Lyman Orchards is more than just a farm, it’s a bona fide agritainment destination in Connecticut.  And it’s pretty, of course.

That’s the deck next to the Apple Barrel, Lyman’s market.  There’s plenty of seating for outdoor eating as well as a walk-up for hot dogs, burgers, and other grilled eats.  But our main interest was inside the Apple Barrel itself.

Basically, it’s a big round building filled pastries, produce, specialty food items and free samples.  We here at Tasty New England like free samples, indeed, and we picked up some chunks of half sour pickles, apple pie, cheddar cheese, fruit spreads, pasta sauce, and kettle corn.  However, these were the winner:

Mmm.  Doghnut.  These were the classic New England apple cider variety, and they were the best of the pastries we tried.  They were soft and tender, and just barely sweet enough, without being cloying or too greasy.

The produce we picked up was of excellent quality, too.  Blueberries were sweet and flavorful, apples were crisp and we even bought some nice ripe peaches which can be difficult to find in regular grocery stores.  For the apples they even mark which varieties were grown on-site and they even give out charts showing what types are available at different times of the year.  Even though it’s a little out of the way for regular shopping for most folks, Lyman Orchards does make for a nice Saturday afternoon, and if you stock up like we did you can enjoy your haul for many days after.