Great Farms Make Great Plates
Photo courtesy of Shenot Farm
Great Farms Make Great Plates (Sponsored Content)
When you start with good ingredients, good food is sure to follow. The best ingredients come from Western Pennsylvania’s family-run farms, where soil, sunshine, and rain complement the skill and dedication of real people. Local nonprofit Farm to Table Buy Local, founded by Erin Hart in 2007, supports local farmers by expanding awareness of their essential work to feed our region, by providing education and food information to schools and communities, and by facilitating food relief where it is most needed.
Visit Buy Fresh Buy Local Western PA for more information on local farms and how to buy from them. They offer a complete county-by-county listing of regional farms to guide your locavore shopping across the year.
FARMS FEATURED IN TABLE: GATHERINGS 2023, “GREAT PLATES”
Kime’s Cider Mill is in the heart of fruit country in northern Adams County, about 10 miles north of historic Gettysburg. The Kime family started their orchard in 1957, adding apple cider and fruit butters a few years later. Today, brothers Ricky and Randy run the business, and their children are learning from their fathers. Using only tree-ripened apples and pears, along with other farm-grown ingredients, Kime’s Cider Mill offers unsweetened butters and spreads, as well as more traditional options.
Since the 1850s, the Shenot family’s Wexford farm has produced field-fresh food to feed their neighbors as well as residents of nearby Pittsburgh. Focused on fruits and vegetables since the 1970s, the farm is a cornucopia of goodness during the long growing season of Western Pennsylvania, with 80 acres of corn and vegetables and 20 acres of orchards. Other aspects of the farm add joy to all the edible goodness: hayrides, a pumpkin patch, and homemade fudge make visits to their market a lot of fun.
Located in rural Perry County, the farm grows fruits and vegetables, and raises poultry and fowl using organic and sustainable methods. Aside from ducks who love spinach too much to be let into the fields, a harmony of nature, farming, and great flavor prevails here, from tomatoes to paw-paws and cold-weather greens.
Chef Greg Andrews and friends started The Pickled Chef in 2014. Chef Greg offers farm-to-table, preservative-free canned foods including bread-and-butter pickles, sour dill pickles, and a fantastic variety of vegetable pickles, including the dilly beans on page XX. He also ventures into pestos, kimchi, and sauerkraut.
German immigrant John Conrad Soergel settled in Wexford in 1850, where he planted apple trees. Over a century later, in the 1960s, his descendants started a farm stand. A cider press appeared in the late 1980s. Their farm-and-store combination continues to expand dynamically with a plant nursery, grocery store, gift shop, ice cream concession, and more, making this family farm a destination for fun as well as food.
The Paul family has farmed what is now known as Paul Hollow since 1865. Drive down the dirt road that leads to the farm and you’ll find the fourth generation of Pauls tending to hives and trees … and raising their fifth and sixth generations. Their delicious honeys and maple syrups are sold across the state. Around Pittsburgh, the family often shows up at farmers’ markets and specialty retailers.
TABLE MAGAZINE is proud to partner with Farm to Table/Buy Fresh Buy Local Western PA
As part of their mission to support and uplift local farms, they help us find farms, farm shares, farmers’ markets, and retailers who carry local farm products in our area. Visit farmtotablepa.com for more information.
TRY THESE GREAT PLATES RECIPES:
Deep-Fried Dilly Beans with Garlic Aioli
Pickled Veggie Salad with Mustard Dressing