Author: John Fladd

From milk to cheese

A day in the life of a cheese maker

Peter Kress is the owner of and head cheese maker at Swallow Ridge Farm in New Boston. This is how he described a day of cheese-making:

The day starts, he said, by picking up milk in Mont Vernon, the next town over.

“I go pick up about 3,300 pounds of milk, bring it back here in my tank, and then we pump it off.” (Dairy farmers measure their milk by weight, not by volume.) Then he pasteurizes it.

“Right now, we are pasteurizing all of our milk. We used to make just raw-milk cheese, but we got just a lot of requests and people nervous with unpasteurized cheese. So we decided to make pasteurized cheese.” Kress explained that the higher the temperature milk is pasteurized at, the more the structure and flavor of the milk changes. “We take it up to 145 degrees,” he said, “and hold it for 30 minutes. We used to have a big factory in Maine, and we had a high temperature-short time process. That would take 161 degrees for 16 seconds, but we do 30 minutes at 145. And then it goes into something called a plate heat exchanger, which cools the milk down to 88 [degrees]. We run well water on one side of the plates, and then the hot milk’s on the other side.”

The actual cheese-making takes place in a large, bathtub-shaped, stainless steel container, Kress said. “That is where we make most of our cheese. We also have a copper kettle where we make most of our Swiss. I like making Swiss in the copper kettle, because in Switzerland, by law, all Swiss cheese has to be made in copper. All Gruyere has to be made in copper. All Parmesan has to be made in copper. And they feel that the copper is a better heat conductor, but they also feel it gives some property to the cheese. So I got this vat” — the bathtub-shaped one — “out of Wisconsin about 30 years ago and it’s probably about 100 years old. So the milk goes into one of these two vats, and then we do our process.”

Once the milk goes into a vat at the proper temperature — 88 degrees — Kress said, he adds culture — strains of beneficial bacteria responsible for acidifying milk and building distinct flavors and textures. “Cultures come from mostly Wisconsin, but [ours are] from France. We let the culture grow for about an hour, then we add rennet, [an enzyme] which coagulates the milk. We use a vegetable-type rennet here. It turns the milk to something like Jell-O in about 30 minutes. Then we take knives and we cut it.”

This leaves Kress with pieces of milk solids and liquid, called curds and whey.

“The curds are what we keep,” he said. “The whey, we spread on the land. If you’re a really big [cheese-making] plant, it goes to a drying plant, they might use it for baby food, potato chips, all kinds of stuff. It’s protein — whey protein powder. We’re too small to do that. The curds we will add salt to, or any other ingredients you might add, like we add jalapeño peppers, or tomato and basil.”

At that point, Kress said, it’s a matter of shaping the young cheese in hoops.

“They’re square, but they’re called hoops,” he said with a shrug — and they get pressed overnight. “In the morning, we’ll have a block of cheese. That block will go into our cooler and age up to a year. Some ages longer than that. We have some cheddars that are almost two years old now. But that’s sort of the quick version of our process.”

According to Kress not all cheeses are equally complicated.

“Swiss is the hardest cheese to make,” he said. He said that recently Swiss scientists determined that the holes in Swiss cheese are due in part to cultures clinging to bits of hay that would traditionally fall into milk that Swiss milkmaids would carry in buckets. Kress said that is difficult to reproduce in modern, sanitary cheese making.

“Those holes, they’re called eyes,” he said. “I can make good Swiss, but sometimes the eyes are not so good. Because to grow those eyes is really hard. So you add a certain kind of culture. We have to add something we call a ‘former’ that helps form gas bubbles. If you have no gas bubbles, it’s called ‘blind.’ You don’t want a blind block of Swiss cheese.”

All Swallow Ridge Farm cheeses are aged.

“Depending on the cheese,” Kress said, “it can go anywhere from 30 days, 60 days, up to a year — some more. We make 20-pound blocks [of cheese]. I can’t lift 40-pound blocks anymore.”

Kress pointed out various blocks of cheese he was aging. “This particular one, this is an Asiago-type cheese, and this one has spices in it. This is our jalapeño. We have some Gouda. We have some flavored with dill.”

Wheels of cheese receive a special coating, Kress said.

“This is a special coating that comes from Holland,” he said, pointing at a red wheel of cheese. “It’s really nice stuff because you can’t scratch it off. It’s very hard and it protects the cheese so you don’t get any mold and it keeps it from drying out too much. It’s like wax but you can feel it’s really really tight and hard.”

And then, there’s the brie.

There is a special cabinet for aging brie, Kress said.

“We don’t have any brie in there right now. This is where we age our brie, and grow the white mold that you’re so familiar with on brie. Brie’s tricky, and we have a lot of trouble with that. We made some really good tasting stuff, and then people want it.” But then, he said, demand might fall off temporarily. And brie is good for about 60 days and then you have to sell it before it starts to break down.

“The cheese business is always adventurous,” Kress said. “I’ve always liked it, I love making the cheese. The hard thing always is selling it. I can make a lot of cheese, but I have to be able to sell it all. That’s the tricky part.”

Swallow Ridge Farm
170 South Hill Road, New Boston, 325-0477, swallowridgefarm.com
Cheeses: Swallow Ridge Swiss, Swallow Ridge Gouda, Swallow Ridge Gouda Rosemary, New Boston Cheddar, New Boston Cheddar Jalapeño, New Boston Cheddar Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil, New Boston Cheddar Caraway, Tuscan (an asiago-style cheese), Tuscan Italian Herbs, Swallow Ridge Havarti, Swallow Ridge Havarti Dill
Buy the cheese: At the farm, order through the website or at farmers markets including the Concord Farmers Market, the website said.

