Category: Activities

Fresh off the season when gardeners are thinking all tomatoes all the time in their kitchen as they use up their harvests, we’re now into the all-apples time of year. Vermont growers produce about a million bushels of apples (40 million pounds) each year. We also have our share of apple specialty products, notably sweet apple cider, hard cider and the dessert wine ice cider. With our eyes on the trees at foliage season, it’s hard not to think of our biggest orchard crop.

 

On Friday the Burlington Free Press Savorvore section explored the apples of Vermont with features on Allenholm Farm in South Hero and how to press cider at Chapin Orchard. King Arthur Flour’s round up of the best of Sift magazine fall recipes includes buttermilk apple pie and apple cinnamon bars with peanut butter glaze. The Tasting Table recently featured Vermont cider maker Shacksbury Cider and their Lost Apple Project. We’re also in the final week of Pick for Your Neighbor, an initiative of the Vermont Foodbank encouraging donations from Pick Your Own orchards.

 

There are lots of ways to explore Vermont’s apples in October. Here are a few more:

 

Pick Your Own Farms Around Vermont

Information on VT Apples from Vermont Tree Fruit Growers Association

 

Featured Events:

 

• Cider Craft Workshop & Tasting, East Montpelier, October 8th
• Champlain Orchards Harvest Fest, Shoreham, October 8th
• Vermont Cider Classic, Burlington, October 9th
• 14th Annual Heirloom Apple Day, Dummerston, October 9th
• Introduction to Hard Cider Making, Middlebury, October 15th & 16th
• Heirloom Apple Pie Workshop, Dummerston, October 15th
• On the Farm Dinner at Scott Farm, Dummerston, October 29th

 

 

Recipes from the Archives:

 

• Sunrise Orchard’s Apple Pie
• Apple Butter
• Apple Cider Jelly Sorbet
• Trio of Savory Apple Sides
• Vermont Cider and Cheese – the Perfect Pair

Source: Dig in VT Trails

At the New Kids on the Block beer tasting hosted last week by Farmhouse Tap & Grill, the latest Vermont craft brew debuted from a brand new brewery: Good Measuring Brewing Company in Northfield, VT. While Good Measure is new to the Vermont food scene, its owners are familiar figures. Co-owner Scott Kerner is also co-owner of Montpelier’s popular Three Penny Taproom, Carrier Coffee Roasting, and Winooski’s Mule Bar. The head brewer and co-owner Andrew Leichthammer was general manager at Mule Bar. Both owners are well versed in what customers want in beer.

 

Good Measure is distinguishing itself from the over the top flavors and high alcohol content of well-known Vermont beers like Heady Topper. Seven Days reports that “Leichthammer and Kerner plan to produce easy-drinking, balanced beers that are low in alcohol and delicate in flavor. Toward that end, Leichthammer is developing a pale-yellow, old-timey cream ale using organic flint corn grown by Jack Lazor at Butterworks Farm in Westfield.” Cream ale is a style that became popular as an inexpensive beer in the 1960s, and Good Measure plans to continue its populist charms as a generally likable and affordable option.

 

Good Measure Brewing joins an already strong and still expanding Vermont beer scene. Earlier this summer, House of Fermentology debuted at Foam Brewers (itself a new brewery and tasting room in Burlington). House of Fermentology specializes in sour beers. Its first two offerings appeared in a bright orange (Orange Dot) and a bright pink (Pink Dot) that, despite their soda colors, were bracing, refreshing ales, and they came by their hues honestly, from cara cara oranges and raspberries.

 

Also this summer, The Alchemist opened a new brewery and retail store in Stowe, where customers can purchase not only cans of the famous Heady Topper but also of Focal Banger (previously sold only to bars and restaurants).

 

There’s always something new to sample in the Vermont beer scene, and plenty of bars, restaurants, markets, and special events for exploring the offerings.

 

Related Links:

 

• Vermont Brewers Association
• Breweries on DigInVT
• Upcoming Event: Stratton Brewfest October 8th
• Upcoming Event: Oktoberfeast at Magic Hat October 8th
• Upcoming Event: Vermont Cider Classic October 9th (Not beer, but still fermented)
• Upcoming Event: Vermont Fermentation Festival October 16th

 

Source: Dig in VT Trails

Every year, food producers from all over New England gather in West Springfield Massachusetts for New England’s largest fair: The Big E. The event lasts for more than two weeks, with each state displaying their best in fairground pavilions. Over a million people wander through the Vermont building each year. The building has brought in around $10 million in the last six years.

 2016 marks 100 years of the Big E (still a young fair by Tunbridge World’s Fair standards). It features a range of events, competitions, concerts, and – of course- fair food. Dishes up for the popular choice Big Eats award this year include Moo Nuts, Deep Fried Butter, Maple Syrup and Bacon Fried Dough, classic Candied or Caramel Apples, Mini Donuts, the famous Frigo’s 1lb. Meatball, Deep Fried Martinis and Pulled Pork Stuffed Corn Cakes.

