wintry, local food

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Obviously, eating local food in the winter takes a little more perseverance and planning than in the summer.  The frequency and geographical locations of farmers’ markets may not be as profuse, but Philadelphia is certainly fortunate that there is still a diversity of local food available amid the winter cold.  I’m still working for some of these local-food organizations, and I’ve done some investigation into other sources, so here are my thoughts!

Let me talk about Winter Harvest first, partly because I work for Farm to City but also because I’m posting this entry today primarily to remind everyone that it’s the last day to place your orders for February.  Winter Harvest is a winter buying club run by Farm to City, and I’ve already described the way it works.  (The ordering window closes TODAY at 5 pm, and if you don’t have an account already you can use PayPal to deposit some initial money.)  There are literally hundreds of items—herbs and bread and coffee, almost any kind of meat cut desired, goat dairy products, and even some vegetables like potatoes (of course) and baby greens.  And I’m sure you can make your weekly Thursday pick-up at one of our dropsites that’s convenient for you!

(Photo from Farm to City.)

Then, there are still two farmers’ markets that continue year-round in Philadelphia; both are on Saturdays, 10-2.  The larger of the two is in West Philly at Clark Park, 43rd & Baltimore— and it is a superb farmers’ market anyway, in a wonderful neighborhood!  (Not that I am at all biased by living within a couple blocks.)  I know the market manager, and I asked him recently about what farmers are still coming during the winter.  There is an Amish farmer with baked goods and noodles and eggs and such, Keystone Farm with apples and meat, Landisdale Farms with a variety of beautiful certified-organic vegetables and beef, Slow Rise Bakery, Margerum’s with the previously-discussed dried beans and a large selection of herbs & spices, Maury Sheetz with vegetables, Rineer Family Farms with roots and salad greens and (new!) beef, and Betty’s Tasty Buttons fudge.  Every other week, there is also a farmer there with chickens…  So, as Naomi has described before, clearly there’s still plenty of local food to enjoy these days!  The other market is at Fitler Square, 23rd & Pine, which I think has two farms.  I think one is called Highland Orchards—can anyone confirm this?  They grow a variety of crops in greenhouses, but also may buy some vegetables to supplement their variety.  Rineer Family Farms is also there over the winter, before moving back to Rittenhouse Square when it opens!

And of course there’s the Fair Food Farmstand, still conveniently open Tuesday-Sunday at the usual Reading Terminal hours.  There are lots of apples and potatoes, mushrooms, citrus sourced through a PA co-op from family farms in Florida, a full selection of grass-fed meats and dairy, and treats like maple sugar and fudge and biscotti. 

Bababloo

Sunday, January 13, 2008

If you saw this cheese in your refrigerator, you’d probably make a face and toss it.  And you would be missing out!  This is another lovely cheese from Valley Shepherd Creamery in New Jersey - what they call Bababloo.

Bababloo is a mixed milk (sheep and cow) blue cheese that is cave-aged from ninety days to six months.  I generally don’t love blue cheeses, but I really love this one - it tastes like the raw milk cheddar available from the Farm Fresh Foodstand in Reading Terminal with blue cheese mixed in.  It’s salty and creamy, with a really great blue taste.

This is a stellar snacking cheese! The block in the photo lasted about 15 minutes in my house.  It is fantastic with pears.

A trio of cheeses

Monday, January 07, 2008

The Fair Food Farmstand recently got some new cheeses into stock from Cherry Grove Farm.  Cherry Grove is located in Lawrenceville, New Jersey.  In addition to cheese made from raw milk from grass-fed cows, you can also get eggs there and grass-fed beef and pork.  Interestingly, they also raise the cutest Tamworth pigs, a heritage breed, I’ve ever seen in my life.  The farm is certified organic, and is committed to sustainable agricultural practices.

The Harvest Toma, pictured above, is cave-aged for two months.  It’s a hard-ish rind cheese and Cherry Grove says its “semisoft texture makes it meltable, spreadable”.  We gave it a try during my volunteer shift at the farmstand on Saturday and I thought it was pretty good - nice texture and just the slightest bit smelly.  Sarah thought perhaps the cheese might be improved by bringing it to room temperature, and I did give it a go at home - opinions may vary, but I don’t think these cheese’s texture was helped.  The texture did change a little, but it seemed rubbery.  I definitely prefer this cheese cold.  I didn’t not test out whether it was a good melting cheese, but it wasn’t super spreadable.  I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing.