Featured photo: Swallow Ridge cheese. Courtesy photo.

The Weekly Dish 26/7/16

• Lavender skills for Goffstown teens: The theme of Flavor Our World, for teens entering grades 5 through 12, at the Goffstown Public Library (2 High St., Goffstown, 497-2102, goffstownlibrary.com) on Thursday, July 16, at 3 p.m. is “Lotta Lavender Love.” Participants meet on the Library’s lawn and discover new flavors and build real cooking skills. Registration is required.

• Chocolate truffle class: Van Otis Chocolates (341 Elm St., Manchester, 627-1611, vanotis.com) will host a truffle-making class Thursday, July 16, at 5:30 p.m. Guests will be given a demonstration of how to make a chocolate ganache, then be given a portion of a fresh ganache prepared earlier in the day, to roll into their own truffles. Once the truffles are rolled, guests will have the opportunity to dip them into a variety of toppings. Beverages and wine are welcome, and chocolate treats will be provided. Participants will take home 24 hand-rolled truffles. Tickets are $55.20 through the Van Otis website.

• Tequila at Tuscan: Celebrate Tequila Tuesday at Tuscan Market (9 Via Toscana, Salem, 912-5467, tuscanmarket.com/store/events) Tuesday, July 21, at 6 p.m. Shake up three cocktails with tequila in this hands on class. Enjoy a guided lesson on crafting unique cocktails led by one of Tuscan’s mixologists. Tickets are $64.74 through the Tuscan Market website.

• Taste the colors in Derry: The Derry Public Library (64 E. Broadway, Derry, 432-6140, derrypl.org) will host a Red, White and Blue Candy Taste Test on Wednesday, July 22, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Celebrate the U.S.’s 250th birthday by indulging your sweet tooth. Sample a variety of candies, all red, white or blue. Then vote for your favorite. Register through the Library’s website.

• Wine and unicorn cake: Join LaBelle Winery at its Derry location (14 Route 111, Derry, 672-9898, labellewinery.com) Wednesday, July 22, for a hands-on unicorn cake decorating class from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. This class invites you to transform a 5″x6″ blueberry lemon dome cake into your very own one-of-a-kind creation with various colorful buttercreams, playful textures and sparkling embellishments. All class materials are provided, and you’ll leave with a magical unicorn cake. Tickets are $86 through the LaBelle website.

• Tasting international sparkling wines: Svetlana from WineNot Experiences (winenotexperiences.com) will lead a tasting of seven sparkling wines from around the world paired with seasonal bites and lively stories, Wednesday, July 22, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Hunt Memorial Library in Nashua. Tickets are $65 through the WineNot website.

Shop Very Local

Enjoy fresh flavors and community at area farmers markets

Change is a constant at farmers markets.

Whether it’s the seasonal change in the produce offerings — blueberries today, tomatoes in a month — or changes in the market itself, the markets are never quite the same.

Nashua’s farmers market has been growing and expanding over the past several years, said Elaina Bedio of the Downtown Nashua Association.

“For a long time the Farmers Market was managed by the City,” she said. “And then the Great American Downtown — which is what our group used to be known as — took it over. It was still over by the library, but this year we moved it to the new Riverwalk, so we’re excited about that. We’ve got lots of new vendors that people are excited about. And that has led to a lot of interest from people who want to be vendors next year. People seem to like the changes; we’re pretty excited about it.”

Bedio said the Nashua Farmers Market has about 30 vendors.

“They’re not all there every week, but some of them are seasonal vendors who are there every week. We make a priority of having farms — I would say the most represented groups would be the farms. And agricultural vendors — that would include people who are selling flowers and plants and things like that. And then we have craft beer vendors and craftspeople who are making things like jewelry and soap and fidgets and all sorts of things, art, photography. And then we have a significant number of bakeries as well.”

One of those bakeries is Crumbs on Cambridge. Amy Casella is the owner of the home-based bakery and sells her all-natural treats at three different area farmers markets: Nashua’s, Bedford’s and the Merrimack Valley Farmers Market in Milford. She said meeting her customers face to face is what she likes most about selling at market.

“I love talking to the people,” Casella said. “And every town has different types of people who come, different conversations. The flavors are different depending upon each town I go to and each market I go to.”

One of the main benefits of selling directly to customers, Casella said, is being able to answer their questions. Many food vendors have found a growing interest from customers who are curious about where their food comes from, said Amy Fecteau, who specializes in raising animals for meat at Cedartree Farm. She has found that in recent years customers have wanted to know more about where their food comes from, and that is especially true about the animals they eat.

“We raise pork, goat, chicken and lamb,” Fecteau said.

Her goat meat has gained a following, she said, but for many customers it’s been a new experience.

“I did some research [when I started my farm] and found out that there weren’t a lot of people producing meat goats and that a market was there,” she said “It took a while for me to find it. I’m still finding people that are like, ‘Oh my goodness, you have goat! I didn’t know.’ But now there are more people receptive to it and want to try it.”

“It’s a wonderful meat,” Fecteau said. “It’s very versatile. A lot of people probably think of like a curry, like goat curry, but you can do pretty much anything. I have the goat legs cut into steaks and you can cook it just like you would do a beef steak. And they’re very tender and very flavorful. And it’s grown in popularity.”

