Sunday, June 6, 2010

Local Colorado Products

This week, Serious Eats posted a Cook and Tell challenge that asked for information about locally-made products. So I checked my kitchen and pantry, then took my camera along to Cayenne Kitchen hunt down even more local products. I was surprised how many I found.

And I also found that was difficult to draw the line at who was truly local. In the end, I included all the ones with local connections that I found during my short hunt.

I meant to take my camera to the farmer's market over the weekend, but forgot it, so that's a post for another day. I'll probably put that off until the market has moved beyond spring greens and there are some more vegetables making an appearance.

These are in alphabetical order, and where the product line didn't seem obvious from the photos or company names, I included that as well. I also linked to websites, if the companies had them. In some cases, I have links to my previous posts about these businesses, people, and products.

I think I've strayed a bit from SE's question about locally and hand/homemade products, since many of these companies have grown past the kitchen-table stage. And some of the products aren't so much final products as they are single ingredients like honey and milk and meat. Some of the items, like spices, coffee, tea, and packaged mixes, are assembled and packaged here, but the original ingredients are sourced elsewhere.

Some of these are local companies that package their goods elsewhere, but the company's office is here. And then there are big companies that started small here and have remained here, but are distributed nationally. So they're local, but they're no longer small.

But that's all the thinking I want to do about it at the moment. The best I can say is that all of these items have local roots. So here we go:

Parachute, CO

Anija's Mustard
Fort Collins, CO

Aspen Leaf Gourmet
Littleton, CO

Bella Gluten Free
Longmont, CO
(Gluten-free baking mixes)
Here's my blog post.

Celestial Seasonings
Boulder, CO

Chocolove
Boulder, CO

Fort Collins, CO
(Oils, vinegars, dipping sauces, etc. Also a cookbook.)

Freshies
Denver, CO
Longmont, CO

Fort Collins, CO
Brighton, CO
Here's a bread recipe and a salsa recipe using this pepperspread.

Lewis Candy Company
Wheat Ridge, CO

Luna Roasters
Denver, CO

Lyons, CO

Mama Mari's Pupusas
Boulder, CO

Niwot, CO
Here's an article about the meadery, and another about bees.

(Mostly fresh produce; some canned farm products)
Platteville, CO

(Fresh fruits, jams)
Palisade, CO

(sauerkraut, pickles, horseradish)
Wheat Ridge, CO

Munchin' Mutts
Longmont, CO

Niwot Honey Farm
Niwot, CO
Longmont, CO

Rocky Mountain Orchards
Estes Park, CO

Rocky Mountain Salsa
Fort Collins, CO

Savory Spice Shop
Denver, Littleton, and Boulder, CO
Here's and interview with Janet Johnston, and one of the store's recipes.

Spomer Ranch
Milliken, CO
(bison meat)
Here's my blog post.

Stone Table Catering
Longmont, CO
(local caterer that sells a few products, like these chocolate-covered potato chips)

Sweet & Saucy
Centennial, CO

Tea Spot
Boulder, CO

To Market To Market
(dip, salsa, and other mixes)
Loveland, CO

Tortilla Factory
Greeley, CO
Twin Mountain Milkhouse
Del Norte, CO
(cheese made from raw cow milk)

Two Leaves and a Bud
Roaring Fork Valley, near Aspen, CO

Unseen Bean
Boulder, CO
Here's my blog post about this blind coffee roaster.

V-Cut
Loveland, CO

Westwood Farms
Paonia, CO

White Girl Salsa
Golden, CO


Wing Time
Steamboat Springs, CO

Windsor Dairy
Windsor, CO
(cow shares for raw milk; cheese)
Here's my blog post.
(soup, cookie, salsa, and other mixes)
Here's my blog post.

Wood Creations
Longmont, CO
Yum