Vermont/Wisconsin Food Musings
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Had a few things arrive from Vermont today. Had inquired with our very own @BeddieKU23 awhile back.
Cabot cheddar aged 18 months wheel - very good cheddar cheese. Better than anything here for sure. Had it on a baked potato. Looking forward to trying more from Cabot in the future as they offer a wide array of options.
Alpha Tolman from Jasper Hill Farm - life altering cheese here frankly. Had it with my eggs this morning. As good as any cheese I had from Switzerland/France in this style. Truly wonderful.
Grade A Amber Rich Pure Vermont Maple Syrup from Dakin - will be having this on my pancakes tomorrow morning and will report back.
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@BShark I am amused/disgusted that this is the most entertaining and informative thing i’ve read on the interweb today. Thanks for sharing. Now share the damn cheese.
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@BShark Get Vermont raw honey as well
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@AsadZ said in Vermont Food Musings:
@BShark Get Vermont raw honey as well
Fortunate enough to have a great local beekeeper. I buy raw honey from them by the gallon. Good stuff, can never go back to processed.
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My bees keep getting nuked by the city when they spray mosquitoes.
maybe I’ll get honey some day, but at least they pollinate the garden.
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Awesome to hear. If you’re into Beer, that’s another highly respected industry and certain brewers deliver to certain states. Wild times
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@BeddieKU23 I had Reklis last fall and it was terrific. It’s across the border in New Hampshire but still
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@BeddieKU23 said in Vermont Food Musings:
Awesome to hear. If you’re into Beer, that’s another highly respected industry and certain brewers deliver to certain states. Wild times
That one is a lot trickier due to Kansas state laws on it. We aren’t quite Utah but it’s less than ideal. Until just recently you had to go to a licensed liquor store to get anything remotely strong. Anywhere else couldn’t go above I think 5.4 but I don’t remember for sure. Apparently some more changes were made this year as well but nothing too major.
I just remember trying to have some stuff shipped before and it couldn’t be done.
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@BShark bruh don’t get me started. I did some consulting for Uncork back in the day. The mom and pop liquor store lobby is the worst in the state. Right up there with dentists
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@FarmerJayhawk my son and his wife are dentists
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There is just a gold rush of amazing breweries here in the Northeast and New Hampshire has a bunch of them as well. Distribution has never been better.
During covid you could get beer delivered to your home from a restaurant. Some places let you fill your growler for pennies when lockdowns occurred because they were going to lose their draft lines being in limbo for so long. Beer delivery to your home from breweries has been going on for 3 years now. Not all states participate in that practice of course as @bshark mentioned but Vermont is one that allows and I take advantage of it from time to time. I’ve gotten beer from Nashville, Oregon and Boston delivered. Wild times
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@Crimsonorblue22 said in Vermont Food Musings:
@FarmerJayhawk my son and his wife are dentists
I believe he’s referring more to the dentist lobbies rather than actual dentists (though there is some crossover there) but the maintaining of the teeth as separate medically from the rest of the human body is an absolutely wild piece of the healthcare system. Like, why is dental insurance separate from health insurance? Particularly with the research showing the many connections between dental health and other forms of health (specifically heart health is a big one). It’s almost as if the teeth are in fact a part of the human body and an integral piece of a persons overall health and therefore should be covered by standard health insurance.
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The syrup is definitely another can’t go back kind of thing. If this syrup is a 10 then most store syrups are a 1-2 and Log Cabin is about a 4.
Next time I’m ordering at least a quart.
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Sorry your state is still in the prohibition days for laws!
. I think currently it’s only about a dozen states allowing it so it’s certainly not just a Kansas thing.
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We are definitely spoiled when it comes to Maple Syrup. I know at least a dozen small producers in my town alone and that’s where I go to get it when needed. I’m glad your getting a chance to try it!
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Haven’t had Jasper Hill Farm is a while but a local one readily available to me that’s excellent is Maple Brook Farm. They went from small time to buying a building for bigger production needs and have been cranking out quality cheese still
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@BeddieKU23 said in Vermont Food Musings:
Haven’t had Jasper Hill Farm is a while but a local one readily available to me that’s excellent is Maple Brook Farm
Prices here are very affordable thank you for the recommendation. I am planning another order from Dakin eventually (mostly for Cabot and more syrup) but I have noted this to try as well.