Cherry Grove’s ‘provolone’ was my favorite of the three new cheeses.  It’s texture and taste scream ‘provolone’ and it melts perfectly [I used some on a burger for dinner last night].  The provolone is also aged for two months.  This cheese is definitely more dolce than piccante.  I think the provolone will end up being a regular resident in my fridge.

Lastly, there is the Jersey Giovane.  It’s Cherry Grove’s handmade mozzarella.  It does string like mozzarella, but I wasn’t wild about it.  I think I might prefer it if it came packed in water, rather than plastic wrap.  The cheese seemed a little dry to me…and not nearly soft enough for good homemade mozzarella.  Don’t get me wrong - the cheese isn’t bad and is far superior to the crappy mass-produced mozzarella you can get at the grocery store.  It’s just not the best mozzarella I’ve ever tasted.

Swiss Miss

Thursday, December 13, 2007

Naomi emailed me yesterday to ask if I had tried the Hendricks Farm Gruyere.  As it happens, I purchased a bit of it a few days ago and promptly forgot that it was in my refrigerator! 

The Gruyere from Hendricks (available at the Fair Food Farmstand) is a raw milk cheese that they describe as “a classic example of a European Swiss that is aged for over a year”.  While I would not be comfortable saying the Hendricks is a “classic example”, I would say that it’s good in its own right.  It does have a very strong Swiss flavor, vaguely nutty, a little salty. 

Hendricks also describes this cheese as “creamy”, which it definitely is not.  It has more of a crumbly texture that makes it more ideal for snacking.  It may or may not melt well, but the texture does not immediately scream ‘fondue’ to me.

There is a real issue with a few local cheesemakers naming their cheeses using place names.  Gruyere, in particular, is problematic.  In Switzerland, Gruyere cheese has earned Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée status.  If the cheese is made in France, let’s say, you can call it a ‘Gruyere-style’ cheese but you cannot call it ‘Gruyere’.  While I know the U.S. doesn’t follow EU law regarding this kind of stuff, I kind of feel like we should to cut down the confusion.  I know that Otterbein Acres recently renamed their ‘Romano’ to ‘Ewe’s Dream’, although I’m not sure whether it was for that particular reason.

Speaking of Swiss cheese, I recently tried another local variety - the Hope Springs Farm Baby Swiss (purchased from one the vendors at Clark Park Farm Market).  It’s another raw milk Swiss.  Unlike the Hendricks Gruyere, this really could be described as ‘creamy’, but the flavor is much more generic.  It’s not bad, mind you - it’s just not particularly outstanding.  It seems like it would melt really nicely, which is important if you’re looking for a fondue cheese or something like that.

Smooth operator

Monday, December 10, 2007

Everyone has been raving over the Toy Cow Creamery smoothies.  They’re made with milk from grass fed, hormone free cows and these smoothies are super thick! It’s more like drinking yogurt than drinking a yogurt smoothie.  I picked up a blueberry smoothie and was impressed - there are bits of blueberry in there and it has a nice fresh milk taste.

The Toy Cow Creamery is located in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.  That’s a little outside what can genuinely be called ‘local’ - Williamsport is at least a four hour drive from the Philly area. Still, if you’re in the mood for a good smoothie it’s good to support a small, local dairy in Pennsylvania.  The smoothies are available at the Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal Market.

LeRaysville Cheese Factory Portelet

Sunday, November 25, 2007

LeRaysville Cheese Factory, a small Amish-run cheese factory in Lancaster County, makes serviceable cheese.  I would not call their cheese artisan cheese, but it’s a nice alternative to store bought cheese.  Their Sommelier is a lovely melting cheese, but the Portelet is…not great.  And really, it didn’t stand a chance.  Here’s the description:

“A low-salt, low-cholesterol cheese that is reduced in fat, but melts like butter - contains about half the fat of Cheddar.  Made in a similar process to Port Salut.  Ideal for sauces or snacks.”

