Foragers open Thursday!

Sorry savvy marketers but Foragers is reclaiming the word local. While we were on our January hiatus we got to thinking about what local really is. In our minds local is all about community – large or small.

At Foragers being local is going to the Fireman’s breakfast; thinking local is about pulling the neighbour kid out of the ditch on snowy Tuyll St; being local is exchanging silent niceties to familiar strangers; most importantly, local is about caring what is in your backyard so that you can be of use to rest of the world. Local has its own responsibilities.

Our responsibility at Foragers is to professionally deliver a quality product to you. Our responsibility is to ensure you are happy as our partner. This separates our store from others: we are able to recommend items with confidence, generate recipe ideas and help source new products not usually available. Our goal is to help enhance our community.

With that seriousness aside, lets get on with what you should be looking for when you stop by this weekend.

Fresh & New

Thornloe Dairy
The small dairy located near New Liskeard was a thriving intensive dairy owned by Balderson, Labatts, Ault and then Parmalat. After 1997, the plant was scheduled to be shuttered; if it wasn’t for a few good dairy farmers. Thornloe has transformed itself into a Northern Dairy producing some quality artisanal dairy products.

The best product is the European styled, “Cultured Butter” and Foragers has it. Cultured butter is milk that has been allowed to slightly ferment which gives a deep butter flavour as compared to the “fresh sweet butter” we are use to from the grocery store. The colour is a toasty golden yellow colour with an aromatic and rich flavour. The physical texture is almost crystalline. We think that you will be reading about Thornloe Cultured Butter shortly.

Evanturel Cheese is the flagship and star artisanal cheese produced by Thornloe. Using pasteurized cows milk, this creamy washed rind cheese has an ash line through the middle giving a slight smoky taste. Comparable to ripe French Brie but with a bit more pungency. Be sure to ask for sample when you are in this weekend.

Cheese News
We are now carrying Archange and Allegretto Quebec cheeses, which are raw goat and sheep milk cheeses respectively. These tangy, salty, semi-firm cheeses are an excellent value and a welcome addition to theForager Cheese counter

We have had had to source new sheep and goat milk cheese as Monforte Dairy in nearby Millbank is no longer producing until they move into their new facility in Stratford, scheduled for early 2010.

Another must-try is Niagara Gold. This washed rind pasteurized cows milk cheese from the Niagara Region is from one of three Ontario’s Guernsey cattle herds that are known for richer milk yielding luscious artisanal cheese.

Short Ribs
These tough and fatty beef short ribs make an excellent wintertime braise. Braising is as easy as 1-2-3. Brown the meat and remove, add onions and aromatics, add wine, water, stock, short ribs and let simmer for a few hours. Are you working hard to take time off this winter? Let us do the cooking and look for short rib prepared dinners in our gourmet-to-go section of the store shortly.

Sausages
The past month has ignited a renewed our passion for fresh sausages. We have acquired the necessary equipment including natural sausage casings for which we have established as a key ingredient. Our plan is to make several varieties on an ongoing basis and also to feature a sausage-of-the-week that will be announced via this newsletter. Let us know your favorite and we will have some fun making them for you.

Yours in foraging for food, flavour, fecundity, fashion and fame.

Sam. Sara and Bill