Eating at the source. . . . . . .Part I

We are somewhat fussy about what we eat when traveling, 

just as we are at home. 

We rarely eat fast food at anytime, but sometimes, when 

hunger strikes, on the road the options for a quick meal 

require searching for an exit with yellow arches. There 

I can at least get a fish sandwich being a non-meat eater.

On this road trip through New England we were able to 

find not only some great restaurants for dinner, such 

as the New England Culinary Institute in Montpelier, VT., 

Cotton in Manchester, NH, and our favorite Maine 

waterside restaurant, Barnacle Billy's in Ogunquit, but 

also fabulous factories where we could get samples 

of quality foods.

So, while 'food trucks' may be the latest rage, I'm all for

stopping at the source, the factory, be it for ice cream, 

cheese, or fantastic bread.

  

Ben & Jerry's - most people who love ice cream are familiar 

with this brand - and now that it's owned by huge Unilever 

it's available across much of the planet.

But, believe me, it really is still made in Waterbury, Vermont 
in Ben and Jerry's original small factory - we visited and took 

the tour. . . and of course had ice cream for lunch that day!

We also visited the tiny town of Cabot in Vermont, 
population 233, to visit the Cabot Creamery where 
cheddar cheese is made by 109 of those townspeople! 
Here I was all these years sticking up for the town of 
Cheddar in Somerset, England, not far from my home, where 
cheddar cheese originated.

Meanwhile Vermonters have been making great cheddar cheese 
for over 95 years when there were more cows than people in 
the state. 94 independent farm families joined together to 
create the Cabot Farmers Creamery Cooperative, not 
just to do business, but to preserve the highest standards 
of dairy quality that are the hallmark of the 
Green Mountain State. 

Today, Cabot Creamery is owned cooperatively by 
farm families throughout the Northeast, and produces 
quality dairy products, including the 'World's Best 
Cheddar' - the cheese that has apparently 
won international awards beating out England's cheddar! 

The movie, the tour of the creamery in action, the tasting 
room where there were so many versions of wonderful cheddar 
to nibble, and the shop where purchasing several 
different cheddars, not available in my local grocery, 
to bring home, was a great stop on the road.

Next time. . . . get the butter ready, we'll be spreading
some of the best breads ever!