Did you know that Blue Chair Fruit offers jam and marmalade classes? Over the past few months, we've started offering classes at our kitchen, and we're loving the opportunity to connect with fellow jam-lovers. Nothing makes Rachel happier than having one of her students come to the markets to enthusiastically show her their latest jam creation!
These classes have been filling up quickly, especially now that we're getting into the heart of preserve-making season. We keep the classes at around seven people so that every student gets a lot of hands-on experience and the opportunity to ask Rachel a lot of jam questions. There are still a few spaces left in each of the classes for this weekend: Jam 101 on Friday, August 6th from 4-9 pm, and Flavor Construction: Strawberry Jam on Sunday, August 8th from 4-9 pm. For more information on classes, click through to our Classes page.
See you soon!
ETA: Ruh-roh! Turns out our sources were wrong and the FoodCrafters episode airs NEXT Monday, August 9. Sorry to be blasting y'all with misinformation.
Just a reminder that Rachel's FoodCrafters episode premiers this coming Monday, August 2nd on the Cooking Channel at 10p EST/ 7p Pacific! For more information, you can go to the FoodCrafters website.
We can't wait to watch the episode, and we hope you'll tune in, too!
Are we really moving into August this weekend? We can hardly believe it.
Appropriately, we have some great summer-y jams to bring with us to the markets this weekend! Berries, stone fruit... yum.
San Francisco Markets (Noe Valley 7/31, Palo Alto 8/1, Haight 8/4): Apricot & Dolly Plum Jam, Seville Orange Marmalade with Muscovado & Vanilla, Strawberry-Meyer Lemon Jam, Yellow Grapefruit Marmalade, Red Raspberry-Strawberry Jam, Pink Grapefruit-Blood Orange Marmalade with Campari, Nightfall Blackberry Jam
Oakland Markets (Grand Lake 7/31, Temescal 8/1): Apricot & Dolly Plum Jam, Seville Orange Marmalade with Muscovado & Vanilla, Strawberry-Meyer Lemon Jam, Yellow Grapefruit Marmalade, Red Raspberry-Strawberry Jam, Blood Orange-Quince Preserves with Rosewater, Nightfall Blackberry Jam
See you there!
We frequently have farmers' market customers ask us what to do with marmalade, beyond spreading it on toast and eating it with a spoon. Here's an application we love, that's a little off the beaten path but still pretty easy: use your favorite marmalade to glaze a simple cake!
The cake recipe here is simple enough -- its light, sweet flavor is the perfect base for any Blue Chair Fruit marmalade. We glazed this cake with our Lemon Marmalade with Lavender and Cardamom, and we think the subtle lavender notes, along with the slightly tart bitter lemon taste, really make this simple cake sing. You can strain out the citrus rinds (they make a lovely snack while you wait for the glaze to set), but we love the extra surprise kick they give.
Of course, the sky's the limit here. What about playing up the sophistication by using Bergamot Marmalade -- and then serving with Earl Grey tea? Or, if you're feeling sweeter, glaze with Strawberry-Meyer Lemon Marmalade.
It may be time to sneak back in the kitchen for another slice...
We're always excited when we get to bring our favorite summer jams to the markets. What can we say? We really love dark berries and stone fruit.
So get those taste buds warmed up! In the interest of helping you think about which yummy flavors you want to taste at this weekend's markets, here's a list of the flavors we'll be featuring this week.
San Francisco markets (Noe Valley 7/24, Palo Alto 7/25, Haight 7/28):
Golden Apricot Jam, English Marmalade, Nightfall Blackberry Jam, Lemon-Pink Grapefruit Marmalade, Strawberry-Rose Jam, Orange Pucker Citron Marmalade, Blood Orange-Quince Preserves, Strawberry-Meyer Lemon Marmalade
Oakland Markets (Grand Lake 7/24, Temescal 7/25):
Red Raspberry-Strawberry Jam, Silver Three-Fruit Marmalade, Blood Orange-Quince Preserves with Rose, English Marmalade, Golden Apricot Jam, Lemon-Pink Grapefruit Marmalade, Nightfall Blackberry Jam
As always, we're happy to take requests for jams and marmalades you just have to have. Just ask at the market, and we'll bring your favorite flavor the next week.
Can't wait to see your smiling faces!
Love this blog post from Blame it on the Food; check it out!
Check out the beautiful Strawberry Jam on French Toast our friend Zo enjoyed after her Blue Chair Fruit jam class this past Sunday! Our classes are fun, delicious, and educational! Sign up now!
We are so excited to see the first proofs of Rachel's gorgeous new cookbook! This two-year process has been extraordinarily fun and enriching, and we can't wait for you to see the book. We will be offering pre-orders for the book on our Blue Chair Boutique page soon... stay tuned!
In other news, we just went Bears lime picking at our friend Deborah's house a few days ago, and are in the midst of whipping up some fabulously delicious Coriander-Orange Marmalade. Secret ingredient? Limes! For another marmalade featuring this delicious fruit, check out our Silver Three-Fruit Marmalade, in which Deborah's limes are combined with our favorite Lisbon lemons and a touch of bergamot. Yum!
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!
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!
by Rachel,
December 30th, 2009 in
News
