been there, ate that!
I constantly find myself on small family farms throughout Ohio. It’s here that I meet some of the most interesting people in the state, among them the finest and most dedicated stewards of our farmland, and discover great flavors that I can’t wait to share with others. I hope you enjoy these “tastes” of homegrown, Ohio grown foods offered here. Use the link to the farm for more details and information including where to find their products.
Be sure to seek out these or other local flavors where you live… and I invite you to drop me a line and share your own favorite local food finds!
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schultz fruit farm, chesterland
When I first met Eugene “Bo” Schultz, he gifted me two bottles of homemade hard cider, his first attempt at making the basement style brew. Whoa! What an introduction! While, he’s no longer dabbling in crafting hard cider, he’s still busy harvesting more than 30 varieties of apples including some fascinating and interesting antique varieties. Among these varieties is one that I tasted recently called a Westfield Seek No Further, crisp and juicy with a flavor that is not quite classic apple but more like a sweet water chestnut. Since you never know what Ohio weather will do to an apple crop in any given year, expect a natural rotation of varieties, which really just keeps things more interesting for the consumer, not so much for Bo. Aside from apples, Schultz Fruit Farm is know for their cold weather crops including cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, and his signature crop: Brussels sprouts.
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tea hills poultry, loudonville
One of my favorite memories of Thanksgiving is a recent one. I was standing in the midst of Shaker Square, near Cleveland, with a whole bunch of other people the day before waiting for Doug Raubenolt to arrive with a truck load of turkeys. We had all ordered birds months in advance and this was the big moment. When Doug finally showed up with “the stuff,” we dutifully arranged ourselves in a straight line to pick up our order. A passerby saw all the activity, turkeys being handed off the back of a truck to very happy people and asked if we were getting free turkeys. Free? Not quite. Yes, we do pay a little bit more for the turkeys from Tea Hills Poultry, maybe almost twice as much as a boulder-like bird from the grocery store freezer section, but after five years of bringing a heritage breed to my table, it’s an investment that pays off in wonder flavor. Some years, I brine my bird in buttermilk before roasting. Oh, my. Silky and extra succulent! Doug says, "It's the best turkey money can buy—if you can find us." He admits that it might take a little digging to find him, but he always delivers! So here's the number to call to order your bird at 419-368-3831. My suggestion: order a Bronze Turkey. Big and meaty, about 5 pounds heavier than a Standard Market White. Don't wait too long to make that call. These things don't grow on trees.
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buckeye grove farm, beallsville
The sign that welcomes you to Buckeye Grove Farm specifically states “No Sunday Sales.” That’s a precedence I can respect and admire about this cheesemaking family—work hard, but not on Sunday. When I was writing Farms & Foods of Ohio, Buckeye Grove was my next to last visit and a memory that lingers. At that time, Jake and Dixie Scheiderer were milking the herd and producing the cheese, which I enjoyed with them and forty Jersey girls on a Sunday afternoon. As we sat and nibbled on cheeses and garden tomatoes, I experienced a quiet that still rings in my ears—a “noise” I don’t get to experience as often as I would like. (sigh) You can’t package that so the next best thing would be the family of cheeses, from young buttery varieties to sharp and developed aged varieties. The cheese making and milking operation is now in the capable and skillful hands of their son, Al and his wife Renae as Jake and Dixie have moved on to their version of retirement in neighboring Kentucky. Judging by some of the awards that Buckeye Grove has earned at regional and national cheese competitions, it seems that things were left in the right hands.
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quarry hill orchard, berlin heights
The locals know it’s here but for those who wander Ohio's back roads on Sunday drives, Quarry Hill is the kind of place you’re delighted to stumble upon. Like all on-farm markets, the selection builds with the season and by the end of August, there’s not much you can’t find in the way of farm fresh produce but this is where I head for one of the best selections of peach varieties around: White and Yellow Nectarines, Snow Queen White Peaches, Red Kist, Madison, Red Haven, and a rare source for Donut Peaches, those flat little pillows of a peach with a scent that you want to bottle for perfume. While you’re shopping for your fresh produce, Quarry Hill has a wine tasting bar featuring a growing list of wines from Quarry Hill Winery including a Late Harvest Riesling that pairs nicely with peaches. Keep tuned to this winery which recently broke ground for a new indoor-outdoor winery (coming in 2010) that promises a great view of the prolific vineyard.
