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’ve never tried them and immediately had to go check out their website. A jar of maple cream sounds like heaven! I am a huge jam fan and one of the highlights of my Christmas is the Bonne Maman advent calendar. Keeps in me jam for most of the year!
I know it is total heresy for someone who grew up in New England to admit, but the only way I really like Maple is in syrup..
My brother lived in Petoskey in Michigan for a number of years and introduced me to American Spoon. I especially like the spiced pear conserve (pear, ginger, vanilla) and I think there’s a similarly-spiced compote offered around the winter holidays. So delicious!
Oooh, that pear conserve sounds delicious! They make granola as well..
Gosh! I haven’t thought of American Spoon in ages!
I’m not much of a preserves lover, though I do like Bonne Maman strawberry on a piece of decent thick white toast slathered in a good butter
You were cute back then.
You are cute now!
I tell myself I am not a preserves lover, but when presented with the good stuff, I am. Of course a big slab of carbs (toast, bread, crumpets, biscuits, scones, you name it) slathered with good butter is a wonderful thing..
I enjoy jellies and preserves and used to make my own, when we had big ancient rhubarb plants. Strawberry rhubarb, stored in the freezer. My grandma was the one for canning everything and I remember helping on jelly making day using her homegrown Concord grapes. What a lot of work, and then we’d never get the fresh jelly until last year’s jelly was gone from the root cellar.
I love rhubarb- I used to filch it and eat it out of our neighbors garden. They thought I was nuts.
My mom used to make preserves when I was a kid. It was wonderful. I especially remember the peach ones, not only because they were yummy but because we would get a bushel of peaches that were bruised so unfit for retail sale, and cut out the bruised parts. Which our dogs would beg for like it was filet mignon.
BTW- I love that you had a root cellar. We had a “cold cellar” which back in the day was the coal cellar before the heat was changed to Oil in the 40’s. Dad cleaned it up, put in shelving and storage bins and it became the place where we stored potatoes, apples, and preserves.
Which worked out well except for the year Dad decided to bottle home-made root beer. It was delicious- the ones that didn’t explode, that is.
I have made many types of jams and jellies over the years but particularly enjoy those prepared using native fruits, such as chokecherries, wild plums, and buffaloberries. The absolute best, so tangy. And I convince myself while smearing a bagel that there is nutritional value and antioxidants in every bite–and maybe there is? I don’t really know. Last year two friends made and gifted me lilac jelly, which was interesting but incredibly time-consuming to process I am told.
Those sound wonderful, and I am with you with them being chock full of antioxidants. And don’t forget fiber!
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.
Oh I wish more places did those teensy bottles. I wonder if they don’t because they’re so easy to pocket? One of the things I miss about New England is the berries- we had wild blackberries and raspberries growing in the woods around our house and they are unmatched.
Oh, I love NE wild black raspberries! When I would see wild brambles full of them, I become a kid again and I would always pick them. Did you know that they are native to eastern North Amereica. Weren’t we lucky. They have gone westward too.
I didn’t know that! I do know they were luscious. Better than anything you would get in a five-star restaurant.
Absolutely!
It really is one of the few things I truly miss about New England. I guess I also miss being 12. Somewhat.
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.
I haven’t ever had a curd other than lemon and I can’t think why, especially since I am dead central to citrus..
I am not diabetic but try to keep the sugar to a minimum- especially since at least in America it’s in practically everything..
It’s in the air!
It is around Sweet Lady Jane!
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
I try to do my part..
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 agree with you on the raspberry- by far my favorite, and no, I won’t kick Smuckers out of the pantry.
Tiptree is more known I think for marmalade than they are for anything. And is there anything better than a nice English Muffin with butter and jam? I am thinking no. Maybe a scone.
NO there is NOT. An English muffin is my sugar/butter delivery mechanism of choice. With good butter, of course — Plugra, Kerrygold etc. That butter lives on the counter (I’m one of “those” people) and sticks which are nice for baking since they have measurement markers are in the fridge.
I never put butter in the fridge. I’ll keep some in the freezer and take a stick out to defrost and use, but it otherwise stays on the counter. It gets funky food smells when stored in the fridge. And let’s get real- when I buy butter it gets eaten. Which means more English muffins, split with two forks. Cutting is for bagels.
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.
Raspberry is certainly a favorite in jam. In perfume? Not so much. But I’ve never really sought it out either.
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.
Ha! I make it in smaller batches because of course I AM going to eat it all — on a spoon, right out of the jar. And the issue with the “better” (?) store-bought lemon curd is it expires so quickly, you often have a week or thereabouts to eat it — I guess it’s all the eggs. Too much, too fast. Preserves can sit around for a month or two.
Lemon curd is so useful- if you’re having someone over for dinner you can use store bought lady fingers, lemon curd and raspberries to make a really good trifle. Of fill a pre-baked tart shell. Then cancel the guests and eat it all yourself.