Before 2010, Schmitt’s horseradish was only shared at the Schmitt family table among family and friends. But as Matt and Ashley Schmitt started to expand his family farm, his grandfather’s recipe turned into Holy Schmitt’s Horseradish.
Matt Schmitt shared that his family has been growing horseradish wholesale for over 100 years, and he recognized that it was a niche product.
According to Ashley Schmitt, the decision to sell canned goods came as they wanted to make the season longer for their farm, making it possible to keep Schmitt’s Farmstand on the Sound in Riverhead open even when the fresh vegetable season was over.
And the community’s response was ecstatic.
“They were excited, because it’s an old-fashioned type of product,” Schmitt said. “It’s hard to find a traditional horseradish in most places now.”
She added that the farm stand’s customers celebrated the heat that the horseradish added to their meals and the warmth that it brought to their souls reminding each customer of family members like their own grandparents.
Once the couple realized they had a hit, it made sense to add a pickled beet-flavored horseradish to the farm stand. At the time, no one realized how popular the horseradish would become.
They continued to expand, adding mustard horseradish and, with their eye on a unique flavor, a lot of taste testing happened to find the perfect combination. Now, you can find a cranberry horseradish year round, and a seasonal strawberry, with strawberries grown right on the farm. Both flavors were created with the idea of combining sweet and spicy and are perfect for serving with meats like burgers or chicken.
Matt says since he is the farmer, they always have jars at their house — and he puts it on almost everything.
For horseradish fans, who prefer their horseradish to be served with tomato juice and vodka, the farm stand also features Bloody Mary mix. With the success of the horseradish, the stand has expanded to feature pickles, including horseradish pickles, of course, and other canned goods, including salad dressing and jams. Their carrot cake jam is a local favorite, featuring carrots from the farm with the spices of a traditional carrot cake. The Schmitts recommend serving it on a toasted English muffin with cream cheese to recreate the flavors of carrot cake.
Matt and Ashely met at Riverhead High School, and she started working on the farm the summer she was 18 while the couple was still dating. After the pair graduated from college, Matt went to work on the farm, and Ashley taught on Long Island and worked at the farm during the summer.
“I went to college and got a degree, and I could’ve done something else,” Matt Schmitt said. “But I just keep coming back here — it’s been in my family, and I want to keep it going.”
He added he hopes that the farm will stay in the family, and that his sons, Matthew Jr., 9, and Thomas, 5, will one day become the fifth generation to run the farm.
“Right now, my 5-year-old is all about it,” Ashley Schmitt said. “He wants to go down to the farm at every opportunity that they can.”
The farm stand itself was started by Matt’s mom, Debbie, who started selling fresh produce to the community by bringing a trailer across the street from their wholesale yard, with a tractor. They grew to take produce to Sound Avenue before building the farm stand and greenhouse that many locals have grown to love.
A new farm stand, Schmitt’s Country Fresh, was opened in Laurel to bring their fruits and vegetables and all of their canned goods farther east on the North Fork. The Schmitts hope to see more growth by expanding to wholesale pickles and other products.
In addition to the Schmitt family farm stands, customers can find the horseradish at retailers like Braun’s Seafood in Cutchogue, Little Creek Oyster Farm and Market in Greenport, Lombardi’s Love Lane in Mattituck, Balsam Farm in Amagansett, Dayton Farms in East Hampton, Serene Green in Sag Harbor, and Catena’s in Southampton Village, among many other locations on the North and South Forks. The products also are available at gourmet food markets throughout Manhattan and Connecticut, at Whole Foods, or online at holyschmitts.com. Schmitt says she has seen orders shipped as far as Alaska.
Julia Heming on Aug 17, 2023