A Sussex field of blue linseed
The Linseed Farm
On the Farm
You may have come across Linseed by its other name of flax. There are several varieties grown for both food and industrial purposes – the interior panels of your car are probably made from linseed fibre!
The end use determines which variety is selected for planting, but here at High Barn Oils we need a Linseed that will produce a short-stemmed plant that throws all its energy into swelling the tiny seed head with oil.
In the past, we have grown Laser, with its bright white flowers, and pretty, blue-petalled Oscar, among many others, some of which have higher amounts of the all-important health-giving fatty acid, Omega 3.
All our Linseed is grown in Sussex and plantings in 2007 rose to 130 acres – our biggest area yet!
Our Linseed is GM-free and the farm, which is wholly owned and managed by the Banks family, is a member of the “green” group Leaf (Linking Environment and Farming), so you can be sure the crop is grown to the highest environmental standards with only the minimal, essential use of chemicals to control pests and disease.
The seeds are planted in April and the crop is harvested roughly six months later, depending on growing conditions. September is the busiest time of year for us, so if the voice at the end of the phone when you order your Linseed sounds a little breathless, we’ve probably just jumped off a tractor… you can’t get much more hands on than that!
Linseed Seeds
These tiny seeds are mighty healthy
In the Big Barn
Linseed isn’t the easiest plant to harvest, so there’s a good deal of relief when several tonnes of the glistening dark heads with their pungent smell are sitting safely in our purpose-built barn.
Thanks to a government grant, we were able to build a holding bay, pressing room and pack house with ancillary offices in 2001/2, so no seed travels more than 20 miles from the field for crushing – you can’t get fresher than that. Being able to store seed also means we can press on demand, so oil reaches customers in perfect condition. Chefs and professional oil tasters agree – they tell us our Linseed is among the best on the market.
Seeds are deposited into an augur and gravity fed into a cold press, similar to that used for the finest single estate olive oils. After several hours, the golden oil is finally ready. That destined for human consumption passes through two micron filters with holes smaller than the width of a human hair, while the same oil is filtered just once before bottling for pets and horses.
Being farmers, we make sure that nothing goes to waste. The husks of the seeds are turned into an oil-rich cake, which is fed to local dairy cattle to improve their health and enrich their milk. A small amount is finely milled to make Linseed flour, which is sold for baking and cereal topping.
Roughly 60% of our oil is sent away for encapsulating into Linseed Lifepods, while the remainder is bottled on site as Culinary Linseed Oil before being distributed to retailers or sent direct to mail order customers.
We are always pleased to show visitors the pressing process and hold several open days during the year. For details of our next event, call 01403 730326.
