I somehow managed to stumble across on the interwebs a product that I hadn’t even thought of in years: American Spoon Preserves.
I like, but don’t often indulge in preserves. Doing so means that there is bread and butter in my life and I try to keep that to a minimum, because.. Well, let’s just say I live on a fault zone and leave it at that.
Little Me, at work at Dean and Deluca in the early 80’s
American Spoon started in Northern Michigan in 1982 and I tasted them a few years later when I worked at Dean & Deluca (I was three) and they were going to carry them. They were delicious and were quite the hit- even eclipsing some of the fancy French preserves D&D carried. Then I moved on from that job and that city and promptly forgot about them. Until the magic of Facebook bots arrived and somehow having thought of them or looked at them crosseyed they were in my feed. Since they were offering a holiday deal I figured what the heck. So I got four. Because moderation is something I have never heard of.
Red Raspberry is my favorite preserve in general. Bonne Maman or Tiptree are my go-to, but I would not kick Smuckers out of the kitchen if that was all there was. AS’s version is wonderful- almost as good as the raspberries I remember plucking in the woods in my hometown. The only let-down is consistency- I would like it to be a bit firmer, but I assume they are trying to keep from adding too much pectin.
Heirloom Blueberry has no such issue- either the fruits naturally have more pectin in them or they aren’t afraid to add it. The blueberries themselves are knock-it-out-of-the-park good. Just the right sweetness and the tartness of the skins. I think they might put some lemon juice in there too, but not enough where you go “Oh, lemon.” This one I will keep in my icebox.
Speaking of lemon, we get to the only lemon (pardon the pun) in the bunch: the Lemon Curd. I really love lemon curd, perhaps even more that fruits like blueberry or raspberry. So I was very disappointed with AS’s lemon curd- very eggy. Nigh unto unpleasantly so. The eggs have an unpleasant tinge to them. Almost as if they were powdered (not that I would know what those were like.) Bonne Maman is still the gold standard for store bought. My friend Sue’s home-made (with both Eureka and Meyer lemons) is the platinum.
Sour Cherry was if I remember correctly the one that sealed the deal as far as them being carried at Dean and Deluca: deliciously firm and tart Michigan Montmorency cherries with just enough sugar to take the edge off and a spritz of lemon to add a finishing snap. This is the one they’re best known for, I think, and deservedly so.
Now these aren’t cheap: around $14 a jar. But I would rather give that to a small concern that makes a superior product out of local produce in small batches out of ingredients I can pronounce than a bigger jar of something from a company owned by Dow Chemical or Johnson Wax. (It’s a dessert topping AND a floor wax!) They do on occasion do deals and I believe shipping is $10 whether you buy one or six jars since the (very well packed) shipping box holds 6. In Los Angeles, they are apparently carried at Surfas, the venerable chefs supply place that if I ever win Lotto I am going to back a Semi up to..
@user2571420815968 #Shimmer Floor Wax
Do you like preserves? Are you familiar with these? Have a recommendation? Make your own (in which case, can I move in? I’ll pop for the Plugra..) Let us know in the comments.
I purchased my bottles from American Spoon. Images are my iPhone, Pexels, and my friend Drew (via Facebook)
I am with you: love the idea of preserves/jams but at this stage of my existence they don’t generally live in my house. Except that the farm shop offers a brand that uses those tiny Bon Maman-ish jars you get in restaurants or hotels. My fave of their product line is rose and strawberry. In the summer you can pick your own raspberries at the farm shop’s farm. In any case, the brand you note sounds great. It’s too bad on the Lemon Curd though. I made blackberry jam once from the hedgerow fruit here but I prefer to use them in crumble. In the case of blackberries, I don’t even have to go to the farm shop as the vines are just round the corner.
Some years I go nuts & make jam, lemon curd, chutneys, pickles etc!
Jams aren’t a favourite though, diabetes put a stop to them. So I only eat a smear of jam with crunchy whole nut peanut butter on toast.
Curds though? Deelicious! Lemon, lime, raspberry, orange, you name it, all yum but I rarely buy. See diabetes above.
Marmalade? Dundee thick cut matured is my go to. Deep & bitter. I’m also keen on ginger marmalade.
This side of the pond we have aisles of preserves in the supermarket & even own brands are pretty good.
We don’t really get preserves here in Australia except in the very highfalutin stores and I’ve never been interested enough to bother BUT NOW! Thomas, you are a siren.
Portia xx
Raspberry preserves was always my favorite, though I like most fruit preserves to some degree or other. I never heard of American Spoon preserves or Tiptree. I do like Bonne Maman (a lot) and Smuckers. When I indulge, it’s with toasted and buttered Thomas’ Original English Muffins topped with preserves. So good!
I’ve never heard of this brand, Tom, but their raspberry preserves sound fantastic. That’s my favorite jam flavor, most commonly used in a warm toasted PB & J. Some perfumes use raspberry as a fragrance note, but that’s not as exciting to me yet. Maybe I just haven’t stumbled upon the right raspberry scent yet.
Oh lord, I eat SO much of this sort of thing, it’s my afternoon treat. I get Bonne Maman (and save the jars), Tiptree (especially Little Scarlet is incredible when I can find it), Stonewall Kitchen from Maine (all delicious), St. Dalfour cuz it’s easy to find… I’ve made my own lemon curd which frankly is far superior to store bought and quite easy.
I like all of those. I should make my own lemon curd since it so easy, but I’m lazy. That, and I’d eat it, doubtless telling myself that since it’s lem9n it’s diet food.