Locals that we love, Part II

By Gustav Ericson

 “It’s to laugh”- Pindar

Vicenza, perhaps of a thousand days on this earth, scrutinizes me thoughtfully with those obsidian eyes of hers as I ask if she would go for a piece of cheese. After a bit of contemplation, she nods. I am always happy that she has a good appetite. Vicenza, or, more familiarly, Cinzia, pulls off those impenetrably dark, sparkling eyes and that alabaster skin like nobody’s business. Une femme fatale perched in a shopping cart. She is patient, too. With indulgent me, and with her mother and father, April and Wei, who are here with a truffle delivery.  Wei unpacks the day’s delivery, which is painstakingly wrapped and beautifully labeled.  “Some new things today.”  New truffle flavors, that is, and the adventurous but never outlandish April has come up with some masterpieces. A creamy milk chocolate sharpened with raspberry; a cinnamon hazelnut specimen as dark as Madagascar at midnight.  Each flavor has an exquisite treatment atop, not ornament alone, but providing another texture and nuance of flavor. Today’s favorite is a malt ganache in a dark chocolate cloak, encrusted with little fragments of pralin. Utterly world class, and we didn’t have to pay the freight from Belgium or Paris.  

I know too well the labor intensity of such work, and am effusive in my appreciation. They have brought samples, too, a healthy dozen of specimens that didn’t pass Wei’s careful surveillance.  Mr. Zhang’s graphic talents and uncluttered esthetic have generated packaging of the same caliber as its contents. On each, therefore, is a magical image of La Vicenza, the Baker’s Daughter, cradling a big bowl of apparently melted chocolate. The Zhangs are always cognizant of season and of holiday marketing and our customers loved their elegant Valentine and whimsical Easter offerings. This summer they will wisely avoid truffly efforts and concentrate on a new line of less humidity- sensitive treats. Amongst them will be a chocolate cookie, deep, chewy, crisp and mysterious, that surpasses my own chocolate/espresso sablé. Ahem. They will be a grand addition to many picnic baskets this summer I bet, or would be excellent crumbled onto some berries with whipped cream.  

Wei and I take care of the business end of things and they are on their way, having brought us another batch of delight.  As they leave, Vicenza blows me a kiss, as she has for just about half of her life, now.  That easily melts my heart, like her mother’s truffles melt silkily on ones tongue….

And, we might add, those truffles came from about five blocks away.  The quality of local cheeses and comestibles has really blossomed lately, more than I can remember in a quarter century in the food world…

These locals are hard working, resourceful, responsible, resoundingly creative, talented- and generally good humored to boot. I admire their perseverance and their love. I can’t imagine staying up all night helping with the difficult birth of a goat, nor (anymore) getting up at three a.m. to make the pastry.  All the local folks I spoke with lately used the word “love” in describing their feeling for their work or their customers.

“I love making tarts and that is what makes them good”, says Marjan Beebe, creator and partner with her husband, Keith, of the much noted and sought- after tarts of Dutch Desserts, over in Kinderhook. Marjan often delivers, herself, on a Sunday morning, always bearing a glistening, golden array of latticed fruit and dark chocolate tarts.  Sometimes she will bring us a little bag of her special Dutch almond shortbread, too, as a treat- that delicate European variety of  “nurture”, sans words. Our conversations, our shared stories, though, always end in laughter.   Her visits end, too, with a hug. I have an idea what goes into her very popular taarts: the early hours, the summer and holiday onslaught of special orders, the imperative awareness of freshness, and the odyssey to finding ones perfect crust.  I’ve been there, and deeply respect those who stay on that road with such panache, humor, and, ultimately, love for their craft. Marjan and Keith have most certainly found their perfect crust, to their customers’ benefit.

