Fig Jam Returns!
After being out of stock for 7 months, fig jam is back! I think Single Tree Fig Jam is the most requested jam at the market. Our little fig tree really outdid herself this year. She gave us just over 100 pounds of figs, which equates to a lot of jam. We should have fig jam in stock for a while.
Picking figs is great fun. I’ve always thought it was like going on a treasure hunt. Fig leaves are pretty big, and Celeste figs are pretty small, so they tend to hid behind the leaves. To find them you have to examine each branch from every angle you can think of, and you will still miss some. I decided to celebrate the return of fig jam with an ad based on a treasure hunt. Since I knew I couldn’t do a very professional job, I went for goofy. It has pictures of me, the tree, the figs, and the jam. There is a sound track of me singing I song I wrote that equates the figs and jam to treasure. It turned out to be so goofy that a friend of mine told me I was brave to put it out there. But I had a lot of fun doing it and it got over 1,000 views on social media. You can see it on Facebook HERE.
And Pear Jam Returns!
July is a really busy month, because Lydia’s sand pears are ready for picking at the same time the figs are on. I didn’t even count the number of pears I harvested, but it was enough to make over 70 jars of jam. Every day for a month I picked fruit and made jam, all at the same time. Busy, busy, busy! But now that that’s done, it’s time to sell, sell, sell all of that inventory! This is actually one of my favorite times of the year because I can concentrate on just selling jam. And the pear jam is great this year. As one customer at the market declared when she tasted it, “Oh, that’s divine!”
Introducing Cinnamon/Peanut Granola!
Yes, there is a brand-new flavor in the Single Tree granola lineup!
I love all kinds of peanuts; dry roasted, boiled, chocolate covered, all kinds. I began wondering why I didn’t have granola that featured peanuts. After doing some research, I began making some test batches. The early batches were not good at all. I worked with the recipes and improved them, but none of them seemed to be a wonderful Single Tree granola. Then I had the idea of pairing peanuts with cinnamon. The first try was good, but the flavor wasn’t popping like it should. Did it need raisins or some other kind of dried fruit? Deciding against the fruit, I made another set of adjustments, and this time I nailed it. The flavor of peanuts that was not overpowering, popping with cinnamon, and sweetened just right. But would everyone else like it? I needed a test group. I told my daughter Mary about it and she suggested I bring a bunch of samples to her office to let her team taste it. Great idea! I prepared 20 samples and the next day I headed to her office. When I got there, there was a whole roomful of people waiting for me. We passed out the samples, and I waited for the verdict. It was unanimous: everyone loved it! That Saturday it went to the market, and it was the best-selling flavor of the day. Cinnamon/peanut granola is here to stay, and available online.
Fruits from the garden
Our Spring garden this year included cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, and a new variety of pole beans. All of our plantings yielded more than we could eat, so I made some garlic dills and tomato jam as I have done in the past. But what to do with all those beans? Pickle them, of course! I researched different recipes and created one that included dill, garlic, and red pepper flakes. I named them Dilly Beans. I don’t usually make spicy hot things, but I thought I might venture that direction with the beans. They turned out to be hotter than I expected, but I prepared some samples and took them to the market to see whether or not they would sell. As I suspected, a lot of shoppers really liked them, and they all sold in just 2 markets. Someday I might grow a really big garden and make tons of this stuff. The dilly beans were a fun experiment.
In Other News…
- I’ll be in and out of in town the first half of September. I’ll miss the first 2 markets, and the online store will be closed on some days. But please keep checking back. We’ll be open every day I am available to fill orders.
- Right now, fig, pear, and grapefruit jam are available. Unless I have a source of Fall fruit (apples or other) it will probably be November before I will have any new flavors. When the citrus fruits come on, I enter another very busy time of jam-making!
- I have a number of customers now that continue to place orders and come see me at the market. Whether you are a repeat customer or you have tried only one item, I appreciate you. Without you, none of this would be possible.
Would you like to receive an email notification when we have new content? Click HERE to subscribe.
Click here to unsubscribe