As the weather starts to warm and spring gives way to early summer, it’s time to rack the cider brewed from last fall’s apple harvest. Racking is an essential step in the cider-making process—it keeps your cider clean, crisp, and free from the off-flavors that develop if it sits too long on the lees. Lees, for those new to cider making, are the layer of sediment that forms at the bottom of the carboy. They’re made up of dead yeast cells and tiny cider particles left behind af

This is the first year I’ve collected birch sap and boiled it down into syrup, and the whole process has felt a bit like stepping back in time. From maple to birch Birch syrup season begins immediately after maple season winds down. Once both days and nights are staying above freezing, the birch sap starts to move, signaling it’s time to tap. The window is short—typically just 2–3 weeks—before the sap changes. As the season ends, the sap is known to become bitter, a pattern t

If you’re going to take the time to grow your own food, why not grow something that’s even healthier than what you can find in most stores? Take the Purple Majesty potato, for example. These strikingly colored potatoes contain less starch than typical varieties and are rich in polyphenols—plant compounds known to reduce inflammation and oxidative stress while supporting vascular, metabolic, and cellular health. Root vegetables have long been staples of the human diet, though