Jasper Hill is definitely $$$ so I wanted to be very sure it was going to be a type of cheese I was sure to like. I was glad to find a place (Dakin grocery) that carried some of their cheeses individually instead of having to buy a large bundle.
As far as syrup there are options at the grocer here for pure maple syrup but at the prices they are at, I figured I’d rather just get something straight from Vermont that was certified from Vermont maple trees. Plus, the grading is a benefit imo. You know what you are getting that way.
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My first professional job upon graduation was in Burlington VT. Bernie Sanders was mayor.
Vermonters are very proud of their dairy and Cabot is the big brand across New England. Ben & Jerry’s had an ice cream shop in town where all the reject pints would land-- that is, pints that were the end of one run and the beginning of another. So you’d buy a pint from the half-price bin and get some crazy, one-of a kind mixtures.
If you’ll allow one more digression from cheese, I will plug Dakin Farm hams, which I order every Christmas for myself and my family in Lawrence. Dakin’s cob-smoked bacon is about one step shy of a spiritual experience. For me, it evokes Vermont and New England. Try it and then tell me it’s not all that.
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Sounds good! I love ham.
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This thread and how it went is exactly why I enjoy this little slice of KU fandom so much moreso than some others. Cheers to the establishment.
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@BShark I mean who doesn’t like makin bacon?
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Microburst here today. Blew my gate and the attached fence over on the house side. Ugh. Lucky to have a handy teacher friend and his wife is just as good. They helped me out. Not quite finished but the gate is closed and Rio can play outside! Headed to Lawrence thurs. and next week too. Happy Father’s Day to you Dads and to your Dads if you’re blessed enough to still have them!🫶
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Absolutely thought the same thing! Cheers
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I missed this cheesy syrupy discussion as i was in Glacier and Colorado the last two weeks! 60th BDay type of thing. But I’m a little offended. As most of ya’ll know I am the Cheese State representative on the bucket and to not be asked about cheese is just offensive! Actually, I’m not that big of a cheesehead but Antigo is where we lived and still own property, and the local cheese maker makes a world champion parmeson. World champion brats from Eagle River is another favorite and maple syrup is made by the tank full around there and i think once led the world in maple syrup production. We switched to maple syrup when locals started giving us their own and we’d never go back to the cheap stuff again!
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@wissox Wisconsin cheese is quite good, for sure.
I picked up some dark maple from the store today, sourced from Canada it seems. Wanted that to cook with since it has a stronger flavor profile.
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https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2018/01/25/trois-autos-de-la-sq-pour-saisir-leur-sirop-derable
Another reason to support Vermont, or Wisconsin for that matter. Just don’t buy Canadian maple syrup.
Given that the article is in French I’ll provide a brief summary: Basically there is a syrup mafia in Quebec (legally, read more here if you want: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quebec_Maple_Syrup_Producers ). They control Canadian maple production and maintain a reserve to control prices. This couple had their syrup seized by the police. Crazy.
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Trying Barred Woods for Maple. Best combination I could find of price + reviews. Straight from the farmer is always a big plus. They will ship you a gallon for $61 total price. They sell on Amazon as well, but I’d rather not give Amazon a cut.
Got me
on some cheese from Wisconsin, but I’ll have to wait until my current cheese surplus is gone.
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@BShark said in Vermont Food Musings:
Trying Barred Woods for Maple. Best combination I could find of price + reviews. Straight from the farmer is always a big plus. They will ship you a gallon for $61 total price. They sell on Amazon as well, but I’d rather not give Amazon a cut.
Got me
on some cheese from Wisconsin, but I’ll have to wait until my current cheese surplus is gone.Sharky, we gotta talk about your maple syrup consumption!!! a gallon?
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@rockchalkjayhawk said in Vermont Food Musings:
@BShark said in Vermont Food Musings:
Trying Barred Woods for Maple. Best combination I could find of price + reviews. Straight from the farmer is always a big plus. They will ship you a gallon for $61 total price. They sell on Amazon as well, but I’d rather not give Amazon a cut.