She said most of the questions she gets asked at farmers markets are about what life is like for the animals. “They live pretty good, stress-free lives,” she said.

Diane Souther of Apple Hill Farm, who sells at the Concord Farmers Market on Saturday mornings, agrees that teaching customers can be gratifying.

“If they have questions, we can answer them, and vice versa,” Souther said. “They can ask us what variety of tomatoes we have this week, and they know that they came fresh from the farm within a day or two, so that they’re the freshest possible.”

A farmers market gives Souther and her staff a chance to educate customers about the seasonality of their food, and when it is at its best, she said.

“You know, they’ll walk in now, in the middle of July, and go, ‘So where are the apples today?’ Well, it’s only July. They won’t be here till September. And then, you know, different varieties of apples as well. … And that’s part of the fun of coming to the farmers market, because you never know what you’re going to see that day that you’re there. Something that you might have got two weeks ago that was in season, like strawberries, are now done.”

That seasonality extends to what customers will find throughout a given market at different times over the season. Even though the public refers to these seasonal markets as “farmers markets,” there are times — especially early in the season — when fresh fruit and vegetables take a back seat to other locally produced foods and crafts.

“We always try to strike a balance of about 60 percent food-based vendors — that includes local farmers, fish mongers, and bakers who work with local ingredients — and about 40 percent other vendors — crafters and other people who provide services,” said Craig Cunningham of the Derry farmers market. That can even extend to businesses you might not expect.

“That includes Mr. Joe,” Cunningham said. “He’s a balloon artist from Silly Solutions. He can make a balloon version of any animal. I haven’t seen him stumped yet. He’s always swamped with kids.”

While many farmers markets are set up in parking lots, there is a lot of variety in where in a town they might be.

“We’re lucky,” Craig Cunningham said about the location of the Derry market, “in that Benson Lumber and Hardware on Broadway has a big grass lot in front of the store that they let us use, so we’re right there and easy to find.”

In Concord — at least during the summer — Capitol Street, a small side street next to the Statehouse, is blocked off for foot traffic during market hours. Selling at the market can be a very different experience than her everyday sales at her farm, said Diane Souther.

“We have a farm stand,” she said. “We also do pick-your-own at the farm. So with the farm, you can get the full farming experience. It’s quiet, it’s nice, you’re out in nature, you can sit down and watch the clouds blow over. When you go to the farmers market, it’s a different story, because it’s busy, it’s active. Last week we had the 250th celebration, so we had a cannon shooting off and muzzle loaders shooting off. We had a parade. The weekend before that, they had another event at the Statehouse. So it’s a little bit different. It’s noisy, but it’s great.”

Find your market

The New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food has a list of New Hampshire farmers markets at agriculture.nh.gov (click on “Find NH Agriculture” under “Consumers,” where you can also find farm stands and CSAs), which lists markets (as reported by their managers) throughout the state.

Here are some area farmers markets, with information according to the markets’ own websites and social media.

Tuesdays

• The Bedford Farmers Market is located in the parking lot of Murphy’s Taproom, 393 Route 101 in Bedford, Tuesdays from 3 to 6 p.m. through Oct. 13. This year’s vendors include Arbor Grove Scents (small-batch soy candles, goat milk soaps and clean skin care), Bee the Buzz (ecological planting and design services as well as organic program services ), Berkshire Gold (maple syrup), Cedartree Farm, Crumbs on Cambridge, Delicious Alternatives, DJ’s Pure Natural Honey, Familia Baking Co. (Latin bakery), Flour Garden Bakery, Fresh Start Farms, Galomine Farm Too, Granite State Flower Farm, Holy Moly Snacks, Jack’s Crackers, Jajabelles Coffee and Bakeshop, Junie Bee Designs (pottery, jewelry and wearables), Rich Bro Salmon, Lakonian Olive Oil, Ledge Top Farms, Live Free and Bark, Mind Body Snack, My Country Mushrooms, New England Wagyu, Pet Education Technologies, Pup’s Cider, Real Soap, Spiczka Farm, Stoykovich Designs, The Potting Shed and Woodman Artisan Bakery, according to bedfordnhfarmersmarket.org.

• The Tilton Farmers Market takes place Tuesdays from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. through Sept. 29 at the 321 Ballfield/Tilton Police Department at 45 Sanborn Road (Route 132) in Tilton, according to tiltonfarmersmarketnh.com, where you can find a list of each week’s vendors. July 14, for example, included vendors offering chicken, pork, eggs, baked goods, flowers, photography, seedlings, gluten-free baked goods and bread, chocolate-dipped sweets as well as cookies and cupcakes, pet treats, tarot readings and decks, vegetables, bread, maple syrup, nut-free baked goods, produce, plants, pickles, salsa, veggies, herbs, fruit, berries, honey, woodworking and Taylor’s Sizzle and Serve with burgers, tenders, hot dogs, fries and more, the website said.

