Introduction

In Mid-October a group of local friends assembled for a blind taste testing of 5 local and seasonal foods. Tested were Apple Cider, Cider Doughnuts, Grass-Feed Beef, Apple Pie, and Cheddar Cheese. See Figure 1.

Apple Cider
  The first tasting consisted of 3 different cider's. In 2004 an E. coli outbreak occurred in apple cider from Peru, NY in which over 300 people got sick. This resulted in the New York State legislature passing a pasteurization law for cider. Unfortunately most small farms can not afford the cost of pasteurization so have begun shipping their apples to larger producers. Tantillo's farm now sends their apple's to Minards. We were still able to get three distinctly different cider's for our tasting: Dressel's, Minard, and Jenkins-Lueken. During the tasting there were many comments that the Minard cider was much too sweet, but those that liked Dressel's felt very strongly about their choice, however it was Jenkins-Lueken that won over both cider's in a 2 to 1 margin.

Cider Doughnuts
  The cider doughnut competition was intense. It would have been wonderful to taste all of these doughnuts fresh, but to keep the playing field level, the doughnuts were served at room temperature. To be fair all four doughnuts were delicious but one doughnut stood above the rest having just the right consistency and a more wholesome taste and that was Jenkins-Lueken winning with a clear majority. Personally I felt the Wallkill doughnuts were better following a more classic style whereas the J-L doughnuts had a slight heaviness akin to a muffin. At the same time, I had a fresh Tantillo's doughnut the day before and would say that it was easily the best doughnut I had all year, but at room temperature the Tantillo's doughnuts did not fare well in the voting. All of the doughnuts were sugar coated and it may be that Wright's puts on a bit too much sugar. Either way, all of the doughnuts were delicious and it was one of the best parts of the tasting.

Grass-Fed Beef
  We tasted 4 different grass-fed beef burgers: Brookside Farm in Gardiner, NorthView Farm in Millbrook, NY (sold at Jenkins-Lueken), Full-Moon Farms in Gardiner (sold at the Village Bakery in Gardiner), and Adam's in Newburgh. The process began by making equal sized patties and it was here that the differences became readily apparent. The differences in consistency varied so much that some were easily pressed into patties, others were tacky and held together easily where others seemed to fall apart. The Brookside meat stood out in that it was very red and seemed to have the lowest percentage of sinew. None of the four meats tested seemed to have a very high fat content, but this is to be expected with grass-fed beef.

  To the best of our ability the burgers were cooked to medium-rare on a gas grill and then cut into quarters. When the beef was served not everyone dived in like they did for the cider doughnuts. There was no ketchup, just a piece of ground beef on a toothpick and this may have scared away some people. I think it was also that the differences were more subtle than in the two previous tastings and not everyone was a hardcore meat lover. The argument was made that the one that would win would simply be the one that was cooked the best, which brings up a very interesting problem: the burger's all cook very differently!

  So is the best burger really the best tasting burger or is it that it has the proper consistency, density, and fat content to sit on a hot grill and cook evenly enough that the outside isn't charred, and the center stays juicy? My guess is that the answer falls somewhere in the middle, which is that the best burger must both have a nice flavor and cook evenly. In my opinion both Full-Moon and Brookside were the best and also quite similar, and that the North View Farm burger had a gamey flavor that I enjoy in venison but not beef. The Adam's grass-fed beef just didn't cook well and really fell flat in terms of flavor. Despite getting no votes I still enjoyed the North View farm beef over the Adam's. Brookside farm was clearly the winner in terms of votes even beating Full Moon 9 to 2.

  The critics said that the Brookside was cooked the best and that there were no discernible differences in the flavor, however I would like to strongly disagree; I was fortunate to have tasted all four, with each piece being on the rare side and I can say that I enjoyed the Brookside the best. I would also like to add that Brookside cooked nice an evenly, allowing the burger to stay juicy all the way through the meat without leaving the center uncooked. In the case of the Adam's meat, when the outside was done, the inside was still cool and completely rare. So this was a bit in-depth but I think that to make a good grass-fed burger really demands having meat that can be made into a relatively thick patty and will allow the center to get warm without fully cooking. Add great flavor and you have a burger that will beat corn-fed beef, and that is what I think you get from Brookside Farm.

