FatStone Blog

How to Choose an Elderberry Syrup
Posted by Liz Farrell onElderberry is a popular berry and there are new products out there almost every day. This is not an advertisement for our own Elderberry Apple Shots, but rather a helpful tip on how to choose an elderberry syrup. Spend Your Money on Elderberry If you want to spend your money...

Are Your Customer Reviews Real?
Posted by Liz Farrell onSomeone asked me this the other day, after reading through our customer reviews, "You have great customer reviews. Are they real?" Yes, they are 'real.' Every customer who purchases on our website receives a request to submit a review. After they submit a review, they receive a 10% coupon code....
Elderberry Lore: Part 2 of Everything You Wanted to Know about Sambucus But Were Afraid To Ask
Posted by Liz Farrell onIf you are new to elderberry, welcome! There's more to read in "Part 1" of Elderberry Lore - and great information here in "Part 2." While elderberry (Sambucus nigra spp. canadensis) gets a lot of attention in the winter time, there are plenty of ways to use it all year...
Surviving the Franken-Candy Season with Farmer Liz
Posted by Elizabeth Farrell onMy kids came home after an outing with two half-pound gummy bears, made half-way around the world, and with the first ingredient something I had never heard of: maltose syrup. I think the total sugars in the entire bear was something like 120g. It was a great opportunity to talk...

Our Chicken Coop Office
Posted by Elizabeth Farrell onFat Stone Farm Announces All-New Office Digs Creatively Converted Chicken Coop to Help Propel Elderberry Syrup Business We have a second office location as a new addition to the company! The space, which is a fully renovated 2nd story chicken coop that overlooks the shipping center, solves our need for additional space to share...

Why Elderberry Apple Shots Is Like Broccoli...and Other Reasons We Don’t Tell You How Much to Eat
Posted by Elizabeth Farrell onIs this safe for my children? What is the dosage? How much do I ‘take’ every day? Can I ‘take’ this year-round? These are some common questions that our customers have about our Elderberry products. We can’t answer these, exactly. Here’s why: Our elder products are food, not drugs, according...

Back to Breakfast on the Farm -- A Scientific Review for All of Us
Posted by William Farrell onThe day starts early at our farm and raising two boys means a bigger effort in the morning to get everyone ready for the day ahead. So, how bad is it to short-change breakfast? We asked a medical doctor to review the scientific literature and tell us what science has...
- Tags: For Children
Spinning Yarns
Posted by Elizabeth Farrell onI made some time the other day to get back to a project that had been waiting for a few years. Truth be told, the moths forced me. Taking a break from bottling maple syrup, elderberry apple shots, and apple ginger syrup, and growing our own food, isn't easy, but...
Take a trip to Fat Stone Farm
Posted by Elizabeth Farrell onThe modern way to get Fat Stone Farm products involves high-speed internet connections, e-commerce transactions, and a few UPS trucks (sorry, we're not open to the public) -- but our place here in Lyme, Connecticut is founded on ancient bedrock, Native American footprints, old farm paths, and lots of heritage...

Joy of Maple
Posted by Elizabeth Farrell onThis maple season we were fortunate to have help in the sugar shack from our neighbor, and fellow sugar maker, Sam Coxe. One late night watching the sap boil into syrup, he penned the following.... A sweet treat forged from blood and sweat and tears and tree blood and...
- Tags: Maple Syrup
Dyeing Eggs Naturally
Posted by Elizabeth Farrell onAre you excited about dyeing Easter eggs, admiring their perfect oval shapes and heart-warming spring colors, celebrating the renewal that Easter brings, but don't want to use synthetic food coloring? Are you one of those people who actually EAT their Easter Eggs and want a healthy egg? I found a...

Legends of Maple Syrup, and the Uncle who made it difficult for the rest of us
Posted by William Farrell onThe Discovery of Maple Syrup Maple syrup, or more specifically, maple sugar, was originally made by multiple Native American tribes in the northern United States and Canada for sustenance and taste. The actual moment of discovery is unknown, but there are many origin stories and folktales that give us insight...

Elderberry Lore: Part 1 of Everything You Wanted to Know about Sambucus but Were Afraid To Ask
Posted by Elizabeth Farrell onDid you know humans have been eating elderberries on this continent for at least 10,000 years? And even longer elsewhere -- paleobotanists in southwestern China have unearthed seed parts of an Elder species that date back to the Pliocene era, which is estimated to be at least 2.6 million years...
Making Maple Syrup is an Extreme Sport; An Antidote to Modern Living
Posted by William Farrell onBut First Let’s Be Honest About Poking Holes in Trees Someone walks up to a group of meditating maple trees and stabs one, hoping to see a watery solution trickle out. This is a very first and necessary step on the annual journey of making maple syrup. And if you...
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- Tags: Maple Syrup

Elderberries: Nutritional Powerhouse
Posted by Elizabeth Farrell onWe use this chart as a starting point to discussing what's IN elderberries - the entire, raw berry. It's an exciting berry worth taking a look at! Check out the calcium, phosphorus, and Vitamin A -- all these and more are considered important vitamins and minerals for the human body....