Wednesdays

• The Derry Homegrown Farm & Artisan Market takes place Wednesdays from 3 to 7 p.m. through Sept. 30 at 1 West Broadway, according to derryhomegrown.org. Find a list of the coming week’s vendors and musical performer on the market’s Facebook page. The 2026 vendors include Country Dreams (veggies and fruits), Food & Blooms Farm (cut flowers an plants), Forest Fed Farmstead (vegetables), Fresh Start Farms (veggies), Meta Microgreens, DJ’s Pure Natural Honey, New England Wagyu, New England Fish Mongers, Pepper & Row Co. (hot pepper products and seasonal harvests), Singing Pond Farm (produce, pottery), The Laurels Farm, 603 Perfect Blend (loose leaf tea), Debbie D’s (jams, jellies, pickles, relishes), Holy Moly Snacks (similar to beef jerky), Cucina Aurora (cooking products), Ken’s Corn (popcorn), KRM Chocolates, La’Peony Desserts (baked goods, French-inspired desserts), Lush Confections, Mimi Rae’s Gluten Free Bakery, Nomad Bakery (bread), The Stand “Shaken Not Stirred” (Lemonade), Sweet Dreams Confection (sourdough), Roy’s Empanadas, Kerry’s Katering, Wood Shack Juices of New England, 603 Candle, Burnham Woods (wood, fiber arts, houseplants), Sheila’s Essentials (goats milk soap, salves, balms, sprays), Royal Tallow (tallow items, soap trays), Live Free and Bark (dog chews), Yellow Shed Pottery, On a Roll Blankets, Full Sun Ceramics, Cathedral Ledge Distillery, Doire Distilling/Daydreaming Brewery/ Meadow Vineyards and Rockingham Brewery Co., the website said.

• The Canterbury Community Farmers Market runs Wednesdays from 4 to 6:30 p.m. through Sept. 30 next to the Elkins Public Library with special programing each week of the month: a kids’ activity the first Wednesday, NH Master Gardeners the second Wednesday, “Fruit & Jam SLAMS” the third Wednesday and “Fill Mary Ellen’s Basket” (a charitable giving program) on the fourth Wednesday of each month, according to canterburyfarmersmarket.com, where you can also find the lineup of live music (scheduled for July 22 is 2nd Time Around). Vendors for 2026 include Auntie B’s Greek Pastries, Big Trees Bread Co., Brookford Farm (cheeses, dairy, cured meats, eggs, veggies), Cathedral Ledge Distillery, Crock & Scythe Farm (greens, veggies, root crops, eggs, coffee), Fen Ridge Farm (wine-based jams and jellies), Fresh Start Farms (vegetables and flowers), Just Like Lydia’s (sweets and baked goods), Lakonian Olive Oil, North Family Farm (maple syrup and maple products, honey, cut flowers) Peace Ledge Baking Co. (baked goods, bagels, bialys), Roy’s Empanadas (empanadas and medialunas), Schrock Farm (lamb, yarn and wool, wool items), Someday Farm (animal fiber products, baked and preserved items, eggs, cheese), Sugar Bones Farm (maple syrup & products, ground beef), Terra Basics (culinary and medicinal herbs and edible flowers, seasoning blends, teas), The Blossom Shed (veggies, herbs, cut flowers), The Burstin’ Kernel (kettle corn), The Late Bird Baked Goods (gluten-free and organic, with some dairy-free options), Warner River Produce (greens, herbs, apples, fruit, tomatoes, honey, mushrooms, chicken and more), Zulip Farms (mushrooms, berries, jam, honey), Dragonfly West Design (seasoning blends, note cards, paper flower earrings), Miss Catherine’s Threads (wool yard and knitted items), Old Ways Traditions and Petals in the Pines (flowers, bird baths, planters, Swedish almond cakes, eggs, and more), the website said.

• Sandown Farmers Market takes place Wednesdays from 4 to 7 p.m. through Sept. 23 at Zorvino Vineyards, 226 Main St. in Sandown, according to sandown.us/1342/Sandown-Farmers-Market and the Sandown Recreation Commission’s Facebook page, where you can find updates about vendors coming to the upcoming market. For example Bookish Bliss (a mobile bookstore) and Scattergood Farmstand (baked goods and sourdough bread) were listed as attending in a July 7 post.

• The Manchester Farmers and Makers Market describes itself on its Facebook page as ”a vibrant, face-to-face community that fosters health, wealth, and a strong sense of belonging through providing high-quality, locally produced goods, engaging performances, & a network of tangible value trade.” Another post said the market features “live music, activities, hot food, and performances, too! We believe in freedom, free trade, and great, local food and products.” The market runs Wednesdays, 4 to 7, until September in Arms Park, according to the Facebook page, where you can find upcoming vendors and performers.

• The Lee Farmers’ and Artisans Market is located at Little River Park, 28 North River Road, Lee, and will run on upcoming Wednesdays (July 22, Aug. 12, Aug. 26, Sept. 9 and Sept. 23) from 3 to 6:30 p.m., according to facebook.com/LeeFarmersMarket. “Fresh fruits and veggies, baked goodies, handcrafted candles, jewelry, wooden kitchenware, plus live local music sponsored by the Rotary Club of Durham-Great Bay,” according to a post on the page.

Thursdays

• The Merrimack Valley Farmers Market runs Thursdays from 3 to 7 p.m. through Nov. 5 in the parking lot of the St. John Neumann Parish Catholic Church at 708 Milford Road in Merrimack, according to merrimackvalleymarket.com and the market’s Facebook page, where you can find a map and parking information as well as information about upcoming markets. Vendors at the June 25 market, for example, included The Sunflower Bakery & Cafe, Rich Bro Salmon Co., On a Roll Handmade Chunky Knit Blankets, DJ’s Pure Natural Honey, Fresh Start Farms, MolaFoods, Crumbs on Cambridge, Pup’s Cider, Real Soap and Blackeyed Susan Sheep Dairy.

