Salem, NY -- Washington County resident, Mary Ann Marschhauser, has brought her popular recipe for mustard to market. Using the Battenkill Kitchen, Inc. (BKI), the shared-use commercial kitchen located on the grounds of the Salem Courthouse, Marschhauser is producing “Jailhouse Mustard” for sale at regional retail venues.

Says Marschhauser, "I’m excited to finally be releasing my own product to market. I have been making home-made mustard for over 20 years, sharing it with family, friends and neighbors who urged me to sell it to the public.” Marschhauser attended a workshop sponsored by the Agricultural Economic Development Program of Washington and Saratoga counties, as well as the Northeast Center for Food Entrepreneurship which provided an overview of the steps and regulations regarding small-scale food production. It was at that workshop that Marschhauser found out about the shared-use kitchen proposal (BKI was a part of the former Washington County Jail) and signed on to work with other community members to transform the space into a not-for-profit, state-of-the-art commercial facility.

Above: Mary Ann Marschhauser at the Battenkill Kitchen, Inc. in Salem, NY where she produces her Jailhouse Mustard. The mustard is sold at local stores such as Sheldon Farms Market and Gardenworks, both in Salem, New York.

Marschhauser says that BKI has allowed her to bring her recipe to market, and adds, “A shelf-stable food such as mustard, cannot be created in a home kitchen. It must be produced in a New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets-approved, commercial space. I’ve learned a great deal through the process of getting my product ready for store shelves, attending ‘Better Process Control School’ in Geneva, New York, working with Cornell to gain an approved Scheduled Process (the regulated, critical manufacturing steps for a shelf-stable product), designing my own label, and learning to operate commercial kitchen equipment.”

Marschhauser says that she and other BKI board members ( www.battenkillkitchen.org ) are available to assist others in the region, and can help guide those interested in the steps of producing a food product and ultimately getting it to market.

The versatile Jailhouse Mustard is great used as a traditional condiment, as a dip for pretzels, as an addition to deviled eggs, zesty vinaigrette or marinades. Jailhouse Mustard is the first in a line of products Marschhauser hopes to create. She has further plans for using local maple syrup, honey, and horseradish, creating a line of specialty mustards and will be selling her products in locally-owned businesses. She adds, “Most important, I am committed to supporting our local growers and producers and small business owners, maintaining our rural quality of life.”

Jailhouse Mustard is produced by Mary Ann Marschhauser of Hebron Hills Farm Products, Ltd. It is currently available for sale at Gardenworks and Sheldon Farms Market, both in Salem, New York. Marschhauser will be offering samples of her Jailhouse Mustard during the regional drive-yourself cheese tour of artisinal cheesemakers during September; you’ll find her on September 15th at Sheldon Farms Market and on September 16th at Gardenworks, both days 10 am to 3 pm. For more information, you can call Mary Ann at (518)642-3866.

Battenkill Kitchen, Inc.

The Battenkill Kitchen, Inc. (BKI) is an educational kitchen facility located at the Historic Salem Courthouse in Salem, Washington County, New York.

Farmers, individuals, businesses, and community organizations are welcome to use the commercially equipped kitchen to do processing of products for individual use or retail sale, hold educational programs, meetings, and special events.

The kitchen provides a space for individual producers to create and process their food product. This New York State Department of Ag and Markets inspected kitchen is a perfect place to launch a small food business without a large capital investment.

The Mission
The Battenkill Kitchen, Inc. is a not-for-profit 501 (c) (3) organization and operates as an educational kitchen facility whose goals include:

* To provide educational seminars and instruction in the areas of food preparation to local farmers and food producers.

* To provide area residents information and educational assistance in the creation and packaging of food products.

* To use the kitchen as a teaching platform to educate local school children about food.

* To provide the community with a kitchen to be used for community events.

More about the Battenkill Kitchen
The Battenkill kitchen was originally the Salem Jailhouse kitchen. After extensive cleaning and repairs it was fairly well equipped. In place was a six burner gas range, a convection oven, two baking ovens, a wa1k-in cooler, and dishwasher.

To transform the space into a food processing facility it was necessary to address some code issues, such as the new floor and a hand washing station, as well as put in place additional equipment more specific to food processing. A 40 gallon steam kettle, rolling stainless steel food preparation tables, and a 40 quart Stand Mixer have been added to the kitchen.

With the removal of the center cabinets new rolling storage shelving will be added to house smaller tools and equipment. By making as many items as possible movable, the kitchen has expanded its usable space and flexibility. Now producers can create a table arrangement that is most efficient for the equipment they use.
The mixer allows processors to make larger batches while the steam kettle brings food up to and maintains the proper temperature for hot pack jarring.

Having the proper equipment now allows the Battenkill Kitchen to be a viable option for local small scale food processors to bring their products to our local markets and stomachs ... thank goodness for that!
If you are interested in developing a value added product from your agricultural product and need an approved commercial kitchen to work in, please complete a survey and consider the Battenkill Kitchen Inc.

Become a kitchen member! Find out more information on how to join the BKI.

See Up Coming Programs for kitchen related workshops.

BKI Newsletter

The BKI Board of Directors are:
Will Lennon, President
Paula Schafer, Vice President
Mary Ann Marschhauser, Secretary
Susan Quillio, Treasurer
Bruce Ferguson
Karen Hess
Dottie Schneider


For more information and how to rent the kitchen, call 518-854-3032 or send an e-mail to manager@battenkillkitchen.org.

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