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The first time I walked into Queen Right Colonies, Shelia St. Clair was on the phone with a guy named Buzz…no kidding. I knew this was the hobby for me. Urban beekeeping is a hobby that has taken flight all over the world and Shelia and her husband, Denzil have certainly been an inspiration as well as mentors to newcomers like myself throughout Northeast Ohio. Learning the art of beekeeping is a lot like learning a second language and I often feel like I’m on the upside of the learning curve heading into the wind. But between the St. Clairs and the members of the Lorain County Beekeepers Association, I get the answers to my questions, a lot of hand holding, and plenty of encouragement. Queen Right Colonies is were I head for all of my beekeeping advice as well as supplies and honey, too. My first two years as a beekeeper have come and gone without a honey harvest, but that’s another story.
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Let’s talk turkey…heritage breed turkeys. I’ve put a heritage breed (roasted) on my family’s thanksgiving table for the past five years. Not only have they proven to be the most flavorful birds to ever grace our the holiday table but they give me more to be thankful for—namely the farmer who took the time, patience, energy, and risk to raise them for my enjoyment as well as many others through the state of Ohio. This year, Amy and Don Sprinkle will be raising Standard Bronze, a nice meaty turkey at Plum Creek Farm in Valley City. They will begin taking orders in September. The birds usually range from 12 to 25 pounds and, as with most heritage breeds, have a decent amount of dark meat which is where the flavor is at….rich, slightly pronounced, and plain wonderful. Consider trying a buttermilk brine which imparts the meat with great texture and more moisture. The Sprinkles will also be raising Pheasant and Toulouse Goose for the Christmas holiday. There’s also chicken year round and Pekin Duck and Muscovy Duck and Standard Broilers. You can find the couple at the North Union Farmers Markets at Shaker Square and Crocker Park or call the Sprinkles at 330.483.0222 to arrange an on farm sale.
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bridgman farm, washington courthouse
Farming for Mary Bridgman is a bowl full of cherries….cherry tomatoes, to be specific. This year, she is selling more pints of cherry tomatoes than any other variety she grows. And she grows a lot! In the fields at her Washington Courthouse farm, there are 2,100 heirloom and hybrid tomato plants representing more than 50 varieties. But it’s the cherry tomatoes that seem to be getting the attention. One of her favorites is Aunt Molly’s Ground Cherry which grows close to the ground and produces fruit in a papery husk. Peel it back and inside there’s a little tomato, the size of a fingernail just bursting with pineapple and citrus flavor. Other customer favorites are SunGolds, Black Cherry, Sugary, Sweet Million, and Sweet 100s, Lemon Cherry, Juan Flamme, an uncommon French heirloom that produces sweet, fruity orange colored salad size tomatoes. Look for Mary and tomatoes in every color of the rainbow, plus black, at Columbus' North Market, Clintonville Farmers Market, and Westerville Market on Wednesdays.
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Karen Conant is one cute tomato. Petite, blond, and energetic she’s one of those rare individuals who make the process of growing, harvesting, and getting her product to a market seem effortless—which it is certainly not. What we see are beautiful, juicy, dead ripe tomatoes and what we don’t see is the string of unseasonably cool nights slowing the whole ripening process down, leaving Ridgebridge customers knocking at Karen's door wondering when they be getting their ‘mater fix. Even while tomatoes trickle to market, Karen’s stand at the North Union Farmers Market at Crocker is a blast of color: heirloom tomatoes in warm hues, eggplants in shades of cream and purple, peppers that ‘pop’ from piles at her stand, and big bouquets of cut flowers. It's the tomatoes that have earned Karen her ‘go-to’ reputation. Visit her website and check out the varieties she’s growing for the 2009 market. Hillbilly and Brandywines are personal favorites and deserve the place of honor in this sandwich recipe in the Our Ohio recipe section.