Look, if you’re watching your cholesterol and need to purchase diet products, Portelet is probably a better choice than the commercially made reduced fat cheeses that taste of pencil eraser.  But the texture is a little on the rubbery side and it’s a little on the bland side.  I didn’t try to melt it, but it probably does melt nicely.

Otterbein Acres pecorino romano

Monday, November 19, 2007

Otterbein Acres makes a sheep milk pecorino romano.  Well, they call it romano, but it’s just not the right texture.  Romano is generally dry-ish, hard, and salty - it’s a good grating cheese.  The Otterbein Acres romano is softer, almost creamy.  Not that it doesn’t make good grating cheese - I used it the other day in my gnocchi and mixed mushrooms meal.  It was delicious!

Perhaps, like the Hendricks Farm parmesan, one could consider this a ‘snacking’ pecorino more than a ‘grating’ pecorino.

Otterbein Acres is near Shippensburg, a nearly 100 acre farm that focuses on sheep and cow that are grass-fed.  Interestingly, nearly all of their sheep milk gets turned into cheese in their small on-site cheese house.  It sounds really cool.  I’d like to go on a visit some day.

Hendricks Farm Grass Stains

Monday, November 12, 2007

I knew my love affair with all things Hendricks Farms would eventually have to come to an end.  I recently bought a piece of Grass Stain cheese and it is probably my least favorite of locally produced cheeses.  My main beef is with the texture.  It’s just…wrong.

Someone told me that Grass Stains is really just Cow Pie blended with cracked black pepper and an herb blend on the rind.  And, despite my good experience with Cow Pie, I’ve heard lots of people say they were very disappointed with the texture.  Like Cow Pie, I thought perhaps being brought to room temp would transform the cheese.  Not so.  The cheese remained crumbly and dry…and almost chalky.

Emily, manager of the Fair Food Farmstand, mentioned in passing the other day that she wasn’t a fan because you lose the flavor of the milk.  I do think the herbed rind competes a bit with the cracked pepper inside, but I wasn’t terribly bothered by it.  If the texture had been better, I probably would have liked the peppery bite of the cheese.

That said, I could see this cheese having a place on a salad.  It naturally wants to crumble, so it makes sense to use it that way.  On a mild lettuce mix, the peppery cheese would likely be pretty good…and the texture would likely go unnoticed.

I vote for eggs

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Some of the other people participating in the Dark Days Challenge raise their own chickens.  My mother, whose morning chore every day growing up on the farm was feeding the chickens (a chore she detested), would laugh derisively at me for saying this, but I’m a little envious.  While I have no particular fascination for chickens, I do so love the idea of having fresh eggs.  I live in a highly zoned neighborhood, and the township would freak if I tried to have my own little flock of chickens.  It’s annoying, but then I read stories like this and think maybe it’s all for the best.

With fresh eggs available from Meadow Run Farm (this is a mix of their brown and blue eggs), I can’t get too freaked out about not having access to a couple of hens in the backyard.  I know people who say they can’t tell the difference between store bought, factory farmed eggs and fresh, pasture raised eggs, but those people are crazy.  The difference is huge.  The eggs taste completely different and the yolk usually looks pretty different, as well, having everything to do with what the chickens eat.

Last year my husband and I went on a vacation to Greece and Turkey.  While on the island of Rhodes, we had breakfast that included the most amazing eggs.  The yolk was practically dayglo orange, and just fantastic.  We briefly considered moving to Rhodes just so we could have those eggs every morning.  Meadow Run Farm eggs do stop us from giving up our glam lives and becoming Greek citizens.

All this talk of eggs, just to get to my Dark Days dinner for this evening (my second this week)!  On election day (after voting, of course), I made a delicious omelet of Meadow Run Farm eggs, local cream, a red onion from the CSA carmelized in local butter, a chopped tomato from my garden (I still have a pile of tomatoes on my back porch!), and some raw milk cheddar from Green Meadow Farms.  The only things not local: salt and pepper.

On a vaguely related note, I recently got into a discussion with someone regarding eggs from vegetarian chickens.  My friend maintained that these would be great eggs, coming from a farm that claims to pasture their chickens (this is store bought eggs, I might add).  I say the eggs couldn’t possibly come from pastured chickens because no farm could pasture their chickens yet keep them from eating grubs and other bugs…unless maybe the chickens are pastured in a very artificial way.  Does anyone have any thoughts on this?

