In honor of New Hampshire Eat Local Month and NH Farmers’ Market Week, I’m dedicating this weeks’ blogs to New Hampshire’s Farmers’ Markets. I hope everyone is enjoying my blogs this week and finding their way out to discover their own farmers’ markets!
I’ve journeyed from Salem to Durham and then to Bedford to experience the New Hampshire Farmers’ Markets. Exploring the provisions and the people supplying them has been an adventure and a delight. As we hit the high point in the week I visited the Merrimack Farmer’s Market. The market is held in the Tractor Supply parking lot, 515 Daniel Webster Highway.
Merrimack Farmers’ Market is the smallest market I’ve been to so far but what it lacks in size it makes up for in heart, and innovation. Most of the vendors were warm and friendly interested not just in selling their products but also getting to know their customers. The market was also offering a free raffle for an eco-Merrimack-Farmers’-Market-Bag
The market offered a wonderful selection of produce. Three different vendors were selling a wide variety of fruits and veggies, flowers and plants. Today, the businesses that really caught my attention were Gone Baking, a mobile bakery, The Yankee Cheeseman, and Gunther’s Goodies, a dog treat supplier.
Gone Baking is owned by Jenny Cheifetz. Ms. Cheifetz is a former Massachusetts teacher turned stay at home mom who found a passion for baking and transformed it in to a business. She’s was one of the most friendly people I had met today and then there was her carrot cake cupcake. I love carrot cake so any opportunity to try carrot cake will not be passed up by me. Gone Baking did not disappoint. This cupcake was excellent, soft and moist with rich sweet creamy frosting. It was worth cent! Who doesn’t like friendly people and cupcakes? If you answered ‘You don’t.’ to this question, well you don’t know what you’re missing out on. Check Gone Baking out on Facebook.
The Yankee Cheeseman was a man who loved his craft and loved to share it. You couldn’t sneak by without a taste and you wouldn’t want to anyway. His cheeses are excellent. I really enjoyed the sharp cheddars and the smoke apple wood. When I first got to the booth it was only a young lady and I tasting, when I left the booth a small crowd was forming around it. I left with a sharp cheese to pair with Fulchino’s, a local winery out of Hollis, Zinfandel. It paired perfectly!
Gunther’s Goodies, out of Machester, are fancy dog treats. I may not have a dog but this place caught my attention. These gourmet dog treats are made from local ingredients. I love innovation, team work and reusing resources. White Birch Brewing, out of Hooksett, provides Gunther’s Goodies with their spent grains. Spent grains are the byproducts after the grains have been used for brewing. These spent grains are then used to make the dog treats. Their treats can be purchased at White Birch as well as at the market. So if you are up in Hooksett tasting brews, be sure pick up a treat for man’s best friend to tell him how much you love him and New Hampshire. Check Gunther’s goodies out on Facebook.
That was my adventure in farmers’ marketing! I hope I have inspired some of you to check out your local farmers’ market. Keep on checking out your local scene!
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