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If finding all twelve eggs intact when you open a carton from the grocery store is as excited as you’ve ever been about eggs, look for Joan Richmond at The Pearl Market in Columbus. She’s a “crack” expert when it comes to eggs. Her flock of thirty barnyard beauties on Meadowrise Farm lay a variety of beautifully colored eggs that get her customers' attention and command a slightly higher price tag than grocery store eggs—but worth it. For about $3 a dozen, you’ll get eggs that are rich and flavorful with yolks that stand tall and bright in the pan. With every dozen, Joan delivers a side of chicken trivia, like how to tell what color egg a certain chicken will lay and what the yellow tone in their legs indicate. You’ll then know that the chicken indeed comes first before wonderful tasting eggs.
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Gather ‘Round Farm was the last stop on a recent urban farm tour in Cleveland. I’m glad I didn’t skip it to beat the heat of the day because it was the highlight. Along a gritty stretch of Lorain Road in Cleveland was a ‘pop’— actually an explosion — of color from a patch of poppies in June bloom that welcomed visitors to this special space. The farm is built on and up from an abandoned asphalt lot and features a rain water management pond (in progress), an edible weed garden that will make you rethink your regards for weeds, and a city chicken coop, home to about 20 beautiful layers and inspiration for those interested in raising chickens in their own backyards. The farm functions as a compact eco system — efficiently, effectively, and productively, but if nothing else, a real breath of fresh air curbside on a very busy street.
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Warren Taylor enthusiasm meter is stuck on high for the great milk produced at his Snowville Creamery near Athens. You can’t miss his passion nor should you try to avoid it because it’s precisely what makes the milk and so very incredible—well, that the terrific milkers that do the honors from Bill Dix and Stacy Hall’s dairy farm. Warren promotes the products as “Milk: The Way it Used to Be.” But if you’ve been raised on thin, bland ultra-pasteurized, homogenized milk, this mantra will escape you. The flavor of Snowville’s minimally processed milk is rich, sweet, and the texture is smooth and velvety on the tongue… and as with all things good, the cream rises to the top.
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When I brought five roasting chickens home from Ed Chen’s Andelain Fields, I lovingly referred to them as “Ed Chen’s Chickens” (say that three times really fast and you’ll see the humor). The birds from this farm between Dayton and Columbus taste like chicken. Seriously. The taste is rich and flavorful, with a texture that is firm and almost buttery—to adorn with intense seasonings and sauces would be wrong so when I prepare these birds, it’s back to the basics—salt and pepper and a good roasting technique. Ed’s birds, breeds imported from regions of Burgundy and Brittany (France) meet the high standards of the French Label Rouge Free Range program. These are slow growth breeds you’ll likely find being raised by small poultry producers. They have access to all things desirable to a chicken: green pasture, juicy bugs, abundant sunshine, and the freedom to do their own thing — for 12 weeks to 18 glorious weeks depending on the season, conditions, and whether the goal is for a smaller bird or a larger roaster. The result is a taste and texture once desired, long forgotten, and now making it’s way back to our tables.
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The state of Ohio was in a goat cheese lull for many years until Lake Erie Creamery filled the void. I’ve been keeping a close eye on owners Gerald Onken and Marianne Janosko for the past three years, not because they need looking after but I’m always waiting for the next best cheese to come out of this little creamery that really hums on Cleveland’s Fulton Road. Consider Caerphilly—uh, that would be their newest cheese, a beautiful and buttery aged cheese that rounds out the Creamery’s other selections: Chevre, Fromage Blanc, Feta and Blomma—all produced with goats milk from Cherry Lane Farm in Mantua. Today, there is a healthy handful of goat cheese producers throughout the state, all doing wonderful work and Lake Erie Creamery serves as a wonderful inspiration for all.
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aufdenkampe family farms, vermilion
With as many farms as I’ve set foot on in Ohio, it’s hard to admit to a favorite, but Aufdenkampe’s holds a special place in my heart and my kitchen. While most might look for a robin or a crocus as the first sure sign of spring, I wait for the modest “asparagus” sign to appear along with sturdy bundles of asparagus standing at lonely attention at this roadside market. This is my shotgun start to the harvest season in my neighborhood and a welcome return to good eating. In the weeks to come, the roadside stand gets bigger, and bigger and the selection straight from the field fills the tables and the colors just get brighter and… you get the picture.
