We love seeing how local food products are made! Even while you’re staying indoors, you can take a virtual tour of the cider making production facility at Manoff Market Gardens in New Hope, PA. This family-run farm was founded by Gary and Amy Manoff in 1984, on land that Heritage Conservancy (formerly Bucks County Conservancy) reserved for farming. With an eye on environmental conservation, the couple followed a Soil Conservation Plan to preserve the soil, they erected waterways and terraces to control rainwater runoff, and installed an efficient well and also connected drip irrigation lines for the crops.
Crazy-fresh and delicious sweet apple cider is one of Manoff Market Garden’s best-known products. In addition to 25 different varieties of apples, the farm also cultivates white and yellow peach trees, white and yellow nectarines, strawberries, blackberries and blueberries. Many of these fruits are available for pick-your-own, and are made into jams and butters, vinegars and syrups. These house-made products are sold in Manoff Market Gardens’ farm market, along with other farm-fresh products, like flowers, and a variety of local products: honey, handmade pottery and baskets, and recycled shopping. Some of these items are available to purchase online!
The apples grown on the property’s orchards are also used to make hard cider under the label M² Cidery. This PA cider is dry (no sugar added), sparkling and naturally gluten-free. Each cider is aged in wood barrels for one year, and some have fruit added at finish for a touch of natural sweetness.
There are 13 different hard ciders in bottles currently, including Northern Comfort (a blend aged in a brandy barrel) and Cyser, which is a blend of honey and apple cider, aged in barrel that once held whiskey and maple syrup. Bottle sales are available; M² Cidery is still working on its online ordering system, but customers can call in orders and stop by the farm for curbside pick-up.
Please remember to support small mom-and-pop businesses across Pennsylvania’s food system!
Find Manoff Market Gardens at 3157 Comfort Rd. in New Hope, PA; phone: (215) 297-8220.
- Video and photos: Manoff Market Gardens
