Blog
Growing Pains
Apple Blossoms from my Darcy Spice Heirloom Apple Tree
Speaking of new things…I am working on a few new flavors. Keep an eye out. I will be testing them at the various farmers markets to get your feedback.
Don’t you love Spring? - A time for new ideas, new growth and new challenges!
Spring has arrived and just as quickly it is flying by! Soon the Summer will be here, and it is hard to believe it! I love Spring with the light colored green leaves and the tulips, daffodils and the blossoms on my apple and peach trees. I was just outside weeding around my blueberry bushes and noticed the little blueberries are already growing! What happened to the blueberry blossoms?! How did I miss them??
With the promise and growth of the Spring, so we are growing too! We are so thankful for all of our customers and their support! We wouldn’t have made it this far without all of you. In trying to keep up with the demand we are trying to increase the size of our batches to improve our efficiency. I will still be using my own certified kitchen, but I will also be renting a commercial kitchen with a steam kettle! I tested it last week. I love that steam kettle! I will have a helper to allow me to make larger batches assisting with filling and sealing jars. I will also be able to sell jam at this kitchen - good news for some of my more southern customers.
Blossoms of my Chestnut Crabapple Tree
Spring is Here! Join us in Concord, NH!
Spring is definitely in the air! The robins are back! The birds are chirping outside my window asking me why I haven’t refilled their bird feeders yet, and this weekend we are looking forward to a great time in Concord at the Castleberry Fairs Spring craft show. The information is below. There will be many wonderful handmade crafts by talented artisans and delicious food! We’ll see you there!
Saturday 10am-5pm ~ Sunday 10am - 4pm
Getting a Jump on Spring!
Looking forward to a great time in Hampton, NH this Saturday! Tired of being stuck indoors? Come out to the Rim where there will be many different craftsmen from all over New England with a large variety of quality hand made crafts and delicious foods! There will be 130 booths, food trucks, music and fun activities! Come out and enjoy the day with us!
Make it stand out
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Still Looking for Great Unique Gifts?
Come to Hampton, NH this Saturday. It is going to be a lot of fun. There will be many different craftsmen from all over New England with a large variety of quality hand made crafts which make the best gifts. Check it out!
Great New England Craft &Artisan Show! Milford, NH Oct. 23-24
We’ll be selling in New Hampshire on the 23-24th. There will be lots of great handcrafted items from all over New England. Come check it out!
What’s So Great About Fall in New England?!
Hmm, where do I start? There are so many awesome things about Fall in New England. It’s hard to know where to begin - the crisp cool days and perfect-for-sleeping chilly nights, the brilliant fall leaves against the deep blue skies, or the delicious Fall flavors? Apple picking, pumpkins, hay rides!
And, oh, the food! Apple cider donuts, apple crisp, apple pies, pumpkin everything - pumpkin chip muffins, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin scones, pumpkin bread, pumpkin donuts, pumpkin spiced coffees, and of course, pumpkin pies! Apple cider - hot or cold, and cranberries to add that extra rich tart flavor!
We also have some delicious Fall flavors in our jams and jellies that are now available. A couple still need pictures to add to the store, but they are available for order. We have our delicious Heirloom Crabapple made from fresh Dolgo crab apples, Mulled Cider with Cranberries and Spiced Cranberry Apple. All three are not only delicious for breakfast but also make great marinades and glazes for meatballs, roasts, pork, ham, chicken and fish. Be daring and creative. Let us know what you come up with and send pictures!
The Big E!
Massachusetts Day at the Big E, Sept. 23, 2021
We are selling at the Big E again this Friday for Harvest New England Day! We had a great time last Thursday on Massachusetts Day, and when the opportunity was offered to come back for Friday we jumped at it. This is very exciting for us, and we are really looking forward to it! We hope to see you there! This is the last weekend of the Big E for 2021. Don’t miss out!
Mangoes with a Kick!
We introduced a new flavor at the market this weekend - Mango Habanero! It is made with fresh delicious champagne mangoes and fresh habanero peppers. It is delicious on toast, or bagels, crackers and cream cheese or straight out of the jar. It is also great as a marinade on chicken, pork or salmon. If you like to add spice to your salad, try a tablespoon mixed with a little olive oil and vinegar.
