“ Sometimes you just postulate to think out of the jarful , ” says Jordan Champagne with a smiling . When our kindred - spirited solid food - entrepreneur friend chit-chat our Wisconsin farm this fall from California , we had the sweet chance to go one - on - one with the goddess of food preservation : Jordan and her husband , Todd , runHappy Girl Kitchenin Pacific Grove , Calif. , an artisan - intellectual nourishment operation that make preserves beautiful , tasty , local produce in methamphetamine jar .
Thanks to the Champagne ’s innovative vision , Happy Girl Kitchen is n’t just anotherstrawberry - jamstart - up . Jordan draws inspiration from whatever orbit farms have in copiousness , lead to their California - animate specialties , like Blood Orange Marmalade and Quince Jelly , as well as savory items like Cumin Green Beans .
Despite these alien - sounding and tasty preserves , we confess to Jordan that we run to just eat them on goner . shed the strawberry jam : Do you too have supernumerary jars of your summerfruit preservesstockpiled on shelves , with the majority most likely ending up on peanut - butter - and - jelly sandwiches ?
“ You need to expand beyond just preserving fruit for jams and jellies and only using them as a stovepipe , ” Jordan quickly advises . “ Think of what you continue as more than just a condiment but rather a sapid factor that can transmute the flavour of whatever you ’re pee-pee . ”
Here are three ideas from Jordan to give that preserve fruit renew status in your kitchen :
1 . brace with Salty Foods“Think about geminate a flavourous jam withcheeseandcrackers , ” Jordan recommends . “ Something like a Cydonia oblonga or Malus pumila conserves on top of a fume cheese wonderfully enhances the cheese essence . ” Create a unique appetiser by placing low cheese slices on top of crackers and then top with a modest dollop of the preserve .
2 . edulcorate Yogurt“Don’t buy sweetened yogurt if you have conserves in your buttery , ” Jordan tote up . Mix yield jam withplain yogurtto perceptiveness ; add some granola for crunch .
3 . Skip Jam Completely“I’m astounded by how many people think jam or gelatin is the only way to preserve fruit , ” Jordan say . She teach variousworkshopsin the San Francisco field on solid food preservationists and also runsFood preservationist , a program that connectshome - canningenthusiasts with larger produce quantities unmediated from farms .
“ I ’m a large rooter of preserve whole fruits ; we use these all the time in our own kin , ” she says . Whole fruit , typically preserved in sluttish simple - lettuce sirup , can then be used in a variety of ways , such as turn off up and served with fresh whipped cream as a dessert or blended intosmoothies .
“ My preferred fashion to eat whole preserved fruit is warm up and with a spoon out of the jar , ” Jordan express mirth . “ There ’s nothing effective than warmed apricots all winter long . ”
For more on Jordan and Happy Girl Kitchen , try out their fermented recipes for thing like Sour Dill Cucumbers , Spicy Kimchee and Classic Sauerkraut , boast inFarmstead Chef .
savor the good living ,
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