— Matt Cook

MEDUSA—In the southern Hilltowns, among the farms and forests, a small factory turns out some of the best condiments in the world.

Though its products have made a splash in the specialty-foods market, it’s hard to tell, from the outside, that Wild Thymes, outside of the hamlet of Medusa, is anything more than another Hilltown family farm. That’s just the way the company’s founder likes it.
"I’m so happy that I left," said Enid Stettner, who left New York City for the farm in 1970. She was a fashion designer and her husband, Fred, was a film producer. Since the 1980’s, however, they have owned and operated Wild Thymes, a rapidly growing manufacturer of gourmet specialty foods, like sauces, chutneys, and dressings.

At 72, Stettner is still pursuing her second career with vigor. The company recently automated, moving from the stovetop to the assembly line, but continues to use the same fresh ingredients it always has. The products are beginning to spread from upper-level grocery stores like Whole Foods Market and Dean & Deluca, to larger chains, like Wegmans.
"I want to be making the very best product in America—in the world," Stettner said. "I don’t believe in the second-place ribbon."

"The dream of the city girl"

Growing up in Manhattan, Stettner often heard her father talk of moving the family to the country, she said. Although that never happened, the idea stayed in Stettner’s mind when she was older.
"When I grew up, I just carried that on," Stettner said, "the dream of the city girl."

In 1961, the Stettners found a listing in The New York Times for a run-down farm in the town of Westerlo, just east of Medusa on Route 403. They bought it, and for the next decade, they visited it on weekends and days off, fixing it up.
In 1970, the couple and their children moved there full-time, at which point, Stettner said, "We tried to figure out how to make a living."

At first, they tried real estate, and for a while, were successful, but, when the market crashed in the ’80’s, they had to turn somewhere else for money.

Since moving to Medusa, Stettner had kept a large garden on the farm and used the ingredients in meals, entertaining guests from downstate.
"Everyone wants you to cook when you have a farm," Stettner said.

It was natural, then, for Stettner to bottle and sell her creations, starting with fruit and herb vinegars—the first herb vinegars sold in the country, she said.

The new business was a success, and it wasn’t long before the vinegars found their way out of the farmers’ markets and into specialty grocery stores. By the ’90’s, Stettner said, Wild Thymes, as the Stettners called their company, was no longer alone in the vinegar business.
"Everyone started copying it," she said. "They even copied our name. It was wild this and wild that."

Not happy being one of many, Stettner decided to shift the company’s focus.
"I said, ‘You know, anyone can put herbs in a bottle. I’m going to come out with a line of food,’" Stettner said.

And so the second incarnation of Wild Thymes was born. Following in her parents’ footsteps, the Stettner’s daughter, Ann, moved up from New York City with her husband, Neil, to join the family business.
Though the ingredients in the Stettners’ chutneys, dressings, marinades, mustards, spreads, and dips are no longer grown on the Wild Thymes farm, Stettner said, "We still make it the same way. We don’t use anything if it’s not completely fresh."
Now, she said, as healthy-eating fads come and go, major grocery-store chains are beginning to show interest in the Wild Thymes products. "We’ve always been low-carb," Stettner noted.
"In the end, what’s become fashionable is what we’ve always been," Stettner said. "People want to be healthy and they want good food. They’re willing to spend a little more to get quality."

The strong flavors in Wild Thymes products make up for their lack of sodium and sugar, she said.
"You really don’t need all the salt and the sugar. You don’t need it if you have the right ingredients," Stettner said.

Balancing act

As she always has been, Stettner is in charge of creating the recipes for her products. She does it herself, in her kitchen, over her stove. Though she has no formal culinary training, and admits her mother was no whiz in the kitchen, Stettner said she has discovered a knack for blending ingredients, often dozens in one recipe.
"I think that’s probably what I’m best at," she said. "I just have a natural ability to balance things."

Sometimes Stettner’s recipes spring up out of her head, other times she tries to replicate—and perfect—a flavor she’s tasted before. For example, she concocted a Thai peanut sauce after searching for a kosher equivalent to a sauce her family enjoyed.
"I made a Thai sauce that makes the other Thai sauce look like I don’t know what," Stettner said.

Curry is an ingredient in some of Wild Thymes’ products. At first, Stettner said, the company bought pre-made curry, but she was never happy with that. So, she made her own.
"I have no idea how I know how to make curry," she said.

Stettner must be doing something right. Her products have been acclaimed by food magazines, like Gourmet, Bon Appetit, and Vegetarian Times, and featured on the Food Network and CNBC.

Growth
Wild Thymes is growing. While Stettner still taste-tests every batch before it’s shipped, the food is no longer made over the stove in pots, but in large kettles powered by a huge steamer, labeled "the dragon’s lair" by Wild Thymes’s seven employees.
"I really like the kettles," Stettner said. Quicker cooking preserves flavor, color, and texture, she said.

Instead of advertising, the Stettners spend their money providing samples to possible sellers, a massive nationwide undertaking coordinated by Ann Stettner. The hope is that store-owners will recognize a quality product the public will want.

To increase the products’ visibility, Wild Thymes is preparing to unveil a new bottle, with a bolder label.
Still, Stettner said, "A lot of people don’t impulse buy at $6 a bottle."

Her belief is that, as people try the products, they can’t help but want more.
"Once they taste it, they’ll buy it," she said.

Even though she’s past the average retirement age, Stettner has no intention of giving up her business. What drives her, she said, is not money or recognition; she just wants her products to be to best in the world.
"I love it," she said. "I just have to live long enough to see it through."