County Fare
It happens every year. I vow to turn our local summer fruit into choice conserves and spicy savories to serve in winter with cheese or to accompany a standing rib, roasted duck or salmon fillet. But before I know it I’m pulling Christmas decorations from my attic while visions of my own sugar plum sauce glistening on a pork roast vanish like snowflakes on a warm mitten.
This year, however, is different. My pantry is stocked with handmade conserves, chutneys, rubs, spreads and sauces and I didn’t have to spend hours in my kitchen following complicated recipes or stand over a hot stove, oven or grill.
That’s because this past summer I met Scott Duncan, the Offbeat Gourmet. I was standing in line at another vendor’s stall at the Doylestown Farmers’ Market when I heard “Oh, that’s good” and “I’ll take a jar” repeatedly coming from customers gathered at Scott’s booth.
As my interest piqued, I quickly walked over. Like a fisherman who knows he has a secret bait that’s irresistible, he reels me in, inviting me to try his sauces and savory spreads. One taste of his fig and honey conserve is enough to hook me. Smitten, I try a few more, including his sugarplum grill sauce and surrender completely.
As if I needed more convincing, he tells me he uses only 100 percent pure natural condiments. The ingredients are mostly organic and locally sourced, he says, with no artificial preservatives, flavors or colors. In addition, most of everything he makes is seasonal. So what you see today, you most likely won’t see again till next year. I was already too late for his blueberry bourbon conserve, he says, and maybe, his charred heirloom marinara sauce, although he might make one more batch if the local farm (Sandbrook Farm in Stockton) he uses still has tomatoes.
This in mind I snatch up the last of his sugar plum sauce. And just to play it safe, I grab a jar of his spiced tomato savory spread—even though he assures me he’ll have it year-round. Each jar comes with its own small, wooden serving spoon—perfect when serving the spread with cheese or slathering on a sandwich or burger.
Since that initial visit I’ve been back for Scott’s caramelized balsamic onions, fig and honey conserve, rated-x grill sauce and charred heirloom tomato marinara sauce. (Yep, he had enough for one more small batch, and being no fool, I grabbed one up.)
But I’m getting ahead of myself. My initial buys secured, we agree to meet at the commercial kitchen he rents from the Point Pleasant Fire Company for an interview.
It’s late in the day and Scott is just finishing prepping the food he’ll make for his weekend markets. Just as he dresses at the Doylestown Farmers’ Market and when demonstrating at the other venues his products sell in, Scott is wearing his iconic red cloth cap and a spotless black linen apron over a crisp white chef’s jacket. With a high noon smile he invites me in, offering a quick tour of his kitchen.
Opening one side of the large stainless steel commercial refrigerator, he proudly shows me his day’s work. In two 18-quart containers are 200 pounds of chopped local heirloom and red tomatoes and in a 6-quart one, freshly squeezed organic lemon juice. Macerating in a brandy, ginger and cognac bath are figs in another large container. It’s his third batch of the season, he says, and the most time-consuming to make, taking almost two weeks. It’s also one of his highest in demand.
To Finish reading this article about Offbeat Gourmet, turn to page 105 in the Winter 2015/16 issue of Bucks County Magazine.