Tag: local

CINCO DE MAYO

With Easter behind us, a rainy April well under way, and BBQ Season sputtering to a slow start, let’s look forward to one of our favourite “Holidays”, Cinco de Mayo!

For the past 5 years, The Piggy Market has been marking the occasion with tacos, tacos, and more tacos.  With the 5th on a Friday this year, we’re expecting a huge run of tacos, and are producing the following varieties:

Tacos Pastor – Slow Roasted Marinated Pork, with Red Onion, Cilantro, and Pineapple

Tacos Pibil – Banana Leaf wrapped pork, with Pickled Red Onion

Beef Cheek Tacos – Dave’s personal favourite, slow braised beef cheeks, with hot sauce, onion and cilantro.

Lamb Tacos – Braised local lamb, with black bean salsa and crema

Last year, we added Tamales to the list of Cinco de Mayo products, and will most likely do them again this year.  This decision has yet to be made….

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Cheese Notes – Focus on Triple Creams

Every one loves a good Brie.  But something magical happens when they get taken a bit further, and turn into triple cream bries.  The first question you might ask is: What makes it a triple cream?

Both double and triple cream cheese is made by introducing more cream to the cheeses after the curd is formed, creating the creamy, buttery texture that everyone loves.  The first triple cream cheese made an appearance in approx. 1925, in Normandy, France.  A triple cream must have a butterfat content of at least 75% of its dry matter content, which translates to a triple creme brie usually having between 35-40% total fat!

We always have at least two Triple Cream Bries in the store, and both are from Quebec:

Up first, LaLiberte, from Fromagerie du Presbytere, in Sainte Elizabeth de Warwick.  The Fromagerie is just over 10 years old, and wins awards all over the place, in the Caseus competition in Quebec, the Canadian Grand Prix awards, and the Canadian Cheese awards, to name a few.  LaLiberte is made with whole pasteurized milk, from the farms own herd of cows.  It has an almost textbook perfect bloomy rind, which surrounds one of the creamiest bries you can think of.  This is a milder cheese, with huge notes of mushroom for flavour, and an intense butter finish.

Second, we have La Riopelle de l’Isle, from Fromagerie de l’Ile Aux Grues, in the Chaudieres Appalaches Region of Quebec.  The fromagerie started as a coop back in the 1970’s, with about 14 milk producers making cheddars.  In the 1990’s, they started making finer cheeses, and now have only 4 milk producers, that have a mix of Brown Swiss, Holstein, and Jersey cows.  Ripples is an unpasteurized milk cheese, with a bloomy rind and a slightly less creamy paste than LaLiberte.  The mushroom and butter flavours stand out, but are accompanied by a hazelnut hint that brings just a little extra character to the cheese.

As to which one is better, we can’t decide, and wouldn’t want to anyway.  We’re happy to be able to showcase both for whatever your appetite prefers!

 

 

 

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#SupportLocal: Scotch Line Turkey Farms

When you support local, it goes beyond just getting something freshly made at your favourite artisan deli and craft butcher shop food market. The locally sourced items that we use here at The Piggy Market are not only special because they help us create wonderful culinary creations, but they have their own unique story.

This is the first entry in a monthly series that we’re calling #SupportLocal where we will be showcasing the people behind some of the locally sourced items that we use in our store. First up is Scotch Line Turkey Farms where we get our fresh (never frozen) birds for the holidays.

Colin and AmyBeth Brubacher along with their three children are the people behind Scotch Line Turkey Farms; they are the third generation of Brubachers to run the farm. “Colin and AmyBeth took over the farm management from Colin’s parents nine years ago, but actually started building a succession plan over 16 years ago. To help things run smoothly, the couple work alongside Colin’s dad, Landis, and employ local part-time students to help them on evenings and weekends. ‘We love working with animals and the satisfaction you get from raising healthy turkeys,’ says Colin. “It’s very rewarding being able to produce healthy, great tasting food and just being a part of the agricultural community.’” The turkeys they raise and sell are 100% Ontario grown, with no antibiotics, and are free run (outside in a fenced area).

What’s truly special about the Brubacher family and their farm is that they take the time and care to provide a quality product, which also helps to stimulate the Ontario economy. Make sure to pre-order your own fresh Scotch Line Turkey (sized between 14-24 pounds) for the holidays from our store. They will be in between Dec 22nd-24th, while supplies last!

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Exterior signage for The Piggy Market

What being an Artisan Shop Really Means

 

There are many times when a lot of trendy buzzwords get thrown around simply because they are popular, but sometimes there isn’t a lot of real comprehension behind the word, which means it can either get misused, or get lost in translation completely. The word ‘artisan’ is one of those words. As of late, many brands have used the term to describe their particular offerings but aren’t actually artisans themselves; they used the word to bring about a new and special type of attention to themselves which may not even work for their specific audience.

The question then is: what is a true artisan in the first place? The term is defined as ‘a worker in a skilled trade, especially one that involves making things by hand.’ That right there should eliminate many of the artisan items you may have seen out there. Chances are the bigger the brand, the less likely they are to be making anything by hand (it’s still possible of course, just less likely).

True artisans usually only make things in limited quantity as supplies may be limited or because they do not want to jeopardize/saturate the overall quality of the final product. At The Piggy Market we are happy to call ourselves and be considered by many as true artisans. From the freshly baked bread, to full on take home meals made with some of the freshest and locally sourced meats, everything is crafted by hand and made and/or completed in house. Our non store made products are sourced from true artisans as well. Whether it’s cheeses, salamis, preserves, and honeys, Dave and the team make routine visits to their suppliers and friends to make sure they’re getting the best, and making new contacts in the community as well. In doing this, we are able to offer a full and authentic Piggy Market experience for our customers. We strive to ensure that everything we make is of a certain standard and quality in order to facilitate said experience. Stop by to see our piggy process in action and get familiar with true artisans.

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