You have until October 2nd to visit the building at the West Springfield Fairgrounds. But, many of the Vermont vendors can also be found as visitor stops in the DigInVT network including:

 

Agricola Farm

American Flatbread

Champlain Orchards

Cold Hollow Cider Mill

Hall Home Place

Halladay’s Harvest Barn

Long Trail Brewing Company

Vermont Cheesemakers

Vermont Maple Producers

 

A full 2016 Vermont Vendor list is available online. Vendors are selected through an RFP system managed by the state, with approximately 40 appearing in the buildng each year (not all of them are food producers).

 

More information on this year’s Big E:

• Big E Vermont Building (Video)

• WCAX Story on this Year’s Fair

• Vermont Agency of Agriculture Big E Page

• Big E Homepage

 

Source: Dig in VT Trails

Cedar Circle Farm in East Thetford, VT will hold its annual Pumpkin Festival on Sunday October 9^th from 10am to 3pm. Now in its fourteenth year, the Pumpkin Festival offers fun for the whole family with kids’ activities, storytelling, live music, horse-drawn wagon rides, pumpkin picking, and an organic Good Food Concession.

Children’s activities include storyteller/musicians the Swing Peepers in the Circle of Cedars Enchanted Forest playing three sets throughout the day. Live music will also feature two great Upper Valley bands: Off the Rails from 10:30-12:30 and the Stovepipe Mountain Band from 1-3. Children will love the live owls brought by VINS, face painting, educational activities, and crafts.

Be sure to arrive hungry! Lunch and dessert line will open at 10:30am with delicious, organic, farm-fresh dishes prepared by Chef Alison and her crew in the farm kitchen. The fall menu will include pasture raised pulled pork tacos (vegetarian option also) with kitchen crafted krauts, seasonal organic soups and salads. Our pumpkin brownies are just one of the delicious desserts we’ll be offering. We’ll also be offering a new Kid’s Plate this year and the NOFA wood-fired artisan pizza will return as well. The farmstand and coffee shop will be open until 5pm.

Raffle tickets will be sold to raise funds for CSA shares for limited income Vermonters through the Farm Share Program subsidized by NOFA-VT and Cedar Circle Farm. The Pumpkin Festival is a “Green Event” with a waste recovery station, which has yielded only two bags of trash for more than 1500 visitors in previous years. Bring a plate, utensils and cup to help reduce waste.

Parking is available in designated fields for $10 per car, and carpooling is encouraged. No pets please. 

Cedar Circle Farm is a forty-acre certified organic farm, dedicated to “growing for a sustainable future” through the production of certified organic vegetables and berries, bedding plants, and quality flowers and herbs. The farm offers a CSA program, harvest festivals, cooking classes, and guided educational farm tours. 

Cedar Circle Farm is located on Pavillion Rd. along the Connecticut River, just off of Rt 5 in East Thetford, VT. For details and directions, visit https://cedarcirclefarm.org/events/festivals. 

Source: Dig in VT Trails

The 14^th Annual Heirloom Apple Day at Scott Farm Orchard on Kipling Road in Dummerston, VT beckons apple lovers of all ages to celebrate this iconic fall fruit. Come visit the 571-acre historic farm and orchard that border Rudyard Kipling’s former Vermont home, Naulakha, and other historic rental properties owned and renovated by Landmark Trust USA.  

On Sunday, October 9 at 10 AM, Noon and 2 PM, Scott Farm’s Orchard Manager Zeke Goodband entertains guests with the enlightening history of the orchard and its ecologically-grown fruits, accompanied by a free tasting of some of the more than 120 varieties of heirloom apples grown on the property.

Sample Old World and Early American heirloom varieties such as Esopus Spitzenburg, a favorite of Thomas Jefferson, grown at Monticello;  Reine des Reinette, a French apple from the 1700s, considered the best hard cider apple in Normandy; Blue Pearmain, a New England apple dating back to the 1700s, mentioned by Henry David Thoreau in his journal, and Cox’s Orange Pippin, an English favorite, awarded the highest honors by the Royal Horticultural Society—just to name a few of the exciting flavors bound to excite your palate.  Following the talk and tasting, guests can fill bags with their favorite selections—all available for purchase. 

Visitors can also pick their own apples in the orchard or select them from multiple apple bins in the Farm Market, along with Scott Farm Orchard’s heirloom cider, freshly baked apple pies, fruit jams and jellies, and more. 

In addition to the apple tasting, Whetstone Ciderworks, of Marlboro, VT, will be on hand to offer samples of their artisanal wine-like, award- winning hard ciders,  such as Orchard King, Orchard Queen, Barnyard Blend, and Moonlighter—blended primarily with apples from Scott Farm Orchard.

Rigani Wood-Fired Pizza of Brattleboro, VT, will be on premises with their portable wood-fired oven, cooking up and vending artisanal pizzas featuring local ingredients.