Fridays

• Fried Fridays Community Market held weekly at the Tractor Supply Co. at 307 Dover Road, Chichester, Fridays from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.-ish, according to a post on the Facebook page for Normans FoodTruck, which is one of the regular vendors at the event, based on their posts. See the page for upcoming vendors.

• The 2nd Annual Dunbarton Farmers Market will run at Stark Farm, 30 Stark Lane in Dunbarton, Fridays from 3 to 7 p.m. through Aug. 28, according to starkfarmblueberries.com/farmers-market. See the farm’s Facebook page for updates. According to the farm’s website, vendors will include Bela Brook Farm (beef and chicken), Bizzy Bee Books, Blakeney’s Bread, Bunny Bee Cotton Candy, Clapp Family Farm (veggies, fruit, eggs), Clayton Soaps, Four Legged World, Generation Farm (salad greens), Jacqui’s Glassicles, Log Home Herbs and Crafts, Maeve + Enya LaMarque (crocheted items, bracelets), Matt Forrest Esenwine (children’s books), Niamh Stevin with a lemonade stand, Southern Charm Cheese, Nature’s Dreamscape (isopods and plants), Trusted Essential Services and Stark Farm itself, which offers blueberries, honey, jams, doughnuts, whoopie pies, maple syrup and Amish popcorn.

Saturdays

• The Concord Farmers Market runs Saturdays from 8:30 a.m. to noon through Oct. 31, on Capitol Street next to the New Hampshire Statehouse in downtown Concord and “is one of the oldest markets in … New Hampshire. During the peak season we have 40+ vendors at the market,” according to concordfarmersmarket.com, where you can find a map of vendor spots as well as parking in the area. Vendors include Abbot Creamery (cheese), Auntie B’s Greek Pastry, Apple Hill Farm, Bardo Farm (dried meats), Blakeney’s Bakery, Blasdell Body Care, Birch Rise Farm (chicken, pork, turkeys, eggs), Bread Peddler, Celeste Oliva (oils, balsamic vinegars, spices), Chichester Country Store (doughnuts, baked goods), Clayton’s Way Farm (soaps), Coffin Cellars Winery, Concord Bee Co. (honey, bee products), Community Supported Cold Brew, Down Home with Dee (mushrooms), East Coast Sales (dog chews and bones), Fresh Start Farms, Garrison City Nut Co., Grand View Farm (cut flowers), Granite Ledge Coffee, Hickory Nut Farm (goat milk products), Hop N Hen Farm (vegetables, fruits, eggs, poultry), Kearsarge Gore Farm (vegetables, flowers, lamb, beef, pork), KYS Food For Dogs, Lindon Garlic Farm, Live Free and Bark, Meadowview Farm (lamb, chicken, beef, honey, maple, pickles, jellies & jams, eggs, fruit), Meta Micro Greens, Morrill Farm Dairy (beef, flours), Mt. Dearborn Farm (pork, chicken lamb, eggs, soaps and shampoo, alpaca yard and balls), New England Fish Mongers, NOK Vino, Potter Beef Farm, Potter’s Farm (maple, vegetables, berries), Prodigal Brewing, Rocky Ole Farm (vegetables, berries, farm crafts, eggs), Sun Fox Farm (sunflower oils, herbs, spices), Twisted Mallow Co., Savvy Sweets & Treats, Sayde & Georges (Middle Eastern dips), Southern Charm Farm (cheese), Swallow Ridge Farm (cheese), Sound Roots Farm (vegetables, mushrooms, flowers), Tamworth Distillery, TerraBasics (herbs and herbal items, seasonings, edible flowers), Tilton Hill Goat Farm, Wiggle Butt Bites (pet treats), Wild Berry Farm (maple syrup and products, fiber products), Woodman’s Bakery and Yakum Hill Farm (soy products), according to the website.

• The Contoocook Farmers Market is open in summer on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon through October at the Riverway Park Gazebo, 896 Main St. in Contoocook, according to facebook.com/ContoocookFarmersMarket, where you can find updates on vendors and events.

• The Warner Area Farmers Market is located at 5 E. Main St. in Warner and runs Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. through Oct. 3, according to facebook.com/warnerareafarmersmarket, where you can find updates on vendors and special events, such as Kid’s Day featuring a kids’ craft fair on Aug. 8, and musical performers. Vendors include KGF, Kate’s Wicked Bakes, Alyssa Kreilick, Liberty Bakes, Bella Wilson, Good Rhubarb Soap, Lesvia de King, Horner Hollows Homestead and Blaisdell Hill Farm, according to warnerfarmersmarket.org.

• The Milford NH Farmers Market takes place Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., through Oct. 31, at Blue Seal, 351 Elm St. in Milford, according to milfordnhfarmersmarket.com. Vendors include Fresh Start Farm, Hungry Bear Farm (vegetables, herbs, berries, salsa), Begin Family Farm, Ledge Top Farm (vegetables, fruits, eggs), Liberty Fish, G3 Bakery, Hulda’s Swedish Baked Goods, Les Bonnes Miches, Sunflower Bakery & Cafe, Berkshire Gold, Highland Apiaries, Lone Wolf Cheese, Maple Lane Farm (pies, nut brittles, cookies, whoopie pies, jams, pickles), Old Ivy Farm (cut flowers, preserves, pies), Mola Foods, Joyberry Farms (mushrooms and mushroom products), Lakonian Olive Oil, Miss Judy’s Salsa, Nonnies Bolognese, Lux Lifestyle (skin care products), Bubble Factory (goats milk soaps and lotions), Lavender FIelds, Kawa Roasters, Pup’s Cider, 603 Perfect Blends (loose leaf teas), Averill House Vineyard, Cooper & Sophie’s Kitchen (pet treats), Lissa Malloy Art, Everything Alpaca, Grammy’s Needles & Threats, TH Custom Woodwork, The Pearl Shop and Claudia’s Jewelry, the website said. See the market’s Facebook page for updates on vendors and musicians for a specific week.

