The Food & Dining section in today’s Press Herald includes an article about Bresca’s “thoughtful and passionate” wine list,
[Chef Krista Kern Desjarlais’s] attitude combines a strong personal investment in small wine makers; a passion for lesser-known varietals and wine-making regions that produce low-alcohol, food-friendly wines; and a commitment to politely, graciously nudging guests to step outside their comfort zones.
“We aim to have the guest invite us into their experience,” she said. “We want to be more educated about the wine and help people and stand for what we stand for, but not make anyone feel uncomfortable about their wine knowledge.”
and a Q&A about Thanksgiving turkeys with the head of the meat department at Whole Foods. The article includes a helpful buying guide to Maine farms selling locally raised turkeys.
What’s the difference between a hen and a tom turkey, and does one taste better than the other?
A hen is a female bird; a tom is male. How they taste will depend primarily on where and how they were raised. The main difference is size; a tom will be larger than a hen. Designating whether a turkey is a hen or a tom is not required on the label.
As a butcher of local, sustainable meat, I was happy to see that your Turkey article focused on some great local farms who raise turkeys for the Thanksgiving holiday. I was a bit taken aback, though, by the lack of mention of one of the most influential and largest poultry farmers in Maine, Jon Barnstein of Maine-ly Poultry. It think it is important to help promote the small farms of Maine, but when it comes to turkeys, there are so many farms that produce a very limited number and they tend to be gobbled up very quickly, leaving a large number of people wondering where they will go to get theirs. Jon helps not only fill that void, he also helps feed a very large portion of the local population year-round with his great chickens that are available in a lot of different markets, including ours. I deal with a large amount of small farms to source everything from pigs to chickens to cows and lambs, but as far as consistency, Jon is one of my biggest suppliers, providing my customers with a steady supply, week-in and week-out. I just thought that I would bring this up since there will be a large number of people that would like local meat for their holiday, and after all the small farms run out, those people still have an option for a well raised, healthy, local bird. If you have any questions about this, or would like to talk with someone who deals with these farms on a daily basis, please feel free to call me at the market or contact me via e-mail. Thanks again for your time, take care.
Jarrod Spangler
Head Butcher, Rosemont Market
580 Brighton Ave
jarrod@rosemontmarket.com
(207)774.8129