I make them in small batches which only produce a limited number of jars. Don’t wait. They won’t last long. :)
They are not listed in our online store yet, but they will be added soon.
Clark Farm Market
We are now selling at Clark Farm Market in Carlisle! Check it out. This is a great place to find fresh local organic fruits and vegetables, fresh pastries, eggs, and lots of fun and delicious products for local suppliers like me. ;)
Visit their website or better yet, go in person! www.clarkfarmmarket.com
Summer’s Simple Pleasures
One of my favorite things to do in the summer is to pick berries, any kind. Strawberries arrive first, then raspberries, blueberries, blackberries. I have several kinds of berries growing in my back yard including different types of currants, elderberries, red gooseberries, and aronia berries. This is my playground. I love working in the garden, picking berries and eating them or cooking with them.
Red and Pink Currants, Raspberries, Blueberries, Strawberries….!
Fresh picked black raspberries from my garden!
A few years ago we planted a Marionberry bush. If you have never had Marionberries, they are delicious! I don’t have a picture of these for this post, but they were developed at Oregon State University in 1945, and mainly grow in the Northwest. To keep it simple, they are basically a cross between a blackberry, a loganberry and a raspberry. They are large, juicy, sweet blackberries. I look forward to them every summer now, and I am going to try to propagate my bush because one is just not enough!
Enjoy fresh berries, all sorts this summer. Pick them, eat them, put them in pancakes, muffins, donuts, pies, sauces, syrups drizzled over ice cream! Be creative! Summer is short, and the berries don’t last long.
Northampton Farmers Market
Starting tomorrow, April 24th, I’ll be selling at the Northampton Farmers Market on Gothic Street every Saturday from 8am to 1pm. I am very excited and looking forward to this opportunity to be outside and meet a lot of new people. The weather should be nice. If you are out that way stop by and say hello!
Tradition with a Twist: Not So Swedish, Swedish Meatballs
Swedish Meatballs Glazed with Mulled Cider with Cranberries Jam
Christmas Eve has always been one of my all time favorite holidays. My aunts, uncles, cousins and friends would get together for a Swedish-American smorgasbord consisting of traditional Swedish sausage (Korv) which my mother made, Swedish meatballs, Rice Pudding which Nana always made along with her “green jello salad,” turkey, ham, potatoes and many other delicious foods. We had all kinds of Christmas cookies with ice cream for dessert. My favorite is the Spritz, a Swedish almond butter cookie. (Mom would make them early and freeze them, but I would sneak some from the tins in the freezer. Ssh!) We would then play a game of Yankee Swap and sometimes other games before exchanging grabs and gifts.
Both my mother’s and my father’s families came from the southern tip of Sweden. Some were farmers, others fishermen, and “Sill” or pickled herring was a favorite appetizer. I learned to love sill as a young child. It was a special treat reserved for Christmas, and Dad would sneak some after we were all in bed. I would hear the sound of the jar being opened and come downstairs. I figured if he had to be so sneaky it must be good. It honestly doesn’t look very appealing - raw fish - but it really is delicious if you like things that are pickled. It wasn’t until years later that I learned my mother and my Aunt Lee would never eat it. They conveniently excused themselves to “serve dinner” just as it was being passed around. Who knew! We thought they were just being gracious hostesses! The truth always comes out! ;)
“Green Jello Salad”
The “green jello salad” is also a favorite though not necessarily Swedish, and one year it was my turn to bring it for Christmas Eve. (It is actually lime jello salad, but as kids we always called it the green jello salad.) By this time my husband and I had three sons and just getting everything together and out the door on time was quite a feat. So, it wasn’t until we were at Mom and Dad’s unloading the car and bringing in the food and gifts that I realized I forgot to bring the green jello! I thought my brother Eric would never forgive me! Of course he did, but I still have not heard the end of it and still am not allowed to bring the green jello to this day.
So, last year my sister, Margie, called me. “Hey, Rudie, you have to try this!” She was making Swedish meatballs for a get together and realized at the last minute that she had no gravy! So thinking fast she grabbed a jar of my Mulled Cider with Cranberries jam, warmed it up in a saucepan and poured it over the meatballs. She took it to the party and said the reaction was incredible. She said everyone loved them and ate them all! There were no leftovers. So I had to try it, and I have to say she is right. They are very tasty! If you’ve not tried it yet, it is a nice modification of the traditional Swedish meatballs. It also works with the Spiced Cranberry Apple jam.
