The Weblog
This page contains news, event information, and other items added by Ian and Adam, the resident farmers at Old 99. We send out a message every week, but most are set with a delete date about two weeks later. I archive some of the posts if they have content other than weekly availability of produce and meat.
You can send me questions too, which if they are of a general nature, I can post to this Old99 blog.
Old 99 farm, week of Oct 23, 2016
We had a delightful cider making event here on the last two Saturdays. Locally we had four families participating, and processed about 6 bushels (35L) of apples. Then daughter Kelly brought 16 friends from Toronto for the fun last weekend. We could compare the flavour of different apple varieties and indeed, some are better than others. My favourite was Spartan. All told about 100 L of cider of which I’ll try to make batches of hard cider and save some sweet cider for sale.
There is the same excellent choice of 62 items this week as last, including three varieties of potatoes. The envelope puleeze: swiss chard, beet root, beet tops, green onions, leek, rhubarb, kale, arugula, tomatoes including cherry and roma, carrots, sweet potato, potatoes (russet, dakota and purple), garlic, and herbs: chives, dill, spearmint, bronze fennel and lovage.
Inquiries are rolling in for the cheese-making workshop so if you are interested please register soon. To do so go to markets/workshops
This comprehensive course begins with a session on dairy fermentation, covering Kefir, Yogurt, Creme Fraiche, and Cultured Butter. In the afternoon we make lactic cheeses such as Cream Cheese & Chèvre, and then we take the same curd and age it into Crottin, Valencay and Saint Marcellin.
On the second morning we look at rennet cheeses, preparing the basic curd that can become many different styles of cheese, including Camembert, Blue Cheeses, Washed Rind Cheeses, Mozzarella and Feta. On the second afternoon we make an Alpine Cheese. And with its leftover whey we prepare a batch of fresh, warm Ricotta.
Two days of learning allow students to see many cheeses through the beginning stages of their evolution, and provides insight into how all styles of cheeses evolve from the very same milk.
If you aren’t ready to actually MAKE cheese but are interested and like to eat it, come to the friday evening lecture by David Asher here at the farm, 8pm, to learn the history and practice of cheesemaking.
Healthy eating
Ian and Cami