7 replies to this topic

[ddolly]

I am going to attempt to cook my christmas dinner using only food that is local (within 100 miles).
I would love to hear anyone's favorite local dairies, farms, meats or farmer's markets that operate year round.
I know whole foods carries local products, but I am hoping to hear about others.
Thanks!

[chefdavidrusso]

I am going to attempt to cook my christmas dinner using only food that is local (within 100 miles).
I would love to hear anyone's favorite local dairies, farms, meats or farmer's markets that operate year round.
I know whole foods carries local products, but I am hoping to hear about others.
Thanks!

I don't know where you live to know what your 100 miles radius includes, but here are some of my favs.....

Bobolink Dairy for Cheese and Bread (or bake your own...the metod that was in the NY Times a couple of weeks ago - 18 hour rise, baked in a cast iron Dutch Oven - is FANTASTIC and simple. I started using it and now bake fresh bread about twice a week.)

Terhune Orchards in Princeton for Apples and related products

Goffle Road Poultry Farm in Wyckoff for the bird. I've had their chicken and it's excellent...I can only assume that their turkeys are equal. Their eggs are the best I've had.

That's it for now.....

[ddolly]

thanks for goffle road suggestion, it looks great.
I am near fort lee so my 100 miles includes nj and ny.
thanks again.

[Cook456]

Delcious Orchards for local produce of the finest quality. They also have a meat and poultry section.
I second the idea of Bobolink.

I purchased my Thanksgiving Turkey from Vacchiano Farms and it was superb. They also tend to free range chickens and well as Lamb, beef, quail..

[Oceangroveguy]

Delicious Orchards is a great place to shop, but unless something is marked as Jersey-sourced it could well have come from more than 100 miles away...

[BrianYarvin]

Hi:

How about central New Jersey?


Valley Sheperd in Long Valley for cheese.

Peaceful Valley Orchards in Pittstown for produce.

Griggstown Quail Farm for poultry.

Muskie Trout Hatchery in Asbury for fresh trout.

Buffalo from the Readington River Buffalo Company.

And herbs from Well Sweep Herb Farm in Port Murray.

[SusanGiff]

Delcious Orchards for local produce of the finest quality.  They also have a meat and poultry section.
I second the idea of Bobolink.

I purchased my Thanksgiving Turkey from Vacchiano Farms and it was superb.  They also tend to free range chickens and well as Lamb, beef, quail..

We bought some incredible lamb from Vacchiano Farms at the Greenmarket in Montclair this fall. (In fact, we still have some in the freezer.) I have their phone and email around somewhere if you need it.

[ghostrider]

I know whole foods carries local products, but I am hoping to hear about others.

Not very many they don't. Particularly local/local - last week they had a # of items from the Northeast, so they're decent on regional/local products, but I doubt that there was a single one from within 100 miles. On the plus side, they label their sources well, so you generally know what you're getting up front.

This site - Jersey Fresh farms & markets - is one of the best guides to finding local produce. You can search on it by county so you should be able to zero in on places that are within your radius.

A word of caution: if you're after truly locally grown items, look carefully for the Jersey Fresh label, & when in doubt, ask the merchant. Some of these markets sell a mixture of local & imported produce. One summer I was at a listed farm market buying what I thought was a late crop of snap peas; they proved to be from Guatemala. Nothing wrong with that; I asked the farm lady because I realized there was no Jersey Fresh sign on the pea bin, as there was on most of their other produce at that point.