Valley Shepherd Creamery, Long Valley, NJ

Saturday, October 27, 2007

Yesterday my husband, Ben, took a personal day from the office so that we could go on a little autumn excursion. After lunch in historic Lambertville, NJ, we headed for the Valley Shepherd Creamery, where we had heard that very good cheese was to be had.

Some of Valley Shepherd’s cheeses are in fact available through Williams-Sonoma, and they’re all available at the farm, which also hosts educational farm tours tailored for ages K-4 and all the way up to college level, featuring specific tours in food sciences, entrepreneurship, animal management and biology. Valley Shepherd’s cheeses are East Friesian sheep and Jersey cow milk cheeses, some mixed milk, some pure. The farm will continue to make cheeses over the next few weeks into November, when the cheesemaking stops for the winter, but cheeses aging now in the farm’s hillside cave will still be sold through the farm’s shop. (Fresh lamb meat begins to become available in the shop right around the time of year when cheese production ceases.)

We purchased a mixed-milk blue, a very sharp Provolone-like cheese called Fairmount, a ball of ricotta, and a wedge of a soft, orange-rinded wheel that I pulled indiscriminately out of the back of a refrigerator. We were sorry that no cream cheese was available that day, and Ben drew the line at the cheese with the stinging nettles in it—both of these, I will perhaps get another shot at on a future visit. In addition to cheese, sheep’s yogurt, and aracauna eggs (naturally light blue in color and naturally lower in cholesterol than white or brown eggs), the shop features many sheep-themed gifts (I actually got some sheep chopsticks) and fiber items. I also purchased yarn from the farm’s alpacas, and for those who are not knitters, blankets woven from the farm’s fibers are also for sale.

In the time we were shopping, someone came in and asked if any raw milk was for sale; they were, of course, told that it was not, but Valley Shepherd supports Garden State Raw Milk, a grassroots campaign to legalize the sale of raw milk in New Jersey. Tours of the cheese caves are only available on weekends, so we did not get to see the caves this time around… but we will be back, for sure, and not only for the cave tour—for the day-long artisan cheesemaking class that is offered, where participants can make their own wheel of artisan sheep’s milk cheese and leave it to age in the hillside cave, then return for it when it is at its best. What an amazing gift! (The classes, or a wheel of handmade cheese!)

Regular weekend tours include, in addition to the visit to the cave, the Ewe Barn (where, depending on the calendar, baby lambs may be seen), and North America’s only rotary milking platform, which can milk over 300 sheep an hour.

Ben and I left the farm armed for the long drive home with a lot of very earthy-smelling cheeses. Our ride was blindingly bucolic—the Garden State is awash in color right now, and it was a windy, blustery day. We tried all of our cheeses except the ricotta on the ride home, at least one of which—that orange-rinded devil—was not meant to be opened in a damp, closed car under any circumstances. All things being equal, however, it was one of the most enjoyable “stinky cheeses” I have ever had, and the Fairmount—the sharp Provolone-like hard cheese—was the clear winner of the day.

(guest posting by Amber Dorko Stopper)

Valley Shepherd Creamery Carameaway

Sunday, October 14, 2007

The latest of the local cheese acquisitions is Carameaway by Valley Shepherd Creamery.  It’s a mixed, raw milk (sheep and cow) cheese with caraway, and is cave-aged for a few months.

So far, this is my favorite of the Valley Shepherd cheeses.  It’s very creamy with an excellent texture, and the caraway definitely gives it a ‘wow’ factor.  I’m not sure if the pungency is provided by the caraway or is part of the cheese - maybe both.  Either way, it’s delicious.  I have been unable to stop eating it!  And that’s sort of funny, considering caraway is used in folk medicine to relieve loss of appetite.

The Carameaway can be had at the Fair Food Farmstand at Reading Terminal Market.  If you know of other Philadelphia locations where it’s sold, please let me know!

Hendricks Farm Parmesan

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

My refrigerator is awash in parmesan rinds.  I save them for use in flavoring soup stocks.  And I never run out because I use parmesan like it’s my job or something.  And that crappy sawdust-esque crap that comes in the shake can gives me the hives.  It’s good parmesan on everything!