• New Boston Farmers Market is open Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., on the Town Common in New Boston through Oct. 10, according to facebook.com/NewBostonFarmersMarket, which says that “All products are made/grown in NH by local farmers and artisans.” Vendors listed for the July 11 market included Charmed, Fresh Start Farms, Wildflour Breads & Bakes, Clearly Balance Days, Caleb’s Cookies, Sweet Pumpkins Farm, DJ’s Pure Natural Honey, 2 Good 2 Be Baked, Juniper & Joy Collective, The Cupcake Porium, Karen’s Touch, Meadowgate Farm, C. Paige Creations, La Brioche Gourmande, Little Dumpling House, Bunny Bee Cotton Candy, KC’s Enchanted and Joe English Grange No. 53, according to a post.

• Pelham NH Farmers Market is located at 3 Main St. in Pelham and runs Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. into October, according to facebook.com/PelhamNHFarmersMarket. Saturday, July 18, is the market’s blueberry festival: “Come enjoy farm fresh blueberries and other blueberry goodies from our vendors,” a post said. Other upcoming events include a Children’s Day Aug. 22 and Apple Pie Day on Oct. 3, according to posts. See the Facebook page for updates on vendors each week; the July 4 vendors included Darlene’s Dinners, Doherty Farm, Kahn Landscaping, CT Jitters, Black Sheed Craft Ice Cream, Breaking Bread, Sewing by Jessica, Motherland Olive Oil, Spring Pepper Design and Nassamat, the post said.

• The Market at the Weirs takes place in Weirs Community Park, 49 Lucerne Ave. in Laconia, Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. through Oct. 3, according to themarketatweirs.com, where you can find the upcoming week’s vendor list. The Saturday, July 18, vendor list includes Arándano Farm (chicken, pork, eggs), Canterbury Soapworks, Gluten Free or Die Bakery, Goodies 4 Good (cupcakes and cookies, chocolate tipped treats, pet treats), Little Moose Crafts, Maggi’s Menu (sourdough, baked goods), Mel’s Sweet Treats (coffee, boba drinks, cupcakes), Papa’s Kitchen (hamburgers, hotdogs, tenders, fries and more), Still Seeking Farm (vegetables, bread, maple syrup, jam), Stockla’s Farm (produce, plants, maple products, pickles, salsa, baked goods), Warner River Produce and WildLore Studio (herbal products, jewelry, prints and photos), the website said.

• Blooms Market takes place at Deerfield Community Church, 15 Church St. in Deerfield, from 8 to 10:30 a.m. on upcoming Saturdays including July 25, Aug. 8, Aug. 22, Sept. 12, Sept. 26, Oct. 10 and Oct. 24, according to bloomsandbrewscafe.com/bloomsmarket. Vendors include Baked by Elizabeth, Batchelder Farm (beef, chicken, pork), Bee Thankful Farm (vegetables, fruits), Crook and Scythe (greens, vegetables, flowers, coffee), Dill Family Farm (maple syrup and maple products, eggs), Epoch Prints, K Taylor Co (cookies, brownies, lemonade), Kind Goat Soap, The Late Bird Baked Goods (gluten free), North Road Bread Box, Patten Hill Wild (honey, honey products, herbs), Stay Golden Tallow, Sunfox Farm and Sweet Escape Doughnuts and Bakery, the website said.

• The Candia Farmers Market runs on the third Saturday of each month through October from 9 a.m. to noon, at 55 High St. in Candia, according to candiafarmersmarket.org, where you can see the dates for upcoming fairs and special events planned. The July 18 fair is a July Farmers Market and Artisan Fair, the website said. According to the market’s Facebook page, the July market will be “our biggest market of the summer! With 60+ local vendors, you’ll discover everything from farm-fresh foods and handmade artisan goods to delicious prepared foods, local wine, beer, spirits, and so much more.” July attractions will include “living history with the Royal Irish Artillery, featuring historical reenactments and exciting cannon demonstrations”; the music and stories of Papa Joe, “Kids can plant and take home their own microgreens at our free Young Farmers Club, plus enjoy our monthly scavenger hunt and a visit with our animal guests (as long as they cooperate!),” and more, according to a post for the event.

• The Francestown Community Market is located at the Francestown Recreation Fields on Old Country Road in Francestown and is open every other Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to facebook.com/francestowncommunitymarket, where you can find updates on market dates. “Experience a convergence of artisanal vendors, our new REC sponsored food tent, and live music,” a post said about the market.

Sundays

• The Nashua Farmers Market runs Sundays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. until Oct. 18 at the Nashua Riverwalk in Renaissance Park, according to downtownnashua.org/nashua-farmers-market. Find updates about each week’s vendors and musical performances on the Downtown Nashua Association Facebook page. Seasonal vendors include Bee Wild Flowers, Casa Arreyto, Crumbs on Cambridge, DJ’s Purnatural Honey, Donna Issa, Fresh Start Farms, Jajabelles Coffee & Bake Show, Nestxpressions, Real Soap, Realm of Media Possibilities, Spiczka Farm, Sunfox Farm and Wildpower Botanical, according to the website.

