portfolio, as patron of not only lovers but also as a saviour of beekeepers, accountants, plague sufferers and travellers, Saint Dwynwen is ALL about love.

So, what do we know about her?

Dwynwen lived during the 5th century in Wales.  She was said to be the prettiest of Welsh King Brychan Brycheiniog’s 24 daughters – he married three times and allegedly had just as many sons. Some old documents suggest he had 63 kids.  There’s not much to do in Powys, even to this day.

One day, so legend has it, a prince called Maelon became romantically obsessed by Dwynwen, but according to the version I prefer, she was having nothing of it, and anyway her father had someone else lined up for her to marry. Here’s where it becomes a ‘careful what you wish for story.’  She prayed to God that he would ‘cool it.’

Lo and behold, Maelon was turned into a block of ice.

Full of remorse, she prayed again, suggesting that she hadn’t meant for such an extreme punishment.  So she was granted three wishes.  Her first was for Maelon to be thawed out.  The second was that the prayers of all true-hearted lovers should be heard. And the third was that she would never marry and be allowed to devote her life to the church as a nun.

She’s said to have ended her days on a remote spot on Anglesey telling fortunes with the help of a well full of fish or eels – at Llanddwyn island, which ironically is now a very popular tourist attraction.

There are other legends which have twists in the tale, such as an angel pitching up one day with a potion to allow her to forget Maelon, because she was actually quite keen on him, but again her father disapproved of the relationship.

5th century pilgrims would seek her out so she could divine if their relationships would be happy or sad.   Even after her death, it is said the well begins to fizz when approached by couples who’ll be lucky in love.

There’s been a revival for St. Dwynwen in recent years – with just a hint of commercialism.  Supermarkets are now selling St. Dwynwen cards, and restaurants put on slap-up meals for loving couples.  And there are the traditional beautifully carved Welsh Love Spoons. 

But you’d be hard pressed to find foods directly related to St. Dwynwen.  And many delicacies you’d associate with love – aphrodisiacs – chocolate, figs, oysters, chilli and strawberries – are not particularly easy to find naturally in Wales in January.

However … 

As a tribute to poor old Maelon who was frozen out of his relationship with St. Dwynwen, how about we enjoy some ice cream with a Welsh twist?

Ice Cream has a long and honourable history in Wales, and recently there’s been an explosion in artisan makers who have been playing with some novel flavours – Wimberries, Blackcurrants, Honey, elderflower, and even Welsh Whisky.  

I have two favourites though – one being Bara Brith flavour, and the second is Welsh Cream Tea. 

We’ll be exploring the genesis of Bara Brith in a later post, but there are plenty to buy in the shops in Wales, and it’s very satisfying to make.  Bara Brith, for the un-initiated is a ‘tea-loaf’ which includes a whole host of spices to create something half-way between cake and bread. Its name itself means ‘speckled bread.’

If you’re making your ice cream from scratch, then you’ll need an ice cream chiller.  There are other ways to do it without, but ….

Ingredients:

200 ml Whole Milk
150g Caster Sugar
Vanilla pod or vanilla essence
500 ml of Double Cream
6 Egg Yolks.

Method

Put the milk, sugar and vanilla pod in a pan with a pinch of salt and bring to the boil. Leave to cool. Remove the vanilla pod after it’s done its job. Beat the egg yolks together and add the lukewarm milk - whisking briskly. Put the pan back over a low heat and stir until the custard is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.  Keep stirring, the whole process should take around 8-10 minutes.

Pour the custard mix into the chilled double cream, again stirring furiously. Pour the mix into an ice cream maker for about half an hour.  About half way through, add your extras – either crumbled up Bara Brith, or crumbled Welsh Cakes and spoonfuls strawberry jam if you’ve opted for the Welsh Cream Tea option.

Freeze the mix overnight, if you can wait that long.

Serve to a loved on on St. Dwynwen’s day – though not if his name is Maelon, as that would be a little insensitive.

R.