Sally and Jeff Gardner, vendors at the Maple Grove farmers market, have been making different pretzels for nearly 10 years. They offer samples with a side of honey mustard. However, they sell four to five other homemade varieties.
The Gardners also offer chemical-free produce and canned goods from their gardens. They grow everything from asparagus to zucchini, making sure to include all the standard fruits and vegetables used for homemade cooking. They also sell jams, jellies, salsa, spaghetti sauce and a variety of pickled produce and sauerkraut.
Jeff Gardner says, “We started selling vegetables, but saw lots of competition. So, we moved to home canned goods. A number of years back, I looked for different ways to set us apart and since I had to travel to Germany for my day job, pretzels seemed a good fit. I worked the recipes I had found into an easy yet traditional method to make our pretzels stand out from the store-bought or mall fare. My wife, kids and I tested them and now they have become the mainstay at our markets. We even made 500 for an Octoberfest in Delano, 400 for a festival in Rogers and other special events.”