• Salem NH Summer Farmers Market is located next to The Field near Dick’s House of Sport at the Mall at Rockingham Park, 77 Rockingham Park Blvd. in Salem, and is open every Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., according to salemnhfarmersmarket.org, where you can sign up for a newsletter to get updates on what vendors will be at the market each week. Year-round and summer market vendors include Abbott Hill Creamery (cheese), Farmer Dave’s (fruits, vegetables, flowers), New England Fish Mongers, Anderson Mini Maples, Fresh Start Farms, Orazio’s Family Dinners (frozen pot pies), Baked Bliss Cookies, Flying M Farm (poultry, rabbit, eggs), Root & Bloom Flower Farm, Big Rich’s Gourmet Hot Sauce & Marinade, Graze and Go NH, Roy’s Empanadas, Bookworms Bakery, Holy Moly Snacks, Sayde & Georges, Brookford Farm (veggies, meats, dairy, kraut and kimchi), September Farm (baked goods, including gluten free and dairy free), Cathedral Ledge Distillery, Hurd Farm (beef, turkey, chicken, pork), Slipper Soap Co., Coffin Cellars Winery, Coffee and Biscotti, Joyberry Farm (mushrooms), Sweets by Shannon (gluten-free), Cosmic Happiness (jewelry), Terra d’Amuri (Sicilian arancine and desserts), Cucina Aurora (olive oils), Kirasole Studio (jewelry, wearables, home decor), Tewksbury Honey, Curtis Fontaine and Ali Cafaro Ceramics, KRM Chocolates, The Good Llama Co. (soy candles), Live Free & Bark, The Lemon Babe (Lemonade), Earth Cut Pottery, Meatball King, The Prodigal Brewing Co., Meta Microgreens, Tummy Full (Indian food), F-Word Farm (vinegars), Middle Sister Candle Co., Twisted Mallow Co. and Woodman’s Artisan Bakery, according to the website.

Church Wedding

It probably goes without saying that the name of this drink is a reference to a particularly awful dad joke.

Why does a melon have to have a church wedding?

Because it can’t elope.

For this drink, step 1 is to get a cantaloupe.

It would be nice to have some sort of assurance that you’ll be able to get your hands on a good one — sweet, a little acidic, maybe with a hint of musk — but in life, love, and cantaloupes, there are no guarantees. Cantaloupes are fickle. You might get three or four great cantaloupes in a row, then have your heart broken by one that tastes like orange cardboard. You might have been inflicted with a handful of duds and you might be considering giving up hope, when infuriatingly a good one will knock you back to Square One, emotionally.

Do your best. Squeeze the melons. Smell them. Take whichever of them gives you a whisper of a promise.

Secondly, you’ll want a little 2-ounce bottle of fruit-flavored liqueur, like the ones you get on airplanes. You can find a rack of them near the checkout at a liquor store. If you’re like me, over time you’ll find yourself buying little bottles of exotic booze on impulse, and before you know it you’ll find yourself with a drawerful of schnapps and flavored whiskeys that you’ve never gotten around to doing anything with. Today one of them will have its Big Day.

Today’s special cameo performance will be played by (drumroll) pineapple schnapps.

  • 2-ounce bottle pineapple schnapps
  • 2 ounces fresh cantaloupe juice – Scoop out the inside of a fresh cantaloupe, seeds and all, and puree it in your blender, then strain it through a fine-mesh strainer. More than one, if you have them.
  • 1 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice – about half a large lime
  • 2 ounces plain club soda or seltzer

Combine cantaloupe juice, lime juice, and the contents of your tiny bottle of fruit-flavored liqueur with ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake thoroughly, until you hear the ice start to break up into tiny shards.

Strain over fresh ice in a Collins glass, then top with club soda and stir gently.

Drink this with a straw.

Tasting fruity, and a little acidic, and a little zippy from the carbonation, this is a very good drink to have while petting your dog.

If you own a collie, you can call this your Melon Collie Baby.

Featured photo: Raspberry + chocolate. Photo by John Fladd.

Mexican focus, West Side home

Jorge’s Mexican Grill opens in Manchester

The new Mexican restaurant on Manchester’s West Side has history.

“This [building] opened in 1910,” George Sklavounos said. “It was a movie theater. I had customers tell me today that they printed their wedding cards here because it used to be a print shop after the theater. I met an old man — his name is George as well — he’s in his 90s, and he was telling me he used to come here and for 45 cents he would get his popcorn, he would get his pop soda, and he would sit here and watch four hours of movies. This was in 1956. There’s history in the building. We found the building, then realized the depth of its history and took care of it. We have completely gutted the building. fixed its bones and then put skin on it.”

Now it is a Mexican restaurant. Jorge’s Mexican Grill is Sklavounos’s latest project. Sklavounos is the owner of Giorgio’s Cocktails & Eatery in Nashua, Milford and Manchester. Jorge’s is directly across the street from his existing Manchester restaurant and has come after a lot of hard thought and research, Sklavounos said.

“I did a lot of research about San Diego,” he said, “which is kind of the birthplace of the burrito in the United States. I started doing research about what grows in Mexico, what makes it Mexican.” It was important to him, he said not to lump all of Mexico’s many cuisines together.

