Blue Chair Fruit

The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook is nearly finished…

Rachel — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:06:59 +0000

Wow - it's been quite a year! But we are delighted to announce that Rachel's book is nearly completed. It has been a fabulous and fulfilling process, and we can't wait to see the first samples from the printer! For all of you who are excited to see Rachel's book, we will soon be posting some sneak previews on our site, and will also be showing off our new sales blads (booklet-like promo samples) at our farmers' market stands and at our bi-weekly pop-up market stands. The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook will be released nationally on September 14th. Please stay tuned for more news on this monumental work on jam and marmalade!

Blue Chair Fruit Starting at Thursday Marin Farmers’ Market!

Rachel — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 04:21:14 +0000

Our days without a market in Marin are now over, thanks to the Marin Farmers' Market Association's exciting decision to include us as a vendor at their Thursday San Rafael farmers' market! We will be selling at this market, one of Northern California's best, every other week starting January 14th. To find out dates when we will be there in the future, please visit our Where to Find Us page!

Our Holiday Favorites are…

Rachel — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:12:22 +0000

Black Fig Jam with Almond, Citron, & Clove; Concord Grape & Damson Jam; Early Girl Tomato & Damson Jam; Strawberry-Marsala Jam with Rosemary; Apricot Jam with Candied Yuzu & Bay; Lemon & Pink Grapefruit Marmalade; Seville Orange Marmalade with Vanilla & Muscovado; and Bergamot Marmalade. They make perfect gifts!!

Pear & Quince Marmalade Just Posted!

Rachel — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:15:05 +0000

We just posted our Pear & Quince Marmalade in our online store, and it's a real beauty! We had so much fun making it, and think it might just possibly be the most beautiful marmalade of all time! Shreds of quince and thin pear slices, floating in a shimmering dark red jelly spiced with vanilla bean and star anise - eat it and weep!

Marmalade Watch 11/18 + Thanksgiving News

Rachel — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:49:21 +0000

We have been having a great time at our farmers' markets these past few weeks, and are busy bringing on some fabulous new staff at our markets (new About Us profiles coming soon)! We are also loving Fall here at the Blue Chair Fruit kitchen, where we are in the process of making our Quince-Rose Geranium Marmalade and a pear and quince marmalade! Also in the works: a pear and dried fig conserve with rosemary and black pepper! We also just posted our phenomenally yummy Concord Grape & Vanilla Jam and our Plummy Meyer Lemon Marmalade - our very last early Fall preserves!

We will also be doing several jam and marmalade tastings around San Francisco and the East Bay over the next several days, in addition to our normal farmers' market schedule. We will be offering our special Thanksgiving and yuletide flavors, in addition to limited-quantity flavors. For details, please see our Where to Find Us page. We hope to see you soon!

Fruit Watch 11/2: Pears, Quinces and Crabapples

Rachel — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:10:16 +0000

We had a fantastic weekend up in Mendocino, and made sure to stop at The Apple Farm in Philo on the way! While there, we sampled a number of excellent varieties, and came home with some gorgeous Flemish Beauty pears, tiny red crabapples, and two types of quince. We also sampled several excellent apples, including Northern Spy, Sierra Beauty, Philo Gold, and Fuji. We love them all, and it's so fun to taste them side by side, because they are so different from each other! We can't wait to get going on some new flavors...

Fruit Watch 10/29: Quince and Concord Grapes

Rachel — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 17:06:47 +0000

We just got the most gorgeous quince we've ever seen, straight from Full Belly Farm! They are perfect-looking and pale green-yellow, just the way quinces should be! We are excited to make both quince marmalade and quince-pear preserves with them, and will be sure to keep you posted...

We are bidding adieu to our damsons this week with a final batch of our Concord Grape & Damson Jam - one of our Fall favorites! We're also at work on another grape flavor; stay tuned!

Fruit Watch 10/20 + Noe Valley Street Fair

Rachel — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:21:46 +0000

Wow - the seasons are really changing right now! In another week or two, we will be in full late-Fall swing, with pears, pomegranates, cranberries, and quinces - but right now, we are still finishing up our beloved early-Fall fruits! This week, it's tomatoes, and we will be making both more of our Early Girl Tomato & Damson Jam, which we absolutely love for the holidays, and a tomato conserve. We're also on our final batch of Concord grapes for the year... stay tuned!

In other news, the Noe Valley Street Fair is this Saturday, and we are excited to participate! We will be there from 8am to 5pm offering tastes and jars for sale. Please drop by and say hello!

Jam Watch 10/13: Damson and Concord Grape

Rachel — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 03:14:26 +0000

The air has just become chillier and the days are getting shorter - and we are having a great time at the Blue Chair Fruit kitchen! This is our favorite time of year for preserving, because the flavors are so rich and there is such a variety of different types of fruits to choose from. At the top of our list this year are Concord grapes and Damsons. Each year, we do something a bit different with these excellent fruits, and this year's choices are definite winners! For our Concord Grape & Damson Jam, we use mostly grapes, and add a touch of warmth to the jam with some spices and lemon zest. Our plain Damson Jam is yummy, too, and very tart. If you love Fall fruits, these two jams make a stunning pair!

Fruit Watch 10/5: Black Figs, Concord Grapes, Damsons & Elephant Heart Plums

Rachel — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 18:46:00 +0000

Wow - this year's Black Mission Figs just keep getting better and better! We made one of the best fig jams we've ever tasted with them recently, and just posted it in our boutique: Black Fig Jam with Almond, Citron & Clove. This is one fig jam that's not to be missed!

Concord Grapes are among the all-time best jam fruits, though most of us know them only in Concord grape jelly from the supermarket. Blue Chair Fruit loves old-fashioned Concord grape pie, and our Concord grape jams capture the same spirit! When making jam with these flavorful grapes, we leave the skins in, giving the jam a very special texture and brilliant flavor. Look for our first Concord jams of the season soon!

Also this week, we continue to make the most of our recent crop of damsons. We are excited for our Concord Grape & Damson Jam, which we will be releasing by next Tuesday. Also in the next few days is our final batch of Elephant Heart plums, which we are excited to make into an extra-special early October jam. Stay tuned for flavor details; to learn of new flavors as we post them, please follow us on Twitter at the link below!