Shopping for specialty foods is a major Door County pastime, with most of the shops located along Highway 42. The county produces 95% of Wisconsin’s cherry crop, so it’s not surprising that shoppers can find cherries in every conceivable form -- dried and canned; in syrups, wine and cider; jams, jellies and chutney. There are cherry pies, tarts and turnovers; cookies and caramels; cherry salsa and relish; ice cream topping and cherry pepper jelly, too.
Apples in Everything from Pies to Pickles
It's also no wonder that almost as many of the products for sale are made from apples, since Door County trees yield about 40 percent of the state’s harvest. The berries, fruit and vegetables that grow in abundance on peninsula farms find their way to the markets, too, as sunflower honey, pumpkin butter, raspberry mustard, sweet dill pickle chips, pear wine and red cabbage relish.
Cheese Comes in a Hundred Varieties
Because Wisconsin – “The Dairy State” -- produces 35 percent of the country’s cheese, wise shoppers always leave room in their shopping bags for some of the 100 varieties made in Door County. One of the largest selections is available at the Schoolhouse Creamery at the Savory Spoon Cooking School in the community of Ellison Bay.
Much of Wisconsin’s cheese is produced in small, family-owned and operated cheese factories where, visitors can watch it being made at various creameries. Among them is Renard’s Cheese, ten miles south of Sturgeon Bay in Algoma.
Loaves and Fishes
Fish is an important Door County product, too -- smoked salmon, trout, chubs and the famous Lake Michigan smoked whitefish. Bakery goods, including especially good bread, are also produced in great abundance.. Among the treats for sale are giant cinnamon rolls at Grandma's Swedish Restaurant & Bakery on Rowleys Bay, and there’s whitefish-chowder-to-go at almost any restaurant in the county.
Cherry and Apple Wines are Door County Specialty
Lautenbach’s Orchard Country Winery at Fish Creek has been operated by the same family for four generations. Although they produce a wide range of wines, including chenin blanc, merlot and cabernet sauvignon, it’s their wines made from the 100 acres if orchards that interest most visitors. Among them are a Honeycrisp Apple wine, Cherry Chardonnay and Natural Dry Cherry, as well as a non-alcoholic Cherry Spumante.
There’s Great Shopping for Non-Edibles, Too
Small shops, especially those dealing in antiques and specialty items, abound. They’re located in the small towns like Sister Bay, along Highway 42, which runs from just north of Sturgeon Bay to the peninsula’s tip and even on the country roads which crisscross the peninsula. Not to be missed is Chelsea Antiques, with the reputation of being one of Wisconsin’s finest, which is housed in a 95-year-old barn at Sister Bay. . Domicile, also in Sister Bay, specializes in furniture and other home furnishings created by Wisconsin artisans.
The Dovetail Gallery & Studio in Egg Harbor, housed in an original dovetail log home, features an interesting collection of decorated eggs as well as a display of ethnic and contemporary egg art designs from around the world. Art fanciers will want to head for Fish Creek and Bailey’s Harbor., each of which have a half dozen or more galleries featuring works of local artists.
Connie Emerson - Ever since I can remember, going places and seeing new sights has intrigued me. A robin drinking from a puddle after a springtime Paris ...