For more information on Heirloom Apple Day, please visit ScottFarmVermont.com, call 802-254-6868, or email events@scottfarmvermont.com.

The Scott Farm Market is open daily through November 23, and You-Pick apples are available September into October.

 

Source: Dig in VT Trails

The Vermont Public Radio program “VPR Cafe” recently spoke to reporter Sally Pollack about value-added agriculture in Vermont, a discussion that included featured DigInVT places Morse Farm, the Intervale, and Queen City Brewery.

Value added agriculture transforms raw agricultural product into something that has greater value in the marketplace – turning milk into yogurt, milk into cheese, apples into ice cider, and so on. It’s a key part of Vermont’s farm economy. A new internship program at the University of Vermont this summer connected students with work in value-added operations, a focus that is expected to continue with their new food systems degree.

Queen City Brewery turns farm inputs into, of course, beer. The Intervale is home to a range of farms with value-added components, the one mentioned on VPR was The Juice Bar farm (the vegetables go into a mobile juice bar). Morse Farm is unique in how it has diversified both the value added to their food products, and also the value to their land by adding agricultural tourism components for both visitors and local residents. It’s a popular stop for tour buses in foliage season searching out maple creamies, food gifts, and a chance to feed the goats, but it also offers mountain biking trails and cross country ski trails. In the winter it becomes a popular destination for 26 kilometers of groomed cross country skiing. This summer it became an events venue for the first time with the Eat More Kale music festival on the front lawn.

Farms all over Vermont have creative ways to make the most of their land and the products from that land, and more enterprises start up every year. A great way to get a sense of the different projects Vermont farmers have undertaken is to check out the last of the summer farmers’ markets (most go into October or November), or some of the Food Markets that offer a selection of local products. Check the events page, as well, for harvest festivals that bring together multiple vendors.

Related Articles:

• A Summer Weekend in Montpelier Trail
• Burlington Beer Trail – from Vermont Brewer Association (including Queen City Brewery)
• Juice for the People in a Parking Lot (The Juice Bar Farm) – Burlington Free Press
• UVM Students at Work (Next Generation Value-Added Internships) – Burlington Free Press

 

 

Source: Dig in VT Trails

The Upper Valley News recently featured Lune Bleu Farm in an article on the evolution of CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) in Vermont. Farmers Suzanne Long and Tim Sanford began Luna Bleu in the early 1990s, with a diversified organic vegetable and livestock operation. They were an early CSA operation in the Upper Valley, offering weekly shares of the summer’s vegetable harvest to subscribers. Their CSA options have diversified over the years to include more meat, eggs, and dairy products. Farms across Vermont are taking advantage of new technology and business models that help them offer customers more options for payment, delivery, and what makes up their share. The range of choices only increases as subscriber numbers increase – giving farms the scale needed to offer both more products and more flexibility. 

Even without a CSA subscription, Upper Valley residents and visitors can get an introduction to farm fresh products through Luna Bleu. They participate in the Norwich Farmers Market (Summer & Winter), Hanover Farmers Market, and Royalton Farmers Market. They are listed as a farm visit site on DigInVT.com. And they were one of the nearly 100 farm locations participating in this year’s Open Farm Week. 

Related Posts:

• Open Farm Week Events
• Open Farm Week – Information for Farmers (includes guides to hosting visitors on the farm . . . and it’s not too early to think about next year)
• Luna Bleu Competes in Farmer Summer Olympics – Organized by DigInVT.com partner NOFA-VT
• FarmShare at NOFA-VT – Helping limited-income Vermonters access good food through CSAs

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Source: Dig in VT Trails

We asked William McNeil, co-owner of Hen of the Wood Waterbury and Burlington, for his expert opinion on pairing Vermont hard cider. Turns out, cider is a perfect partner to another Vermont specialty–cheese! Lucky for us, cider and cheese makers are abundant at Vermont Farmers’ Markets. Find a market today and try out a new cider and cheese pairing.  

Here’s Wiliam’s advice:

“Hard cider is a naturally pairing jack of all trades! It’s pretty easy to find food that tastes great with cider, whether you’re drinking at a midweek dinner or a celebratory feast. Cider’s naturally occurring low alcohol & carbonation help tremendously! Cider can add a little light to heavy meal or great complexity to a light meal. Its natural fruitiness pairs as well with pork as it does with a green salad. Cider also plays extremely well with Vermont cheese! Many drier styles of cider pair beautifully with rich, buttery cheeses (think cheddar, gouda or a creamy blue), while the big apple flavors of semi-sweet cider is gorgeous with fresh or soft-ripened cheeses. The old ‘rule of thumb’ that was taught to us day one in culinary school is that if two things come from the same region, they will naturally pair together. 

Point: Vermont Cheese loves Vermont Cider!”

Want to find your perfect pairing? Travel our Southern Vermont Cheese Trail, check out our Vermont Cheesemakers open to visitors, and read more about the flavor of Vermont cheeses from DigInVT partner the Vermont Cheese Council. 

Source: Dig in VT Trails