Jamming Philosophy
I have been fascinated with jam-making since I was a little girl when my sister and I helped my mother pick tiny wild strawberries in the woods behind our house and turn them into freezer jam. It seemed like magic to open a jar in the winter and be able to taste summer once again.
These early experiences led to a life in food and I have since worked as a cook, a baker, a farmer, a produce delivery driver and food cart owner. I learned a lot along the way and it all seems to lead to my current work as a preserve maker. The epiphany happened during the summer of 2003. I was working on a farm for the summer, cooking lunch and dinner for the farmers and their crew. I had been experimenting with canning for several years but it was during this time on the the farm that my passion really took off. I remember one night we were all sitting at the picnic table lounging in the rapidly cooling evening air. I was talking about my plans to head back to the kitchen to finish a canning project. This, after having already spent all day in the steamy kitchen. I thought, "If I love it this much, maybe I should do it for a living."
In addition to creating tasty preserves, I am also an avid photographer. All images on this website, except where noted, were taken by me.
— Lee Davenport
My jamming philosophy I buy local ingredients whenever possible. I'd like to be 100% organic but if I can get local apricots that aren't organic, I'll take those over organic apricots shipped from California.
I do use organic sugar and lemon juice. I also grow, u-pick and wild forage as much fruit as possible. I like to have a hand in the process from start to finish and this helps me bring the highest quality preserves to you.
While I do prefer using local ingredients, a life without passion fruit, or
other exotic ingredients, every now and again seems awfully sad to me.
I would like to continue preserving year-round without resorting to
frozen fruit so I will also be making some marmalades in winter,
including grapefruit, of course!
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It all begins with the fruit. After working in the restaurant business in many capacities over the years, I have met many farmers. I know who has the best fruit and what time of year it's available. I shop at 3-4 farmers' markets during the week, visit farms for u-pick opportunities. I also wild gather unusual fruits like mayapples and elderberries. All the fruit is prepped by hand (and sometimes a fork!) |
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"What IS it that makes your preserves so good?" one friend asked after tasting my apricot preserves. Most people are still sleeping when the last of the apricots are sold out at market. Many people don't even know there ARE local apricots. Apricots have become my favorite and the years of feeding farmer Jim Barnard crepes at market when I ran the food cart have paid off because now he's always sure to save some for me. |
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I make all of my products in a licensed, commercial kitchen. My preserves are handcrafted in small batches in old-fashioned copper pots that allow them to cook down quickly thus preserving the fresh fruit flavor. I use commercial pectin rarely because this allows more control of how much sugar I need to add. As a result, all of my preserves contain much less sugar than store-bought. They also have a softer set which makes them perfect for pouring over pancakes or stirring into plain yogurt for a healthy treat. |
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I'm always looking for new ingredients and interesting flavor combinations. I make classic flavors like blueberry and raspberry that are perfect for PB&J's but love to experiment with new flavors like raspberry lemon verbena, tomato jam and caramel apple sauce. |
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At the end of the day, nothing makes me happier than looking at the jewel-like jars all in a row. Thank you for letting me share my passion with you! |
