Now in its third year, Foodfort is a wildly successful part of Boise’s iconic Treefort Music Festival.  Foodfort offers attendees an opportunity to taste a wide variety of local foods prepared by some of Idaho’s best chefs.  From tandoori lamb to smoked barley and veggie shooters to suckling pig, chefs from Boise, Cascade and Ketchum will be serving up amazing Idaho foods in the Alefort tent.

No wristband is required for this three day event located in the Owyhee Plaza parking lot – but get there early as the line starts early and the venue fills up fast. All ages are welcome at Foodfort which runs Friday, March 23rd 4pm-8pm, Saturday, March 24th 12pm-8pm and Sunday, March 25th 1pm-5pm.

For details visit the Foodfort website.

Let us help you make a New Year’s resolution that’s not only good for you, but good for our economy as well. This year pledge to eat more local foods and drink more local beverages! While this may seem like a difficult task this time of year, there are actually many specialty foods and beverages available year around in Idaho.

For a full list of Idaho grown and processed items start by visiting our website www.idahopreferred.com. Here you will also find recipes that make cooking local easy and delicious!

Start your local food quest with Idaho honey. Idaho has numerous honey companies across the state including Browning’s Honey Co. in Idaho Falls, Cox Honey Farms in Shelley, Rocky Mountain Honey in Idaho Falls, Orchard Valley Bees in Wilder, The Honey Store in Fruitland and Treasure Valley Bees in Parma.

Next, treat yourself to a local breakfast- Anew Foods makes a healthy cereal containing oats, nuts and dried fruit and no preservatives. The Backcountry Bar is a nutritional energy bar that is a great start to your day.  These bars are soft, with a variety of seeds, rolled oats and dried fruits and make a perfect on the go breakfast or snack.  Nature’s Indulgence is a family owned business that produces a variety of granolas that can be eaten dry, with milk, or added to Idaho’s Chobani yogurt. If you like a more traditional breakfast, try Cowboy Tom’s delicious whole wheat pancakes that are made with wheat that comes straight from the fields in Declo. Or, try their other whole grain varieties like Flax Jacks, Organic Buckwheat or gluten free Teff pancake mixes.

When breakfast wears off and you need a middle of the day snack, Zacca Hummus has you covered with three different hummus varieties. Treasure Valley Salsa offers a great variety of salsas for snacking and cooking and pairs well with tortillas from Idaho’s Fresca or Casa Valdez tortillas.

There are many Idaho foods available year around to satisfy your sweet tooth. Homemade by Dorothy and D’arcy’s Bakeshoppe make jams/jelly. The Toffee Cottage in Emmett, Weiser Classic Candy in Weiser, Idaho Candy Company in Boise and Farr’s Candy Co in Idaho Falls all have a variety of candies.  And if you didn’t get enough Christmas cookies try Sweet Valley Cookie Company’s many varieties.

If you are over 21, it’s easy to find a local beverage year around. Idaho has a good variety of beer, wine and spirits.
44 North Vodka makes a versatile Magic Valley wheat vodka as well as huckleberry, nectarine and cherry flavors. Add some asparagus from Dilly’s Pickled Veggies to your vodka for the perfect garnish to a Bloody Mary.  There are over 50 wineries in the state of Idaho. Grapes thrive in Idaho’s climate conditions that produce perfect wine grapes. Try some Idaho wine today!  If wine isn’t your thing, try one of Idaho’s many local brews.  Idaho ranks third in the U.S. for hop production, growing over 3,000 acres, and first in the U.S. for barley production – most of it going for malting. Support these local farmers by trying Idaho-made beer! 

As the leaves change and colder weather begins to settle in, some of Idaho’s top crops – apples and potatoes -come into season. It is no surprise that Idaho is top in potato production, but did you know apples are Idaho’s leading fruit crop? Each year, Idaho produces over 60 million pounds of apples and over 100 million pounds of potatoes!

More than half of the potatoes grown in Idaho are made into French fries, hash browns and other specialty items. In fact, J.R. Simplot Co. was the founder of the French fry in the 1940’s and today remains one of the leading producers of this world-wide favorite.  Like most of the crops in Idaho, the potato thrives on our warm days and cool nights – producing the perfect potato! Idaho potatoes can be found in the grocery store year around. Russet potatoes are the most well-known, however, there are over 20 different potato varieties. Idaho potatoes can be found across the United States and across the world! And it is a good thing that we export most of our potatoes, because if Idaho kept all potatoes grown within the state, each Idahoan would have to eat 49 potatoes every day! Try this delicious potato casserole for your next family get-together.

Wada Farms in Pingree has made baking a potato simple! Their microwave ready easy bakers are pre-wrapped and ready within 6-8 minutes! Look for these baked potatoes made easy at Wal-Mart and other retail stores.

Idaho Apples come in many different colors, textures and flavors – this is because Idaho grows nine different varieties of apples! Apples are harvested carefully by hand to avoid bruising.  Picked and packed daily, they are fresh and crispy when they arrive at local grocery stores in the fall. Apples have no sodium or fat and are high in nutrients and fiber making them the perfect healthy snack.

Idaho has a few U-pick locations where you can go pick apples for yourself or make it a fun family day trip. When picking an apple, look for bright firm texture and tight skin, avoiding apples that are soft, bruised or have dark spots. Apples are great fresh off the tree or baked into a warm pie. Try our apple pie recipe with some local ice cream to top it off.