The Grillables line is the brainchild of the Sterman Masser Potato Farm and this display idea was thought up by Brock Snyder as a new addition to the booth. Grillables are a great, value-added product that helps the consumer prepare a healthy meal quickly and easily with little mess.

December 6, 2011

 Maine Distilleries, LLC, producer of Cold River Vodka,
Cold River Blueberry Flavored Vodka & Cold River Gin is proud to announce
that it will be donating one pound of potatoes for every bottle of Cold River
sold in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts during the first quarter of
2012 to prominent food banks in each state.

Maine Distilleries, LLC, of
Freeport, Maine, in coordination with family-owned Green Thumb Farms, Inc., of
Fryeburg, Maine, is excited to be partnering with The Good Shepherd Food Bank
in Auburn, Maine, The New Hampshire Food Bank in Manchester, New Hampshire, and
the Greater Boston Food Bank in Boston, Massachusetts in an effort to raise
awareness of hunger and food insecurity in New England. Sales of the three Cold
River products across the tri-state area are expected grow substantially during
the first quarter of 2012, and Maine Distilleries looks forward to making a
sizable donation of farm-fresh Maine potatoes at the time of the fall harvest
in Fryeburg next year.

Uniquely positioned in the
vodka and gin market as 100% gluten-free, farm-to-table and hand-crafted, Maine
Distilleries hopes to heighten consumer awareness of its award-winning
American-made spirits through this 2012 potato donation and its continued close
work with its brokers and distributors in its key New England markets.

Following the 2010 launch of
its newest product, Cold River Gin (awarded 90 points in the 2011 Ultimate
Spirits Challenge), the Cold River products have seen significant growth across
their major New England markets. The company’s flagship product, Cold River
Vodka, has seen tremendous critical praise since its 2005 launch. It was
awarded a double gold medal at the 2008 San Francisco World Spirits
Competition, garnered an auspicious 5-star rating (“Highest Recommendation”)
from renowned spirits guru F. Paul Pacult in 2008, was awarded a double gold
medal at the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America Convention in 2009, and
was named the best vodka in the world by Wine Enthusiast Magazine in
December of 2009. Most recently it was named one of the top 10 vodkas in the
world in the October 2012 edition of The Tasting Panel.

About Maine Distilleries, LLC

 (http://www.mainedistilleries.com/ , www.facebook.com/mainedistilleries):

Founded in 2005, Maine
Distilleries, located in Freeport, Maine, is the brainchild of four talented
Maine entrepreneurs: Donnie Thibodeau, who owns Green Thumb Farms in Fryeburg,
ME; his brother, Lee Thibodeau, a neurosurgeon in Portland, ME; Bob Harkins, a
former Sunday River ski executive from Paris, ME; and Chris Dowe, Head
Distiller, from New Gloucester, ME.

Known for their distinct nose
and satin-smooth finish, the company’s gluten-free vodkas and gin are
hand-crafted and batch-distilled in a copper pot still, using water from
Maine’s Cold River Aquifer and farm-fresh Maine potatoes. Maine Distilleries,
which produces only Cold River Vodka, Cold River Blueberry Vodka, and Cold
River Gin, is the only “ground-to-glass” distillery in the nation, where the
company controls every aspect of production from the planting of the potatoes
to final bottling. The company’s award-winning Classic Vodka, Blueberry Vodka,
and Traditional Gin currently are available at major markets, restaurants, and
fine spirits retailers in 26 states, the District of Columbia, western Canada
and London.

For further information on
Maine Distilleries, LLC, the Cold River products, or to schedule an interview
with Sales & Marketing Director Joseph Swanson, please call 207.671.7109 or
email joe@coldrivervodka.com.

To schedule a tour and
tasting at the Freeport distillery, please call 207.865.4828.

For more
information about Green Thumb Farms, Inc., of Fryeburg, Maine, please call
207.935.3341 or email info@greenthumbfarms.com.

Red Skin Potato Mash

6 pounds red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 2-inch chunks

• Salt
• 2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups warmed milk
• 2 scallions, thinly sliced
• Freshly ground pepper

Types of Corn

Dent (Zea mays indenata)

Dent corn is often used as livestock feed, in industrial products, or to make processed foods. Dent corn is also frequently referred to as “field” corn. Either white or yellow, dent kernels contain both hard and soft starch that become indented at maturity.

Flint (Zea mays indurata)

Flint corn, also known as Indian corn, is used for similar purposes as dent corn. Flint corn is distinguished by a hard outer shell and kernels with a range of colors from white to red. (You can remember that it has a very hard exterior by thinking of flint, the stone.) Today, most flint corn is grown in Central and South America.

Sweet (Zea saccharata or Zea rugosa)

Sweet corn is primarily eaten on the cob, or it can be canned or frozen for future consumption. Sweet corn is seldom used for feed or flour. Sweet corn is extra sweet because it contains more natural sugars than other types of corn. (Field corn contains 4% sugar at the same stage standard sweet corn contains 10% sugar.) Almost 50% of the sugar can be converted to starch only 24 hours after sweet corn is picked, so it is best to eat it fresh!

Flour (Zea mays amylacea)

Flour corn is used in baked goods because it has a soft, starch-filled, kernel that is easy to grind. Flour corn is primarily white, although it can be grown in other colors, for example, blue corn. One of the oldest types of corn, flour corn was a chief type grown by Native Americans .

Popcorn (Zea mays everta)

Popcorn, a type of flint corn, has a soft starchy center surrounded by a very hard exterior shell. When popcorn is heated the natural moisture inside the kernel turns to steam that builds up enough pressure for the kernel to explode. When the kernel explodes the white starchy mass that you like to eat forms. All types of corn will pop to some degree, but they won’t necessarily have enough starch to turn inside out, or an outside layer that will create enough pressure to explode . One of the oldest forms of corn, evidence of popcorn from 3600 B.C. was found in New Mexico!

In addition, feed (dent) corn usually grows much taller than sweet corn, the kernels are more of an orange color compared to the yellow kernels of their  sweet corn cousin, and feed (dent) corn is harvested in the Fall when the kernels have had ample time to dry in the sun compared to sweet corn harvesting in mid summer when the kernels are in their milky stage.

Green Thumb Farms grows Dent corn and it is mostly sold as feed for animals, it also can be used to make corn meal and other edible products.  Dent corn can also be used as a heat source much like wood pellets.  The kernels are stripped from the cobb during harvest the kernels are dried to a moisture content of between 12-14% and cleaned to remove the chaff (flakes of the cobb).  The dried kernels are now ready to be dumped into a stove or furnace for heating purposes.

With your newfound corn knowledge, next time you see a field of corn see if you can tell what kind of corn it is!

In one of Amy’s entries she professes her love for potatoes and added this delicious recipe for Mustard Roasted Potatoes:

Mustard Roasted Potatoes
Serves 4

1/3 cup Moroccan mustard
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds red potatoes, cut into small thumb-sized chunks

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the mustard and olive oil. Add the potatoes and toss to coat. Dump the potatoes onto a foil lined large rimmed baking sheet and spread them in a single layer. Roast, tossing with a spatula a few times, until the potatoes are crusty on the outside and tender throughout, about an hour. Serve hot.

Thanks Amy!

http://cookingwithamy.blogspot.com/2007/09/mustard-roasted-potatoes-recipe.html