Tanna Roten’s line of chutneys, Chutney Unlimited, is another world-class line of products that fly from our shelves every Saturday morning. The chutneys are as vivacious, complex and spicy as Tanna herself, a very classy lady whom we are proud to represent.  Her fig and lemon chutney is an exemplary accouterment to so many of our cheeses, be they young chèvres, old cheddars, luxe triple crèmes, or salty fetas. Her chutneys go equally well with all sorts of grilled fish or poultry, so they’re a perfect little hostess gift this time of year.  In colder times they are ideal accompaniments to curries, of course, and anything from the couscoussière or the tagine.  We love it when Tanna delivers, because she is generous with her samples, and her wit sparkles like her pristine, beautifully labeled product.  We keep a stash of her garam masala to dole out to beloved friends and family. We hope to bring it in soon.  Later this summer we’ll be carrying Tanna’s exceptional Tuscan Sea Salt.  We’ve been likewise doling our tiny samples of that from our personal larder, to everyone’s delight. The salt is a curious, how can this possibly work so well? amalgam of Italian sea salts, fresh garlic, crushed pepper flakes, Tanna’s own homegrown sage and yes, lavender! Try it, once it arrives in late July (Tanna waits for the best, freshly harvested garlic). It is a great addition to any roasted root vegetable, to grilled asparagus, fried polenta squares with wilted spinach, poached salmon, a grilled portabella stuffed with fontina...  Tanna and her creations are delectable additions to the local food scene, and we look forward to a long alliance with her.

Beatrice Berle of Berle Farms, over in Hoosik, and I don’t talk much, but I call her pretty much every Monday morning and leave her a message begging for yet more of her goat cheeses. Beatrice and consort Jim Buckley have an array of cheese that has been so embraced here at the Co-op. It’s got everything going for it, being local, organic, goat, and delicious.  Also, they produce a wide variety of styles of cheese, from young and soft and pliant, through soft ripened, up to well aged, crumbly, and subtly sharp.  Beatrice, in a rare conversation recently, told me a little about her recent visit to northern Italy, and how she is seeking to reproduce the “fast-make, long aging” style of cheese making popular up there. “ A leisurely aging process” she intones, “perhaps with time for a glass of wine with lunch”. Beatrice’s special brand of bemused joie de vivre underlies her every word. That approach has been apparent in her recent creations: all Berle Farm cheeses are to be savored slowly, we think, because they are rife with delicate nuance. Each is unique, Beatrice says, because they are dependant upon such fleeting, seasonal factors as the various flora in the pasture as well as the grains and seeds provided for the goats, the state of lactation, the humidity- all the vagaries of living off the earth. That concept of terroir.  Beatrice and Jim adamantly avoid the by-rote consistency of the large production, factory-made element so pervasive in some realms of the cheese world. Her legion of fans and devoted customers embrace those “inconsistencies”, and Beatrice conveyed her appreciation for their support of her idiosyncratic masterpieces.  Beatrice and Jim have recently purchased a cow, Flower, and are using her rich milk in a selection of aged mixed- milk cheeses, with much success.  We are eagerly awaiting her ventures into the world of Fontina.  We know you’ll be happy with it. 

There us a such and abundance of local creativity.  Foodie compatriot Beverly Reedy, of Beverly’s Best, in Saratoga, has introduced us to her outstanding line of relish and apple butters. The no-sugar apple butter is a delicious who needed the sugar anyhow? accompaniment to your toast or pancakes, makes a great filling in a spice cake, and has been very well received here. We have always admired Beverly’s industry and business acumen, and welcome her warmly. The Ladies Lorraine and Sheila up at Nettle Meadow Farm in Thurman, outside Warrensburg, have recently introduced two new flavors to their classic, and very successful, line of chèvres. They are a horseradish chèvre, perfectly executed with the right amount of horseradish and salt, and a lavender and honey fromage blanc.  Imagine that chèvre under a crown of smoked salmon and capers. Or that fromage and some coarse pumpernickel toast with your tea on a misty summer morning. The birds are so happy now.  Mr. Ronconi, of Partridge Run Farm, in Berne, continues to furnish us with his superb local honey.  Each impeccable hexagonal jar is filled with a varying tone of amber, from pale gold to deep chestnut, depending on the bees’ procession of flowery repasts.  Mr. Ronconi takes his bee business quite seriously, labeling each jar to reflect the time of harvest, e.g. “Mid Summer”, or “Early Autumn” (we hope he nods to Stan Getz as he writes that.). Our conversations always end in laughter, too--Signor Ronconi as sparkling as his gold and amber jars of honey.