Holy Cow!!

This week we got to go on more tours, yay! This is where our title holy cow comes into play, sorry about the cheesiness (haha, sorry I can't help the puns). The first day of tours we got to go learn about the Farm to Chef Program here in Connecticut. A big thank you goes out to Linda Piotrowicz with the CT Department of Agriculture for setting up the tours!! I learned that a lot of consumers in Connecticut are concerned about the environment and are asking for locally grown, sustainable programs. We toured two farms and got to see this in action.

The first farm adventure took place at Broad Brook Beef in Broad Brook, CT. Herb Holden Jr., General Manager, took us on the grand tour of the operation. We got to learn a lot about sustainability and the great care they put into raising these animals. We saw many of the cows while learning about farm practices such as use of fermented feed and cow care. We also got to see the pigs and learn cool farm facts. Did you know that you'll never be bitten by a cow because they don't have teeth on their top gums, but their sandpaper like tongues are very rough! We ended this tour with some delicious Kielbasa samples. Thanks again!!

The second farm we explored was Hastings Farms in Suffield, CT. Megan Hastings started the tour by having us walk through the calf barn and see the youngest stars of the farm. They are kept in this barn until they are about 2 months old. This was a very clean and pretty shelter. We then went on to see where they are moved until they are 6 months old. We also got to see other areas the cows are kept in including where the pregnant cows are held. We were shown the milking equipment and I learned about the process that they are planning on using to produce and bottle their own milk in the near future. I think it’s really neat that the family farm is being preserved and that people are still passionate about the hard work it takes. We ended the tour with some delicious, fresh cheese that Megan had made for us. Thanks again for sharing your expertise, passion, and delicious cheese :)

The last tour we went on this week was to Calabro Cheese Corp. in East Haven, CT. Tim Sciarrillo, Chief Operating Officer, took us through the process of cheese making. For the sake of confidentiality I will not say much, but I will say that this is a fascinating process. I loved having the connection from the farm tours earlier this week to see how fresh milk can produce a wonderful Connecticut product. I thoroughly enjoyed learning about one of my favorite foods and what it takes to create a masterpiece of creaminess. I also found out that my favorite dessert, cannoli, is made using ricotta cheese! I left this tour in a happy cheese coma. A big thank you to Calabro, especially Tim, for allowing us to come in and experience what you do best.