Crumbs

Still seeking quintessentially Vermont food gifts for out-of-state friends and relatives? The December issue of Saveur has some suggestions. A piece called “Vermont Specialties,” [1] which is also available on the mag’s website, proffers 20 delicious items ranging from beverages to bratwurst.

The roster includes loaves from Bohemian Bread [2], Red Hen Baking Company [3] and Gérard’s; Eden Ice Cider [4] and boiled cider from Wood’s Cider Mill [5]; and a long list of artisan cheeses.

The same Saveur issue features a selection of Vermont restaurants worth visiting — and dishes not to miss — selected by Karen Shimizu [6] (who used to write for Seven Days). Among other standouts, she touts the Swiss Chard Soup and Country-Fried Quail at The Inn at Weathersfield [7], the charcuterie at Ariel’s Restaurant [8] in Brookfield, and the St.-Honoré pastries — which owner Bill Tecosky calls “Johnny Depps” — at Rainbow Sweets [9] in Marshfield.

Shimizu also offers ideas for pairing Vermont beer and cheese and profiles a trio of food-centric Green Mountain B&Bs.

A new yogurt factory planned for Brattleboro will create jobs and buy up tons of New England milk.

According to Bob Audette’s early December report [10] in the Brattleboro Reformer, Commonwealth Dairy, which will run 24 hours a day and employ 25 people, will have the capacity to produce 50 million pounds of yogurt each year. Doing so will mean using tens of thousands of gallons of milk — much of it organic — per day.

The plant is slated to be up and running in late 2010.