Seasons End In Ontario

Well unfortunately its that time of year again.

The leaves on the trees are changing, the cows fur is getting thicker and all the plants in the field are slowing down. Fall is the catch-up time of year for us; most of the mid-summer busyness is over and finally we can take a breather. Our apples were good this year but our season ended a little earlier because the trees are still a bit young.

However even though it is coming to fall there are still many things to do either for winter crops or in preparation for next years garden and top quality local produce is still available. At the moment we are quite busy cleaning up and preparing the farm for winter. Soon enough we will be pruning the apples and raspberries but we have to get the farm ready for snow first. All the irrigation must be drained so it doesn't freeze or crack, tree guards need to be put on the bottom of the apple trees to protect them against mice and moles under the snow and straw will soon have to be spread on the strawberries. 

We have been maintaining our sourdough starter or yeast culture for the breads as well as trying to develop a recipe for a damn good gluten free sourdough! This is the time of year where we can really focus on planning out the future of the farm and building on what we already have. We have to decide what we are going to grow next year so we can prep the fields accordingly. As well we now have to start preparing for the long winter months to come and store what we can from the farm this year.

It is obvious that during the Winter the majority of people resort to buying imported foods, even the foodies because the knowledge of how to preserve food seems to be lost. Well I'm going to give you a few tips i've picked up from my experience with food that will hopefully help you stay local and eat well at the same time.

The first tip is for apples, which just so happen to be in season right now. I have had many people ask me about freezing, drying and many other methods of storing apples and in reality the best way is a lot easier then you think. There are several problems with the above methods: they can damage the flavor and texture of the apple, limit its uses and even make it go bad more quickly. 

The best way to store apples is in a cool dry place like a cold cellar or garage(somewhere around 2-5 degrees celsius). Leave the apples in a basket of some kind and make sure they can air out to prevent mold. Now depending on the variety of apple they can last a long time after being picked and still retain their crispy texture and unspoiled flavor. Again check your local farms and ask the farmer about their experience with varieties and which ones last longer. Personally my family has found we can keep honeycrisp apples until around May of the next year and they will still be good, however varieties such as courtlands may only last two weeks after being picked. 

When you are storing apples be extremely careful not to bruise the fruit. This can take months of the life of an apple and effect the other apples in a basket by causing them to rot and mold. Another thing to be wary of is keeping apples in the fridge. This is usually a moist environment and can actually make the apples go soft more quickly then if they were out on the counter. 

Carrots and root veggies are also available right now and we have a slightly different way of storing them. We fill a large container with sand and bury the veggies in it, the container then goes into the cold cellar where the veggies stay nice and cool. This drains off liquid that may run out of the vegetable, prevents mold and keeps them from drying out. The only issue is that moving the sand and setting the whole thing up requires a fair bit of work. So an alternative is just letting them sit on some kind of shelving unit in a cold cellar or garage. If you do not have access to a cold dry place then root veggies can be left on a counter or shelf. For things such as rutabagas you can wax or vaseline the outside to keep them from drying out, other veggies such as potatoes can just sit out for a very long time. 

Squash and pumpkins need a cool dry place or else they will mold. A cold cellar or garage are ideal for these and they will last a long time if stored right. If you have a garden consider digging out herbs or smaller plants and potting them so you can keep them in your kitchen over the Winter. Just remember that all produce is susceptible to frost and must be in an area above zero degrees. Hopefully you may have learned something new and I will try to find out and share some more great ways to store your produce. Until then everyone,

Good Eating!

 

Willow and Garlic

  Well it was two weekends ago we opened for the very first full weekend of apples, but it was also another first for the family. Our long pregnant heffer Gillian finally calved and gave birth to the now week old Willow on Saturday September 5th. She is small still but warming to the family. It was a first for me and for most of my family; however everything went well. Gillian has calved many times before so she did most of the work through the birth while we stood by to make sure things went smoothly. So if you stop by the farm it would be worth taking a look at her and seeing the baby stage of what will be essential to the operation of the farm.