“It’s like the way that different things grow in different parts of Italy. Different topography, different soil and different earth are going to produce different foods. I went down to Mexico; I met with the cooks in the kitchens because that’s the best place to get a sense of the reality of a cuisine. And I came back here and started purchasing ingredients and playing with them — understanding what all those peppers are, the processes that they put in their peppers, why some are smoky, what different peppers are used for.”

“Then,” he said, “we started building a menu.”

For his new restaurant, Sklavounos said, he wanted to work with a limited number of ingredients to start with.

“We have 15 to 20 items that we prep here,” he said. “When you have a few ingredients you can really, really knock them all out of the park. So our chorizo bacon black beans is one item that you can focus on making the best that you can. We use imported spices and Mexican oregano and epazote and the dried peppers. We make our own chili-lime powder. We do make our own pickles — carrot, onion and jalapeño pickles — which is a staple in burrito shops in San Diego. We’ve developed a couple of nice salsas,”

The tightly focused number of ingredients means the Jorge’s menu is equally tightly focused — concentrating on tacos, burritos and Mexican bowls for its main courses.

“But we also make fresh churros and we stuff them,” Sklavounos said. “We have a Boston cream churro. And my pastry chef makes all of our paletas [a frozen Mexican dessert that looks like but is not a popsicle]. And we’re serving Mexican coffees and drinks.”

Sklavounos said he has taken a cue from the restaurant’s location and focused it on the neighborhood’s community.

“We’re on the West Side [of Manchester],” he said. “As you get to the West Side we’re the very first place you see. I think they built the original theater here for that reason.”

Jorge’s Mexican Grill
Where: 290 Granite St., Manchester, 854-5970, jorges.com
When: Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Featured photo: Jorges. Photo by John Fladd.

Pubs and pups

Humane Society holds its weekend-long Pup Crawl

What would it take to be entered into a special type of raffle, a raffle with prizes you can’t buy for yourself? In the case of the 2026 Pup Crawl, it would involve petting dogs and drinking beer.

Olivia Ross from the Humane Society for Greater Nashua described the three-day fundraiser. “It’s not a traditional pub crawl,” she said. “We call it our Pup Crawl as a play on words. But really it’s a weekend-long event for folks who want to support local breweries, but also it is a dog-friendly event.”

Every stop along the Pup Crawl is a pro-dog brewery, she said. “We’ve chosen places that allow dogs on the outdoor patios or inside the breweries so that we get a lot of dog lovers who come through. It’s a great time for people to get together to celebrate and enjoy some good beer and some good food.”

It starts by buying a ticket on the Humane Society website, Ross said. “We sell tickets through our website, which is hsfn.org for, $25 per person. You do have to be 21 or older, of course, to purchase them. That money goes straight to the shelter, so it’s helping our animals right now who are currently awaiting adoption. And with that ticket you receive your Pup Crawl T-shirt and what we call our ‘Pawsport,’ which is a brochure with all the brewery and event info located on it.”

Throughout the weekend, each Pup Crawler will visit whichever and however many of the participating breweries they want to, Ross said. “So when they visit a brewery and they make a purchase, whether that’s for food or drink or even merchandise, they will get a stamp on that Pawsport from one of the staff members. And when we have our finale event on Sunday they’ll pass their Pawsport in and receive raffle tickets for each stamp that they’ve got on their Pawsport.”

The prizes for the raffles vary, Ross said, from things you might expect, like branded swag from participating breweries, to things a little harder to come by.

“One of the prizes is four tickets to a pre-season Patriots game,” she said. The most noteworthy prize is something much more personal. “This will be our third year doing this raffle where folks can enter to have their dog featured on next year’s Pup Crawl T-shirt. You can see this year’s T-shirt on our website. Our model is Miss Biscuit. She is an adorable cattle dog mix, and she’s just got a perfect little face for the T-shirt. She and her mom attend Pup Crawl each year, so she was very excited to win the raffle last year and have Biscuit featured on this year’s shirt.”

This year’s Pup Crawl will start on Friday, July 17, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Able Ebenezer Brewing in Merrimack.

“Our finale or closer will be at AJ’s Sports Bar and Grill in Hudson,” Ross said. “We used to host our finales at Anheuser-Busch in Merrimack, but unfortunately the location closed down. We visited AJ’s in Hudson and met with one of the managers there. They were so kind. They actually offer a doggy-friendly menu. You can order food and drink for yourself, but you can also order dog-friendly items like grilled chicken and plain rice for your dog. During the finale, along with the raffle, we’re also going to have a lure course that the dogs can participate in. Basically it is a white bag that’s attached to this zip line that sticks to the ground. Some dogs stay very focused and they run and follow the bag. It’s great exercise. Some of them will even catch the bag. And then you get the dogs like mine who get distracted and just wander off in the field or they just like to roll around in the grass.”

The Humane Society for Greater Nashua’s annual Pup Crawl
When and where: begins Friday, July 17, at 4 p.m. at Able Ebenezer Brewing Co. (31 Columbia Circle, Merrimack, 844-223-2253, ableebenezer.com) and ends Sunday, July 10, at AJ’s Sports Bar (11 Tracy Lane, Hudson, 708-1102, ajs-sportsbar.com). Visit participating breweries in between.
More: hsfn.org/pup-crawl

Featured photo: Pup Crawl pup. Courtesy photo.

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