Glashoff Farms is quickly becoming one of the most innovative spots at the downtown Sacramento farmers' market. This summer, they delighted us with spicy homemade pickles nearly the size of a pint glass. Now, they’re selling liquid gold: walnut oil.

Glashoff Farms walnut oil at the Sacramento farmers' market.

Imagine the scent of freshly baked cookies brimming with chunks of bold walnuts. Opening the jar of Glashoff’s walnut oil releases a similar sweet aroma that’s reminiscent of chocolate and golden brown sugar. The best of this richly flavored nut is released through the oil. It’s absolutely decadent. You’ll be tempted to pour yourself a shot—it smells that good!

I bought my first jar of walnut oil in early winter when Glashoff first started selling it. For $14, I got a 16.9 oz. tin, which I quickly depleted. Instead of canola oil, I have been substituting walnut oil in all my baked good recipes—with outstanding results. The aroma soaks delicately through the recipe, adding a balance that brings the finished product to a heightened level.

For example, I have used it repeatedly in my pumpkin waffles, which are already rich with warm spices, a whisper of brown sugar, and served joyfully with grade B maple syrup. Tucked ever so subtly inside, the walnut oil murmurs its flavor into each unsurpassed bite. My waffles made me swoon before. With walnut oil, I need a moment to recover from each incredible bite.

Yet, walnut oil shouldn't be reserved for those with a sweet tooth. In fact, it brings a nutty brightness to caramelized onions, and a rounded umami finish to sautéed broccoli (to which you can also add a handful of lightly toasted whole walnuts and finish with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese). It also makes delicious and unique salad dressing. Or, simply tear slices of your favorite bread and use the oil as a dip.

As if these aren’t enough great reasons to start using walnut oil immediately, don’t even get me started on the mountains of research that point to walnuts and walnut oil as a healthy source of omega-3 fatty acids to fight any number of ailments, including stress, cancer, bone health, and motor skills.

These nuts are impressive! So, too, is Glashoff’s brilliant idea to start selling this honey-colored oil.

Here are a few other stories about Glashoff’s farm:

California farmers make living la vida locavore easy. And it just keeps getting easier. In fact, the Sacramento farmers’ market is practically a complete grocery experience. We’ve had tortillas, bread, olive oil, produce, jams, almond butter, cheese, meats, and eggs for years. Yet, just when you thought life couldn’t get much better, the farmers add even more to their wares. The joy just keeps coming!  

Behold the latest additions to the Sacramento downtown farmers’ market. Throughout the week, I’ll bring you four new must-try items. So keep reading! Come Sunday, you’ll be itching to get to the market and be first in line.

Don’t let the word “raw” scare you. This is fresh milk—and as good as it gets.

When I was 16 years old, I lived in Denmark for a year. My Danish host family ate seasonal produce, baked homemade bread daily, and visited a farmer down the road weekly to purchase fresh milk. This rested in a bucket in the fridge until the cream rose gently to the top. We would then skim off the cream (for later use), saving the lighter, whole milk for our morning muesli or our afternoon tea.

This is the kind of milk now being sold at the farmers’ market by Organic Pastures based in Central San Joaquin Valley. It comes straight from the cows to you. Their milk is never pasteurized, which is said to help maintain the natural balance of vitamins and beneficial bacteria so rich in cow’s milk (and which pasteurization can kill). Their cows eat grass—not feed—and are never given controversial hormones or antibiotics.

Bonus for home cheese makers: the active bacteria found in raw milk makes a superior product when compared to cheese made from pasteurized dairy.

At $4 for a half gallon of skim milk, prices are competitive. The thicker the milk, the more you’ll pay. It can run up to $9 for a pint of raw cream. They also sell raw butter (unsalted) and kefir (a raw dairy product with yeast cultures similar to those found in yogurt).

Best of all: it tastes good!—silky with the sweet tang of rich refreshment that only a grass and clover-fed cow can make.