  For any of you locavores out there, now is the beginning of garlic season here in Ontario. I received quite a few questions from people this weekend about garlic uses, storage and selection and I hope to share some of my knowledge with you.

One of the least known facts about garlic is that there are many varieties out there; every one with completely different qualities that make them better suited to certain dishes. For example many of you will have been tempted, either as a child or in later years; to taste a raw clove of garlic. Soon enough you were most likely overpowered by spice and an intense burst of flavour and no sooner did it enter your mouth then it was spat out. Well garlic is a funny thing, it adds an unmistakable taste and aroma to foods and is also very healthy for you to eat but many people cannot stand the taste alone. That intense heat and strong flavouring is determined by the variety of garlic and believe it or not the stuff you get in stores is very mild. Our family grows quite a few varieties and we have noticed the difference. The majority of garlic strains tend to be much more strong then their store-bought counterparts but the heat and even flavour of the clove varies by variety.

Probably the hottest garlic we grow is a variety know as Chekoslovakian. The cloves are a deep ruby colour, and are a moderate size, however the whole thing looks rather messy. If you were to eat it raw you would probably feel as though you were dying. The heat resembles that of a super hot chili and the flavour lasts in your mouth for about four days after. Similar to this is the variety Spanish Roja; both of them store well compared to many other cultivars. If you are looking for a more mild taste you might consider varieties such as Magic or Susan Delafield. Both of them lack heat but have an incredible flavour. Magic will keep for about two weeks in a cold cellar while Susan Delafield will keep for up to six months; again it really differs by variety. So please the next time you stop by your local farm or are buying garlic talk to the farmer and learn the variety and its qualities so that you can choose how and when to use it.

I also got a few questions about storage. Some people freeze garlic to last over the winter, this is a rather radical step and will ruin the garlics texture and may effect the taste. My advice to you is to store your garlic in a brown paper bag in a moderately cool, very dry place. Contrary to popular belief drying garlic can actually enhance the flavour and make it better to cook with, while freezing will kill it. So I really hope this is helpful to all of you and hopefully you will get a chance to try some of our or any local farmers garlic soon because it will truly be worth it!

Well until next time everyone,

                Good Eating!

The Difference of Real Bread

As many of you already know, recently we have been experimenting with rustic breads. Now it is truly unfortunate but in North America the tradition of good bread has seemingly disappeared. So what makes good bread good?

Well there are hundreds of different types of breads that vary based on things such as size, shape, texture, taste and the ingredients used.

Now one group of breads we are focusing on are sourdoughs. True sourdoughs require a yeast culture as well as several days preparation before they are actually baked. The yeast reacts with warm water to start producing gas which adds not only flavor to the bread but traps air bubbles in the dough; developing those holes that exist when you cut bread. In order to develop the proper texture you must either allow the bread to rise a certain amount or prevent it from doing so. In order to develop some of the flavor of our breads, we let them 'retard' which means they are chilled to slow down the rising and the yeasts reaction, adding a more intense flavor to the bread.

After developing, shaping and rising the bread (the whole process of which takes about two days; not including growing the yeast culture), we bake them off in the wood oven. Again this takes quite a bit of preparation, it must be heated by small fires over several days before baking. The temperature must be absolutely perfect or you will either get a soft or rock hard crust and possibly ruin the inside of the bread. The same is true for any of the baked goods we sell, they all require different temperatures and different amounts of time to prepare for. 

However the labor is undoubtedly worth it, the flavor of the bread is incredible. It has a texture unlike any other and of course we have sourced out organic and almost entirely local producers of all the ingredients! In the future we also hope to move into specialty breads for people who are celiac or who may have allergies to common bread ingredients. So hopefully if everything goes as planned we will have more bread actually ready to sell for next weekend, and of course we will be selling pies and apples. Hopefully I will see some of you soon! 

Until then everyone,

Good Eating!