Kathry Rem's article in the State Journal-Register on May 28 was "Market gets cheesy". It was about a new vendor at the Old Capitol Farmers' Market. That vendor is Ropp Jersey Cheese, a dairy farm in Normal, IL with 60 cows on 450 acres. In addition to numerous types of cheese, they also make milk and ice cream.
The good news is that they are now at the farmers market every Wednesday. The bad news is they aren't there on Saturdays, which is when I can go. The other good news is that their cheese is also sold at Food Fantasies (where we frequently shop) and Schnucks (which is our favorite supermarket), as well as at Friar Tuck.
Of course, the downside of buying their cheese at a store is that you don't actually meet the people who made the cheese. That's a big part of the attraction for me of going to farmers markets for produce or to the James Family Farm for eggs or chicken -- I get to talk directly to the person who produced the food that I'll be eating. It adds to the sense of community that I'm looking for during my transformation to being a locavore. You get almost none of that at a supermarket like Schnucks; you get a little bit of it at a small store like Food Fantasies. But I still prefer to "Shake the hand that feeds you."
Luckily, Dawn can go to the farmers market on Wednesdays, so when she said she was going to get some strawberries (yum!), I asked her to also pick up some cheese. It's not quite as good as doing so in person, but it will have to do so for now.
Incidentally, if you are lucky enough to live in the Bloomington/Normal area, Ropp Jersey Cheese also has a small (600 square foot) store on the farm, where you can buy it directly. They also offer tours of their cheese processing plant.
Actually, you can even order their cheese online, but that really gets away from the whole "Shake the hand that feeds you" ideal!
Actually, what I'd really like to find would be a local source of butter! Anyone have any tips?
The good news is that they are now at the farmers market every Wednesday. The bad news is they aren't there on Saturdays, which is when I can go. The other good news is that their cheese is also sold at Food Fantasies (where we frequently shop) and Schnucks (which is our favorite supermarket), as well as at Friar Tuck.
Of course, the downside of buying their cheese at a store is that you don't actually meet the people who made the cheese. That's a big part of the attraction for me of going to farmers markets for produce or to the James Family Farm for eggs or chicken -- I get to talk directly to the person who produced the food that I'll be eating. It adds to the sense of community that I'm looking for during my transformation to being a locavore. You get almost none of that at a supermarket like Schnucks; you get a little bit of it at a small store like Food Fantasies. But I still prefer to "Shake the hand that feeds you."
Luckily, Dawn can go to the farmers market on Wednesdays, so when she said she was going to get some strawberries (yum!), I asked her to also pick up some cheese. It's not quite as good as doing so in person, but it will have to do so for now.
Incidentally, if you are lucky enough to live in the Bloomington/Normal area, Ropp Jersey Cheese also has a small (600 square foot) store on the farm, where you can buy it directly. They also offer tours of their cheese processing plant.
Actually, you can even order their cheese online, but that really gets away from the whole "Shake the hand that feeds you" ideal!
Actually, what I'd really like to find would be a local source of butter! Anyone have any tips?
You might call the Wettsteins in Carlock about butter. Emily will know if there's a place to get butter. By the way, their chicken and beef is an unbelievable quality PLUS they encourage you to bring your family out to walk all around the farm and see just how they do it. It's an awesome day trip for a 3 year old.
I prefer Amish cheese from Arthur to Ropp's Dairy. The flavors are better. Whenever we're in Arthur we stop for fire cheddar and blueberry white cheddar.
Posted by: Henny Penny | June 29, 2008 at 08:57 AM
I mentioned in a later post that the guy from Ropp Jersey Cheese hopes to be producing butter this winter. Currently they're down here at the 2 farmers markets each week, and their cheese is also carried locally. Come winter, if Springfield doesn't start up a winter farmers market, I'll have to hope that one of the local stores carries their butter. On the other hand, if quantities are limited, that might not happen!
When you said, "call the Wettsteins in Carlock", I did a google search to see whether I could find them -- and found a blog post on your site!
Driving to (and from) the Bloomington area for butter would probably not be practical, but it's possible they might know of someone closer to the Springfield area.
Thanks for the suggestion!
Posted by: Wally Hartshorn | June 29, 2008 at 09:19 PM