I recently visited Vermont for the first time… The main purpose of my visit was to ski at SugarBush, a lovely ski resort right in the middle of Vermont. My best friend’s dad has had a slope-side apartment there for the longest time, and it was this year the first time we’ve been able to sync our schedules and go together.
I am not the one to bring gifts or souvenirs back from a trip – but I like to purchase items that are indigenous to the place I am visiting… so I need to share with you about these true Vermont beauties:
Vermont’s Maple Syrup
Oh goodie… the variety of maple syrups can be overwhelming sometimes. I learned about Vermont Fancy, Grade A Amber, Grade A Medium, etc. I can get at home the Grade As, but I had never seen or tasted Vermont Fancy – so that’s what I bought as a souvenir. I also bought some maple spread, maple butter and some maple candies. You’ll be seeing some of these maple jewels in various upcoming posts… I see pancakes in my future…
Vermont’s Apple Cider
We went past Cold Hollow Cider Mill… but it is really hard to miss, because their cider bottles are EVERYWHERE!!! Truth be told… I do not know the difference between apple juice and apple cider, but I LOOOOOVED this apple cider. It’s like the freshest, sweetest unfiltered apple juice you have ever had. If you’re ever in that neck of the woods, you need to try their cider.
Vermont’s Cabot Cheese
I an a Cabot cheese lover. What I love about Cabot cheeses is they explicitly mention in their packaging they do not use animal rennet in their manufacturing. My favorite variety is the Extremely Sharp Hunter’s variety, which is as sharp as you can get here – to me, it’s perfect to eat with strawberries or green grapes. We were able to go to one of Cabot factory store where we were able to taste test many varieties… and I found the Vintage Variety – aged for 24 months hand-selected by the company’s president… this is even sharper than the Hunter’s kind… it’s AWESOME!!!! I just wish I could have been able to bring home a larger piece.
Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream
We visited Ben & Jerry’s factory tour one afternoon after skiing. Even though most Ben & Jerry’s ice creams are not karma-free (because they contain egg yolks in the base recipe), they do offer a variety of organic flavors and fruit sherbets. The new flavors we tried at the factory were AMAZING!!!! And if you have a B&J shop nearby, stay tuned to their FREE CONE day coming up on April 29th.
It’s all right there on VT Route 100 – Visit and taste all the bounties Vermont has to offer… you can take a stab at skiing too if you’d like, you know…
KarmaFree Cooking 
