Saratoga Farmers' Market

Yankee Distillers

Saratoga Farmers Market Gift Guide, Part 2: Gifts for Foodies

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By Emily Meagher

Last week we showed you farmers’ market items that make great gifts for the holidays. This week, our guide to help you find great local gifts continues with what the farmers’ market does best: food!

 

Saratoga Chocolate Co, photo by Pattie Garrett

The time leading up to Christmas can be stressful, with gifting opportunities left and right. First, there are stocking stuffers. These items are usually small, not too expensive, and should be shelf-stable. For a sweet item, try Slate Valley Farms’ miniature maple syrup containers, available in seasonal shapes like gingerbread men and log cabins. Or consider Saratoga Chocolate Co.’s chocolate Santas, peppermint bark, or truffles, for some indulgence. What about treating your pet a little too? Mugzy’s Barkery has seasonally decorated, bone-shaped peanut butter biscuits for your dog to enjoy.

 

Argyle Cheese Farmer, photo by Pattie Garrett

Then comes Christmas morning, which always seems to arrive in the blink of an eye. Prepare by stocking up on local gifts from the farmers’ market any Saturday before Christmas. Several of our farms offer gift packages, such as Argyle Cheese Farmer’s cheese variety baskets, yogurt combos, and a set dubbed “The Argyle Mile” which is full of goodies made within one mile of their cheese house. Or give a gift that will last through the year with Argyle’s “Cheese of the Month Club” where the recipient will receive a locally made cheese every month.

 

 

High Peaks Distilling, photo by Pattie Garrett

Then comes Christmas dinner, and if someone else is hosting you it might be nice to contribute a local food item to the feast. The farmers’ market has many great farms that sell meats such as fresh lamb, poultry, beef, and even more specialty meats like goat. Christmas time also brings even more selection to the market – how good does a local beef rib roast sound?! For after dinner, a bottle of local liquor will be welcomed by all. High Peaks Distilling, Yankee Distillers, and Springbrook Hollow Farm Distillery all offer a unique set of products ranging from whiskeys to gins to cordials.

 

A local product always feels that much more special as a holiday gift. Our 50+ vendors offer an abundance of fantastic items, sure to please no matter what your loved one’s taste. In addition, several of our vendors (as well as the farmers’ market as a whole) offer gift certificates.

 

This week’s recipe: Mulled Apple Cider

Apple Crisp Cocktail

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courtesy of Yankee Distillers

Ingredients:

* denotes ingredients currently available at the farmers’ market

  • cinnamon & sugar mixture
  • ice
  • 1/4 oz. caramel syrup
  • 2 oz fresh apple cider*
  • 2 oz Yankee Distillers bourbon whiskey*
  • dehydrated apple slice*
  • cinnamon stick

Instructions:

1. Rim a rocks glass with cinnamon & sugar and fill 2/3 with ice

2. In a cocktail shaker, combine 1/4oz caramel syrup, 2oz fresh apple cider, and 2oz Yankee Distillers bourbon whiskey with ice

3. Shake to combine, and strain into rocks glass, right up to the cinnamon & sugar rim

4. Garnish with a dehydrated apple slice and a cinnamon stick

Distiller Brings ‘Spirit Of The Grain’ to Saratoga Farmers’ Market

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

It’s 9 a.m. at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market. Not exactly “happy hour.” But for Matt Jager and the crew who bring vodka, straight bourbon, rye, wheat, and single malt whiskeys from Yankee Distillers to the market, that’s the point. These drinks are not meant to be downed in a hurry but instead sipped slowly.

Such beverages, known as spirits, begin from grains. As such, says Jager, who co-owns Yankee Distillers with Scott Luning, they are “the spirit of the grain.”

A distilled spirit is an alcoholic beverage produced by allowing a fermented liquid to turn to vapor and then back to liquid. Grains are cooked down to a mash. During this process, carbohydrates are broken down to simple sugars. Sugars turn to alcohol as yeast eats away at them, creating fermentation. The resulting liquid is then distilled and aged.

Yankee Distillers’ whiskeys, photo by Pattie Garrett

Jager began learning to distill spirits after completing a master’s in business administration. Yankee Distillers opened three years ago in Clifton Park. Its whiskies have been in barrels aging for most of that time. As a result, last year marked their first significant rollout. The process, says Jager, has taught him patience: “I learn new things every day.”

Distilling has historic roots. New York farmers fermented and aged grains in small batch processes through the late 18th and 19th centuries, creating a vibrant craft industry. Prohibition laws of the 1920s wiped that industry out. In 2005, however, new state laws were passed that are helping distilleries make a comeback. 

For Jager, distillation allows one to experience “the grain in its purest essence.”

For him, that essence involves learning more about the grains and their origins, how they were grown, harvested, stored, and ultimately converted to the spirits that one enjoys now.

State laws require 75 percent of farm distillers’ raw ingredients to be of New York origin. Yankee Distillers uses 100 percent New York grown corn, rye, wheat, and malted grains in its products, and Jager dreams of operating a farm that would grow these crops itself.

