February - Welsh Oysters
Wales has several oyster beds at Swansea Bay, Milford Haven and the Menai Straits, and unfortunately at present only the latter is in production. However the quality of oysters from the same pure clean water that produces Halen Mon Sea Salt is superb. They are very full-in-the-shell, or well-fished, and have firm mineral savoured flesh.

Menai Oysters operate the beds at Brynsiencyn, with a land based purification system close by. Here they also cleanse mussels that are of the same high quality. They supply by mail order. The tip is to order oysters, then some mussels on the same delivery, so the delivery cost of these is negligible.

March - Welsh ham
In the past every smallholding kept a few pigs that would forage the land, eat household scraps, and gorge on the autumn plenty, and then provide much meat for the winter months. Most would be salted to become bacon, and gammon. The traditional process of dry curing would enable the meat to keep for many months; some would be smoked in the large chimney of the kitchen to give a different wood-smoke flavour.

In the modern age ham is cured by injecting brine into the pork. This darkens the meat and breaks down the texture. Dry curing actually forms a crust on the meat, causing a slow chemical reaction and evaporation of the juices through this crust. It takes about six weeks to cure a whole ham, but the process will continue for many months, the raw meat eventually becoming totally cured. On the continent Bayonne, Parma and Iberico ham is a great delicacy.

In Wales traditional curing virtually disappeared, Albert Rees of Carmarthen market being one of few who kept the five generations of family tradition going. Chris and Ann Rees now cure about fifty hams a week; some are boiled and sold as cooked ham in the market, while the best of these are kept for nine months to become Carmarthen ham. This is eaten exactly as continental cured hams, usually sliced thinly and served cold, perhaps with some fruit as melon or figs. Trimmings can be grilled or fried to garnish a salad. It is not suitable for boiling or baking.

April - Pembertons Chocolates
Easter is synonymous with chocolate in its most ornate form in Easter eggs. Artistry with chocolate has been practised since Victorian times in every country with a culinary tradition. Chocolate, even though an everyday snack item is seen as a luxury that can be made in a multitude of forms.

Pemberton Jones Ltd from Llanboidy in West Wales makes Victorian chocolates in traditional ways without the use of any artificial additives. Their factory and shop has become a great tourist attraction. Their range of over 200 designs is based on myths, images and legends of Welsh culture, including a lovespoon and the Welsh feathers. They make Easter eggs in many sizes and designs that will make the most appropriate Welsh festive gift.

July - Salt Marsh lamb
There's a vast acreage of land in Wales in the estuaries that have rampant growth of grasses and marsh succulents as samphire and sea beet. The tides do not flood these areas until the equinox springs, and hence they are safe grazing. Lambs roam freely in these areas and ingest a most varied diet. The flavour of the meat is quite different from animals grazed high on mountains, and in recent years this has become another delicacy, to many equally distinctive as Welsh mountain lamb from Snowdonia.

Pre sale lamb is highly prized in France. The great master Paul Bocuse said in his first book thirty years ago that the finest lamb was from the sea meadows on the French coastline of the English Channel. In Wales the Severn Estuary, the river estuaries of Carmarthen Bay from the Loughour to Laugharne, the Teifi - all around to the Dee taking in the Mawddach, Traeth and Conwy are areas for grazing salt marsh lamb.

Hence there is a large potential production, little of which has been sold as a distinct style of lamb in the past. Salt marsh lamb should be treated exactly as other lamb, cooked by the classic techniques according to the cut or joint. It does not have a salty flavour, just a richness of the lean that is deeper than that of hill lamb, and perhaps darker in colour.

August - Bass and other prime fish from Welsh coast
Large quantities of bass are caught all around the Welsh coast, particularly the Lleyn Peninsula, Pembroke and the Gower. Commercially most are destined for the London and Continental markets. But many local amateur fishermen will eagerly sell their catch, so a good feast can be enjoyed. Always ask them to scale and de-gut the fish. The fresher this is done the better. Refrigerate the fish as soon as possible, covered with cling film to prevent it drying out. Bass can also be bought from fishmongers, even supermarkets. But note the following points.

September - The Bangor Mussel Fishery
The winter months are the season for many seafoods including oysters and mussels, and it's the latter that has developed into a major managed fishery in North Wales. The area of the Menai Straits between Bangor and Beaumaris and out into the Conwy Bay is now the largest mussel fishery in Britain. Several state-of-the-art mussel dredgers work the beds, relaying the tiny 'spat' (baby mussels) from unsuitable intertidal areas into the deep water 'lays' where mussels will grow to market size within twelve months. The bulk of the harvest, that can be up to 50% of the total British landings, is exported to the ready and eager European markets in France, Holland and Belgium.

October - Halloween
Marrows, squashes, gourds and pumpkins are all part of autumn and winter food. They come in many different shapes and sizes. The pumpkin is synonymous with Halloween. For centuries these have been made into 'Jack o'lanterns' by hollowing out the pumpkin, inserting a candle, and cutting a face that glows in the dark to ward off evil spirits! The easiest way to cook all these squashes etc is to bake them in the oven until just soft. The tasty pulp can then be scooped out easily. If the skin is tender it's delicious, served simply in wedges as a vegetable. The pulp can be made into soups, pies (pumpkin pie), gratins, a risotto, a mash, and any use in place of potatoes.

December - Christmas
At Christmas the great feast was roast goose. This hardy farmyard bird could survive the harshest weather after foraging the fields in the summer and autumn. It was not until the late nineteenth century that the turkey began to feature on Christmas menus. It was introduced from North America and soon it was bred on a large scale on farms in Britain.

In Pembrokeshire the winter days are milder than the rest of Britain due to its westerly location and the warming influence. In recent years goose has become popular again, even though the yield from a bird is far less than a turkey. The wonderful, rich, dark flesh of a goose has a most distinctive flavour and with its traditional garnishes of herb stuffing and apple sauce this is a real festive treat

Source:http://www.walesthetruetaste.com
           http://www.visitbritain.com
           http://www.wda.co.uk