Lyman Orchards Hosts Annual Food Event

There was plenty to taste at the Lyman Orchards 7^th annual Connecticut Day Saturday, held from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.  All the food samplings were made in and by the Connecticut vendors and included such offerings as breads, jams, soups, salads, sauces and more.

The annual event celebrates Connecticut food growers and makers and offers a wide variety of tastings from dozens of food vendors.

There was a soup for sample by Savory Soup Sack owner Linda Shallah. Shallah makes a variety of soups, from chili to vegetarian, and all of them have no salt added.

Shallah has been making her soups 25 years come July, and she's been participating in Lyman’s Connecticut Day event for several years.

 “I like to meet my costumers, I like to get feedback,” she said.

 Like Shallah, Frank Parseliti, has been making his pasta sauces a long time.

“My father and I had a restaurant for 52 years,” Parseliti said.

For the last 18 years he's been selling his sauces wholesale to such stores as Big Y, Price Chopper and Shop-Rite. In the last eight years or so he’s been coming to Lyman’s to offer up samples of his sauces.

Marie Hirschfeld started making her award winning condiments for her relatives for presents. She started with a jalapeno pepper relish and from there her gifts and her condiment making skills grew.

“My friends and family encouraged me to get out there and bite the bullet,” Hirschfeld said. She’s been coming to Lyman Orchards every year for the past 10 years to participate in Connecticut Day. All of her condiments are low in sugar, salt and fat. She also does tastings in specialty food stores.

The Hopkins Inn, of New Preston, took part and featured their popular salad dressing. The Inn has been making the dressing for the past 35 years and began bottling it about 12 years ago after repeated requests from customers. Saturday was their first time participating in Lyman’s annual tasting event.

Lyman Orchards also has their own brand of products. They were showcasing their applesauce, made from the apples they grow on their orchard property and jellies made from the berries they grow themselves. There was a also wide variety of sauces made from the variety of fruits they grow.

Carol Brearton, who usually works in the picking room, was in the store Saturday to tell customers about the different types of fruits that go into Lyman’s homemade products.  She also talked about the farm’s pick-your-own option, which starts with strawberries in June, blueberries, raspberries, jostaberries (a cross between the blackcurrant and gooseberry), apples, pears and peaches.