Apple Pies
  This was the inspiration for the tasting dinner. Originally we had discussed which local farm had the best pies. We decided to do a blind testing of apple pies and as the discussion continued the menu and guest list kept growing. As with the cider doughnuts we did not have a way to ensure all of the pies would be heated evenly so they were cut into 16 slices and served at room temperature. Unlike all of the previous categories there were no clear winners, but there was one definite loser.

  I think that this primarily came down to personal preference. For example the pie from Hurd's had an intense amount of cinnamon. I don't dislike cinnamon, but it seemed to me like the cook accidently knocked the jar into the pie, and so I immediately ruled it out, however the fact that it was in a three-way tie for 1st place means that it really appealed to some people. Tantillo's was so BIG that the apple's overwhelmed the crust. Personally I thought Wright's delivered the perfect balance, but as the data shows it really came down to what the individual likes. In some ways this was kind of a disappointment since it would have been nice to have a definitive winner, but on the other hand it means we have several choices close by for really good pies!

Cheddar Cheese
  Finally we have the cheddar cheese. This wasn't really a local contest. Wallkill Market has a large block of cheddar they keep under glass at the front counter and Adam's sell their 7 year reserve. We decided to pit these cheeses against two cheddar's available at the Cheese Plate in New Paltz, the first being the Quebec 8 year and the XXX River Rat from Clayton, NY. This was really not much of a contest, the Adam's & Wallkill cheddar's still held enough moisture to slice and hold their shape which brings into question their aging process.

  The goal is not to create a cheddar that crumbles, but if it is still moist after 7 years one has to wonder if any "aging" besides the passage of time occurred. The complex flavor of cheddar comes from bacteria producing enzymes that break down fats and proteins. So on the one hand you want bacteria doing their magic but not to the point of becoming a health risk which is essentially a balancing act between the purity of the milk, temperature, humidity, and amount of cultures you start with. It seems like the Wallkill and Adam's cheese's were probably never aged in a way that allowed bacteria to ever get started.

  In the case of the River Rat and Quebec 8 year you are dealing with the master's! The Quebec 8 year won easily with a deep complexity, it was both tangy and yet held a smoothness almost bordering on creaminess in a cheese that was closer to parmesan in terms of texture than the other two cheddar's. With that said I had the luxury on getting to nibble on this cheese over the next few days and as much as I would say it's the best cheddar I have ever had, there's not a whole lot you can do with it other than take a nibble and be amazed. It is so strong that it just over powers your senses, the River Rat on the other hand still has many of the great characteristics of the 8 yr Quebec, but just toned down. You can eat this cheese, marvel at how good it is and then go about your day. You can put it on a cracker and you could probably even put it on a burger, but it would definitely be the cheddar I would choose if I could only eat one cheddar for the rest of my life.

Conclusion
So we didn't really find out who has the best Apple Pie, but it seems that our local group seemed to favor Jenkins-Leuken for the Fall staples. There are no real losers here. I don't think there is anyone who wouldn't enjoy a fresh cider doughnut from anywhere, but it certainly is fun to compare and contrast the differences with friends! It amazes me that we even have a choice of grass-fed beef in our area, let alone four, and we didn't even go to Kiernan's! Fall is one the real treasure's of living in the Northeast, and with that come's all of the bounty of our local farm harvest's. As most of food production has moved to sterile mass produced junk we live in an area that produces food that is unique, fresh, healthy, delicious, and connected to a long tradition of cooking. Thanks to all who came out and sampled with us!

Christian & Jennifer

Leaves on Route 299

Fall colors at Night Shawangunk Grasslands

Looking into Peterskill from Beacon Pt. Minnewaska

Minnewaska

Sunset at Beacon Pt.