Sip a sample at Yankee Distillers table at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market. Or visit their tasting room in Clifton Park.

The Saratoga Farmers’ Market is 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays at the Lincoln Baths Building in the Saratoga Spa State Park. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the FreshFoodNY app. 

Saratoga Farmers’ Market Brims with Gifts to Suit Everyone

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By Himanee Gupta-Carlson

The final few days before Christmas can be frantic. Gifts must be found, holiday meals must be cooked, and then there’s the issue of trying to get packages shipped to loved ones who live elsewhere.

We at the Saratoga Farmers’ Market invite you to relax. Come to our market on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., grab a warm drink and a pastry or breakfast sandwich, and stroll through the wide variety of specialty foods products, locally made jewelry and artwork, and delicious farm fresh foods, all under one roof at the Lincoln Baths Building. They are filled with an array of artworks, foods, and other gift items homegrown or homemade to fill a variety of needs.

The following guide gives you a glimpse of some of what we offer:

Treats from Mugzy’s Barkery

Artisanal treats. Head upstairs to the second floor for cured meats, hand-cut pastas, handcrafted jewelry, and journals. If there’s a dog in the family, consider a gift box from Mugzy’s Barkery which features a sampler of their dog treats. Terra Sage Gourmet also offers a healthy vegetarian dog food.

  Also on the second floor are first-year agricultural vendors offering such produce as mushrooms, chicken, dried beans, and nutrient dense microgreens.

A spirited sample. Walk to the end of the second floor, and head downstairs. Stop and sample bourbon-infused eggnog, made with Battenkill Valley Creamery’s award winning eggnog and Yankee Distillers’ bourbon. Both items are available from their respective makers at the far end of the market’s first floor.

Sweets to ship. In the main market, you’ll find produce, meats, jams, chocolates, cheeses, peanut butter, and hummus. Many of these items are suitable for shipping, and Slate Valley Farms makes the job easy. They offer a gift box of honey, maple syrup and maple treats in a Priority Mail package that Slate Valley’s Gina Imbimbo will send for you.

Other gift boxes. Head the front end. You’ll find cheese samplers, peanut butters, and mushroom teas from Argyle Cheese Farmer, Saratoga Peanut Butter, and Mariaville Mushroom Men respectively. And, if you like creating your own gift packages, stop by Kokinda Farms and pick up a wicker basket from Laurie Kokinda. Choose a jar of jam and walk through the market again, filling the basket with your favorites.

The Saratoga Farmers Market is 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays at the Lincoln Baths Building in the Saratoga Spa State Park. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and on the FreshFoodNY app.

Traditional Meals for Traditional Holidays

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By Mary Pratt

As we approach our traditional winter holiday season, the Saratoga Farmers’ Market offers delicious selections for traditional preparation. Whether you’re gathering guests or enjoying a quiet celebration, the Market supplies ingredients from appetizers to entrees to desserts. Scotch Ridge Trees and Berries completes your home with holiday decorations.

What better cocktail to serve in New York State than a Manhattan made with Yankee Distillers rye whiskey, made from 100 percent Saratoga grains. You can top it with a fermented black cherry from Pucker’s Pickles.

Battenkill Valley Creamery makes eggnog that’s ready for adding optional liquor. Or prepare homemade with their dairy products, and Market eggs, using SimplyRecipes.com.
For appetizers, check the holiday cheeses from Argyle Cheese and Nettle Meadow. Argyle’s annual gift baskets will work for a cheese platter along with yogurt dips for Market vegetables. Nettle Meadow’s holiday cheeses include pfeffernusse, cranberry, and eggnog fromage frais. Pura Vida expects to have Peconic Bay scallops, and try their blowfish, either sautéed or fried like chicken wings. Add Freddy’s Rockin’ Hummus to your appetizers, and serve with Saratoga Crackers and Mrs. London’s breads.

For entrees, Longlesson Farm and Lewis Waite Farm offer glorious beef rib roasts. You can pre-order three or four rib, or whole roasts. Elihu Farm will have fresh lamb again, including bone-in or boneless legs, whole or half racks, and loin strips. Mariaville Mushroom Men features gift baskets and teas, along with grow kits. Their mushrooms make an excellent side dish with beef or lamb.

Don’t leave the Market until you pick up salad greens, tomatoes and herbs, potatoes and vegetables, and Momma’s Secret Salad Dressings. For an alternate starch, try Mangiamo’s pasta. And add Saratoga Apple’s hard cider to your basket.

Finally, no meal is complete without dessert and coffee. The Chocolate Spoon offers cookies and cakes all year, and for holidays one can order fruit or cream pies and cheesecakes. From Saratoga Apple you can choose varieties to make baked apples and apple pie. Grandmas Apple’s also makes cheesecakes. In addition to serving cup after cup of coffee at the Market, Something’s Brewing now roasts organic coffee beans in several flavors. Add this, and treats from Saratoga Chocolate, to complete your basket of products for holiday celebrations.