Adam's Heirlooms - A Farmer's Market Education

The number of heirloom variety growers at the Saturday Morning Farmer’s Market has grown in the last few years, but one of those I have always kept my eye on is Adam’s Heirlooms, who frequently had vegetable varieties on the table that I never saw before that day. One weekend, I happened to stop by and see two words that excite an avid cook: Berkshire Pork.

Berkshire hogs originally hail from England, and in many cooking circles, they are considered some of the best available to a modern cook. They may not be Iberico pigs, but this variety of hog is talked about nearly as often as their Spanish, acorn eating relatives. I had to stop. I had to buy, and I learned a lot from the folks at the stand.

One of the Berkshire pork products they offered that day was an Irish Cut Bacon, something I had somehow never heard of before. It skirts the line by including two cuts at once, a little of the belly along the loin to give you the best of both worlds. The Irish bacon has been the foundation of every breakfast I cooked for myself this week, from as simple as a plate of bacon and eggs to a bacon infused frittata.  I also walked away with a package of sausage and a product known as pullet eggs.

Pullet eggs so rarely make it to the market because many farmers prize them for their own. These eggs are the earliest eggs laid by chickens, often within the first four weeks of a hen’s egg laying career. They’re so small that they are more comparable to a quail egg than a chicken egg.

The comparison picture I took from the top down really does not do the size difference much justice. The egg on the bottom right is one of the pullet eggs, much rounder than the top left.

While most of my energy was focused on the animal husbandry portion of their offerings, the varieties of peppers and other vegetables on the other end of their stand remained peculiar and unusual compared to the other vendors at the market that morning.  I will be back to investigate those further during the final farmer’s market as hot sauce preparations begin several weeks late in the Eating Normal House.

Of note, you can access their website to pre-order what interests you most and pick it up at the Market this weekend. They have home delivery in the Manitowoc area if that is more your speed. I can only wish for a home delivery in Green Bay in the fast approaching off season.