The Farm and Food Tasting at Store
category:Clubs and Organizations posted:July 25th, 2008All Things Agricultural At the Lincoln Family Home.
Guests who haven’t turned onto Hildene Road recently are in for a few wonderful surprises! About one half mile down the entrance road to The Lincoln Family Home, rising from the ten acre meadow is the post and beam framework for Hildene Farm’s new barn. Under construction, it is being built with timber felled and milled on the estate. The new 40 by 100 foot structure will be a goat cheesemaking facility and integral part of the thriving agricultural education component of Hildene. Upon completion, planned for summer 2009, it will become another part of the Hildene experience for guests. The barn is designed specifically to house a goat herd and for viewing cheesemaking from the milking of the goats to the processing of a signature Hildene Farm cheese. It is anticipated that given its location in The Shires of Vermont, and its commitment to promoting the state’s cheesemakers, Hildene Farm will become the trailhead for discovering the wide variety of artisan cheeses available statewide on the Vermont Cheese Trail. Meanwhile Farm Manager Peggy Galloup has been busy preparing for the future by overseeing the births and socialization of the “cheese production workers,” Hildene’s herd of Nubian Goats. She and her helpers have been busy welcoming the thus far 15 newborns to their new home on the farm.
In anticipation of developments “down on the farm,” Hildene Museum Store Manager, Carol Korzelius, and her staff have been busy adding farm related product. Goat lovers in particular will be happy to find Vermont Goat’s Milk Soap, Storey’s Guide to Raising Dairy Goats and even a children’s Animation Kit called “Grumpy Goat.” While the store does not carry goat cheese, as they wait patiently for Hildene Farm’s own, it does offer an assortment of excellent local Vermont cheeses. The Store is also taking the opportunity this year to highlight local food producers. The featured product for August is Castleton Crackers.
On Saturday, August 2, from 11:00 to 2:00, Whitney Lamy creator of Castleton Crackers will offer samplings of Middlebury Maple, Rutland Rye and Windham Wheat, three varieties of her crackers which are made by hand with all natural ingredients whenever possible. Whitney is an avid cook, baker and teacher of the trade. She is a past winner of the King Arthur Flour Winterbake cooking contest, has been featured in Bon Appetit and is the host of a new cooking show, “What’s Cookin’ Rutland” airing monthly on PEG TV. The public is invited to stop by and sample Whitney’s crackers. Admission is not required for the store and browsing is encouraged.
Korzelius is quick to point out that, “Like Hildene itself, the store offers something for everyone. Guests check in at the Welcome Center and then head out to the farm to meet the newest residents, the baby goats, and to see barn construction in progress.” Whether guests choose the comfortable walk around the farm loop or a ride out on the big red farm wagon that leaves Saturdays and Sundays on the hour from the Welcome Center, a trip to the Hildene Farm is not to be missed.
The Lincoln Family Home, Hoyt Formal Garden, Cutting and Kitchen Gardens, Farm and the Museum Store at Hildene are open daily, year round from 9:30 to 4:30. For information call 802.367.7968.
Date and Time : Saturday, August 2, from 11:00AM to 2:00PM.
