Farm of the Month
Cheshire Garden
277 Burt Hill Road, Winchester
(800) 597-7822 & (603) 239-4173
patti@cheshiregarden.com
http://www.cheshiregarden.com
Is it possible to capture - in a jar - the pure colors and intense flavors of fruits produced from our good earth? Patti Powers and Ralph Legrande, who operate Cheshire Garden in Winchester, N.H., will answer with a hardy, "Yes!" They have met that challenge every N.H. growing season for the past 22 years.
"People appreciate handmade, home-grown, and the intense fruitiness and flavor of our stuff," Patti says, attributing the preservation of their extraordinarily flavorful bounty to a love of growing, eating, and a dedication to harvesting fresh fruit at its peak.
As for perfect timing, their website explains: "Their flavor has more layers, is more complex, than that of fruits that must travel to market."
"When fruit is completely ripe," Patti adds, "all of the flavors are fully expressed.
Picked under-ripe, you don't get everything the fruit is capable of producing."
Cheshire Garden's preserves are made with less sugar, no added pectin or other thickeners, and no preservatives. The result: deeper color, more intense flavor, and softer texture. Imagine the taste, spread on anything from toast to waffles.
Every batch of preserves, mustards, sauces and vinegars is made in their kitchen, a dozen jars at a time. A few of their popular offerings: Farmhouse Garlic Mustard; Barley's Elderberry Preserve made from elderberries, sweetened in the summer sun; Tweedledum's Damson Plum Preserve; and a Mad Hatter's Pepper Preserve, excellent as is, or for glazing a favorite meat.
For years, Patti has sold her products in Boston, but says because the "buy local" message is clearly out, her local customer base has grown. She loves it. Hearing customers say, "Wow, this is the best I've ever tasted!" keeps her going.
Cheshire Garden products can be ordered online, or meet Patti in person at the Stonewall Farm Thanksgiving Farm Fare 11/21& 22, or Monadnock Music Christmas Fair 11/28 & 29, or for a taste sampling right at Cheshire Garden in Winchester, as they participate in the statewide NH Open Doors event this Veteran's Day weekend, Nov. 8 & 9.
Include colorful, locally-made preserves in a holiday gift basket, and its recipient will lavish you with "thank yous" for that captured taste of summer sunshine they'll savor on the coldest of winter days.
Events promoting local preserves:
Stonewall Farm Thanksgiving Farm Fare
242 Chesterfield Rd
Keene, NH 03431
(603) 357-7278
Monadnock Music and Christmas Fair at
South Meadow School
108 Hancock Rd. Rte. 202
Peterborough, NH 03458
(603) 924-7610
NH Open Door Event
http://www.nhopendoors.com