Got me
on some cheese from Wisconsin, but I’ll have to wait until my current cheese surplus is gone.Sharky, we gotta talk about your maple syrup consumption!!! a gallon?
lol a gallon would last me a decade.
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@rockchalkjayhawk said in Vermont Food Musings:
@BShark said in Vermont Food Musings:
Trying Barred Woods for Maple. Best combination I could find of price + reviews. Straight from the farmer is always a big plus. They will ship you a gallon for $61 total price. They sell on Amazon as well, but I’d rather not give Amazon a cut.
Got me
on some cheese from Wisconsin, but I’ll have to wait until my current cheese surplus is gone.Sharky, we gotta talk about your maple syrup consumption!!! a gallon?
I can quit at any time!
Lol. In all seriousness it should last awhile. I do like to use it and honey in place of sugar though. I also buy honey by the gallon which is like 11-12 pounds. I cook/bake a lot. Never go out to eat anymore unless it’s a social situation and I don’t buy any frozen food or heavily processed food anymore.
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@BShark said in Vermont Food Musings:
@rockchalkjayhawk said in Vermont Food Musings:
@BShark said in Vermont Food Musings:
Trying Barred Woods for Maple. Best combination I could find of price + reviews. Straight from the farmer is always a big plus. They will ship you a gallon for $61 total price. They sell on Amazon as well, but I’d rather not give Amazon a cut.
Got me
on some cheese from Wisconsin, but I’ll have to wait until my current cheese surplus is gone.Sharky, we gotta talk about your maple syrup consumption!!! a gallon?
I can quit at any time!
Lol. In all seriousness it should last awhile. I do like to use it and honey in place of sugar though. I also buy honey by the gallon which is like 11-12 pounds. I cook/bake a lot. Never go out to eat anymore unless it’s a social situation and I don’t buy any frozen food or heavily processed food anymore.
All smart choices.
Not to derail this into a baking thread…but i am a cookie fanatic, so i try to do the same and use unsweetened apple sauce and a bit of honey instead of processed white sugar.
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Just had some Meister cheese straight from Muscoda Wisconsin. I think this might be cheese heaven @wissox
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I ordered some raw honey from VT, absolutely delicious.
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@AsadZ said in Vermont/Wisconsin Food Musings:
I ordered some raw honey from VT, absolutely delicious.
I can’t go back to processed honey.
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@BShark We keep bees. The city keeps nuking them when they spray, so not much honey. But it is interesting to watch them work.
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@BShark Think I shared before but we’re not huge cheese officianados. Every time I’ve had ‘odd’ cheese I seem to think I should eat more from authentic small town cheese makers. The raw honey discussion sounded interesting too, maybe we don’t know what we’re missing!
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@wissox Try it, you will not be disappointed. Make sure its raw and untreated/unheated.
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@wissox said in Vermont/Wisconsin Food Musings:
@BShark Think I shared before but we’re not huge cheese officianados. Every time I’ve had ‘odd’ cheese I seem to think I should eat more from authentic small town cheese makers. The raw honey discussion sounded interesting too, maybe we don’t know what we’re missing!
I didn’t know until I tried it for sure.
I also cook a lot and honey is a base in several sauces I like. So I go through a fair bit.
As far as the cheese, I don’t think I got anything too odd. Not like some of that crazy french stuff. Mostly just various cheddars, jacks and colby. Really looking forward to having the hickory smoked cheddar on a burger today.
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@approxinfinity said in Vermont/Wisconsin Food Musings:
@BShark https://www.tiktok.com/@streamonmax/video/7491003613771238699
Honestly I believe this to be generally true. For all the bad things you can point to, there are positive things about living now compared to a hundred+ years ago.
At the risk of bringing up politics when I saw the 90 day pause I placed a large tea order from Fortnum and Mason. I will say if you are a tea drinker (I always have been, I know some prefer coffee) Fortnum tea is truly bucket list stuff and it really isn’t badly priced compared to other premium tea options.
