Ipswich

March is the time for sugaring in New England.  Appleton keeps this very special tradition alive by tapping the farms’ beautiful maple trees and producing wood-fired, small-batch syrup. The first part of the workshop will include a leisurely walk around the farmstead to show how sap is harvested and collected. The tour will wrap up at our sugar shack so you can see (and smell!) the transformation of sap to syrup. You’ll gather in the farm kitchen for the second part of the workshop, where chef Carolyn Grieco will teach how to make some of the most delectable maple syrup recipes.  Workshop ends with a generous sampling of all our delicious maple dishes!

This ‘back-to-basics’ series provides a comprehensive approach to the fundamentals of cooking as we explore traditional culinary methods & techniques to enhance your knowledge, skill, and understanding in the kitchen.  Each workshop will focus in-depth on a particular skill set, with guided hands-on practice as we prepare seasonal dishes applying specific techniques. Proper knife skills, measuring, and kitchen tools will also be discussed, and all workshops include chef instruction, printed recipes, and a light lunch in the farmhouse! 

Join Appleton Cooks! and chef Carolyn Grieco this winter for our winter culinary workshop series. With seasonal ingredients as our inspiration, these classes bring together the farm’s winter bounty and professional chef instruction to inspire, improve, and support your culinary endeavors at home. 

Join Appleton Cooks! and chef Carolyn Grieco this winter for our winter culinary workshop series. With seasonal ingredients as our inspiration, these classes bring together the farm’s winter bounty and professional chef instruction to inspire, improve, and support your culinary endeavors at home. 

Looking for an outdoor activity to enjoy during school vacation? Come build snow people with the Trustees! What better place to form gigantic snowballs than the rolling hills at the Crane Estate? We’ll have a contest to determine the best winter characters – which snowman is the most traditional?  The most creative? The one that best represents Ipswich history? The one that best represents the Crane family? At the end of the day we’ll enjoy some hot chocolate to warm up.

Join us in the farmhouse for a craft making party! Leave your hat and mittens at the door and come get creative with our Farm Educator. While the farm animals are hunkered down and the wild animals are hibernating, we will use the winter landscape as our inspiration. Hot chocolate will be available in the farm kitchen throughout the program. Drop in between 9:30am-11am. Your crafting fun will take around 30 minutes so plan as you need for your schedule.

Warmer spring weather means its sheep shearing time on the farm.  But what to do with all that wool? Learn about the time honored tradition of wool felting. We’ll start by learning how to “card” the raw wool into soft fiber for spinning or felting. Afterwards, we’ll try our hand at making felt balls to be used for farm-fun necklaces. Wool, wood beads and decorative string will be provided, but feel free to bring anything special of your own to add to your necklace. Recommended for ages 5-9.

Join Appleton Cooks! and chef Carolyn Grieco this winter for our winter culinary workshop series. With seasonal ingredients as our inspiration, these classes bring together the farm’s winter bounty and professional chef instruction to inspire, improve, and support your culinary endeavors at home. 

Our cheese making classes are back!  Join Appleton’s own award-winning cheese maker, Kristian Holbrook, for a hands-on cheese making class in our farm kitchen.  You’ll learn all the basics of cheese making, make your own mozzarella and ricotta to take home, and get a behind-the-scenes tour of our dairy operation and cheese cave.  Pre-registration required.

Appleton Farms invites families for a self guided Winter quest during holiday break! Grab your snow shoes, hiking boots or cross country skiis and get the family outside between Christmas and New Years to seek out our elusive herd of wooden reindeer sculptures found throughout the Grass Rides.  See how many you can find and leave a bell around each one's neck.  Bells can be found at the bulletin board.