This year with Covid things will be different, but I’m sure we’ll all manage to find a way to celebrate with family whether in person, on the phone or even with FaceTime. Times may have changed, but the love we have for our families and the message of Christmas hasn’t changed.
Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and He shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” True peace can only be found in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. May you find true peace in Him. John 3:16 May you have a Wonderful Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season!
Locally Grown, Locally Made, Locally Enjoyed
Beautiful red currants fresh from Nourse Farms in Whately, Mass are part of what makes our Red Currant Raspberry Blueberry Jam so special. There are several types of currant berries. We use red, white and pink in our jams. The red have a strong tart flavor that balances so well with raspberries and blueberries to create a burst of flavor in every bite! The white are used in our White Currant Pineberry Jam which is not currently being offered, but it will be available in the future. It combines white currants with a hybrid strawberry that has a uniquely delicate flavor. We have many flavors that although they are not being offered at this time mainly due to the small size of our company and maintaining a manageable inventory, we do plan on introducing them one by one as we are able.
Preparing currants for jam
Red Currants from Nourse Farms
Part of our mission statement is to support local farms which we do by purchasing most of our fruit from them. We also try to combine local fruit with fruit from other regions to create a variety of deliciously unique flavors, such as our Raspberry Mango Pineapple. We sell online and at local craft fairs. Soon we hope to be selling in local stores and farm stands.
Red Currant Raspberry Blueberry
I use my jams not only for breakfast, but I also like to cook with them. I will be posting some recipes that some of my customers have shared with me as well as some that I use myself. I hope you will try them out.
Beginnings
Sunrise over Plum Island.
One of my favorite childhood memories is going to Ipswich to visit my grandmother. She had a small cottage on Plum Island Sound, right behind the island. My aunt who lived down the street would call us in the morning and say, “The berries are ripe and ready for picking. Come pick some for your breakfast.” We would grab some containers and walk down the street to Aunt Edla and Uncle Carl’s house to pick blackberries, blueberries and raspberries from his many bushes. We’d go home and make muffins, pancakes and many other delicious treats with the berries we had just picked.
Mom learned how to make homemade jams from Aunt Edla, and Mom taught me. I loved making strawberry jam with my mom. We had our own little tradition. After we picked strawberries we would go home and wash, hull and slice enough for us both to have a bowl of cornflakes with strawberries on top. If we didn’t have any cornflakes, we would stop at the store on our way home, regardless of how we looked — our hands, faces and clothes smudged with dirt and stained red from the berries.
After we enjoyed the fruits of our labor with our special “snack,” we got right to work making strawberry jam. If you have ever made homemade jam you will know there is nothing like smelling that delicious aroma as the berries are cooking over the stove. Then, of course, we always had to sample some on a piece of fresh bread or buttered toast! Yum!! Once you’ve tasted homemade jam you never go back to the store brands.
I have been making jams and jellies for many years now. At first I made the usual strawberry, grape, peach or plum, but I began to experiment with different blends of fruits. I wanted to create flavors that one wouldn’t typically find at the grocery store. I usually gave them out as gifts, but my friends began to request them, and because the cost can get expensive for the fruit, jars and pectin I had to start charging a price for them.
One day, a few years ago, one of my brothers called me and asked if I would teach him how to make my jam. I asked him why, and he said when he visits Mom and Dad, he looks for my jam in the fridge for his English muffins. One thing led to another, and we decided to start a business together. As we sat enjoying our coffee and jam on toast at the table overlooking Plum Island, we planned our little company on a dinner napkin, and Plum Island Jams was born.
We’ve come along way since we’ve started a few years ago. It has been a slow process, but we have over 15 flavors to date. Because we are a very small company, and our resources are limited, we are only introducing 5 flavors to start. We’ve recently added two seasonal flavors and one very special rare flavor: Black Gooseberry, using tart and tasty fruit grown nearby at Russell Orchards in Ipswich.
We’ve finally decided on our label, which we are very happy with. We’ve been selling at craft fairs and hope to be in farmer’s markets soon. We are working towards our wholesale license and the ability to sell out of state, but for now, head over to our online store and check out the flavors we have to offer!
— Ruth, Keith and Omar.