I’ve heard rumors that I could get locally made parmesan, but up until recently I hadn’t seen it anywhere.  The other day, though, I found Hendrick’s Farm parmesan at Salumeria cheese shop at Reading Terminal Market.  It’s really more a snacking parmesan than a grating parmesan.  Granted, I used it grated over some pasta the other night and it was delicious!

Their parmesan is a full fat cheese, aged about one year.  It has a nice nuttiness to it.  A good, all around parmesan!

Valley Shepherd Creamery Fairmount

Friday, September 28, 2007

The Fairmount cheese from Valley Shepherd Creamery has a strong Swiss cheese kind of taste and texture.  I suspect it would make a great fondue.  The Valley Shepherd site says it’s “definitely a mountain cheese with pasture and fresh mountain aroma”.  Fair enough.

Fairmount is a mixed milk cheese that is cave-aged 8-15 months.

There are several Valley Shepherd cheeses I am dying to try.  It seems as if the Ash Log is mimicking Morbier, with its line of ash separating cheese made from the morning and afternoon milkings.  And the Scent-sation cheese, which is apparently is pretty stanky.  The Ancient Shepherd also appeals.  I’ll be keeping an eye out for these. 

I bought the Fairmount at the Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal, but Valley Shepherd cheeses are available at a number of places.

Hendricks Farm Cow Pie

Sunday, September 23, 2007

I can’t think of a more unappetizing name for cheese than Cow Pie.  It gives me visions of cow manure and stanky odors.  However ill-advised the name is, the cheese is outstanding.  Cow Pie from Hendricks Farm and Dairy is a mild, creamy cheese made from raw cow milk (grassfed cows!).  It has a bloomy rind that is incredibly delicious.  At room temperature, the cheese becomes gooey and wonderful, like the Camembert Hendricks Farm modeled the cheese on.

Hendricks Farm makes their Cow Pie cheese using the cow’s evening milk, which is fattier.  And the fat makes the difference here.  It’s a great, rich cheese that I highly recommend.  In fact, I think Cow Pie just became my all time favorite locally made cheese.

Cow Pie is available at the Fair Food Farmstand and Salumeria at Reading Terminal Market, their farm store in Telford, Cheese! in Phoenixville, Chestnut Hill Cheese Shop in Philly, Bakers on Broad in Souderton, and, I’m told, Whole Foods.  You can also find it at Majolica in Phoenixville.

Hendricks Farm is located in Telford, PA.  They’ll be hosting their second annual Oktoberfest at the farm on October 26.

LeRaysville Cheese Factory Sommelier

Friday, September 21, 2007

It’s rare that my husband will eat cheese that I bring into the house.  I’m an artisanal cheese kind of a girl - the stinkier the better.  My husband is a Cracker Barrel block o’ cheese kind of a guy.  And not that there’s anything wrong with Cracker Barrel - I just wouldn’t sit down and snack on it.  But I digress!  What I’m trying to say is that the stars must be aligned because he ate the Sommelier cheese from LeRaysville Cheese Factory.

LeRaysville is a very small Amish cheese factory located in LeRaysville.  When I say ‘very small’, I mean it - there are just three employees.  They source their milk from local farmers (who pledge not to use rBGH) and specialize in raw milk cheddar.  Coincidentally, they also specialize in supporting family farms.  When milk prices are low, they they set their minimum price 15% above what the factory cheese joints are paying.  I’m told they also run cheesemaking workshops, so if you’re ever out in Bradford County you might want to check that out.

The Sommelier is a Havarti cheese and won the 2002 American Cheese Society Blue Ribbon.  It’s a semi-soft cow milk cheese with added cream.  It’s an absolutely mild, lovely cheese that comes in a one pound round.  It’s quite economical, as well - an entire round is just $7.50.  I’ve been eating it with water crackers, figs, and a glass of Reisling, but I suspect it would make a superb baked macaroni and cheese.

My husband thinks the Sommelier has a provolone-ish flavor, and I can sort of see why.  I find it much more buttery in flavor than a provolone, more swiss cheese than provolone.  In any case, it’s delicious and available at the Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal Market.