Seville Orange Marmalade

Seville oranges are here again, much to the delight of any marmalade fanatics, myself certainly included.
So far I've produced two marmalades-- Classic Seville Orange Marmalade and Rich & Rummy Seville Marmalade. The former is just what it purports to be, a purists' marmalade, made using only seville oranges, sugar and lemon juice. The peel is thick-cut and the set is firm. It's bracing and sunshine-y and the perfect thing to wake up to.
What distiguishes the Rich & Rummy from its Classic counterpart is the substitution of half the sugar with dark brown sugar and a generous glug of dark rum to finish it off. The result is a richer, more mysterious preserve-- your nighttime marmalade, if you will. Although it's equally good on your morning toast, this is what I would use to fill crepes or to stir into cake batter, or just eat out of the jar in front of the open fridge in the middle of the night.
Act now! The sevilles aren't around for much longer...

Happy New Year

The Christmas madness has come and gone, and gladly there are still some jars of preserves left to brighten the winter months ahead. As much as we'd all like to deny it, there's still a lot of cold days and nights to come.
Happily, General 54 has decided to keep my preserves on the shelves past Christmas, so you can still pick up a jar there. Soon you should also be able to find Preservation Society wares at Dépanneur Le Pick Up! Stay tuned for that...
In the meantime, though, I will now DELIVER preserves! Just email you order (everything is currently $8/jar), and as long as you live in Mile End, Little Italy, the Plateau, or thereabouts, I will bring it to you as fast as I can. Now that's a deal, folks. Not to be missed.
And please check back soon for new flavours-- the citrus season is just about to kick in full force. I am very much looking forward to Sevilles, but there are also Cara Cara oranges, blood oranges, kumquats... It's too exciting. So don't be a stranger. Your morning toast needs me.

Cranberry-Apple Butter

I like traditional apple butter as much as the next guy, but when I was at the market the other day, I realized I hadn't done anything with cranberries yet and that they would add a new dimension to an old standard. I decided not to use any spices to let the tart flavour of the cranberries shine through. I used half Spartan and half Lobo apples from Rougemont and beautiful fresh cranberries from Saint-Louis-de-Blanford, simmering them in unpasteurized local apple cider. The resulting preserve is pure, clean apple and cranberry flavour with a beautiful scarlet colour. So autumnal!

Flemish Beauty Pear Jam w/ St-Germain

Some of my summer produce small-batch preserves have already sold out. Sorry!
Never fear, there are new jars showing up all the time, like this pear jam...


Québec isn't exactly known for its pears-- our cold weather and short growing season are not ideal for the fruit. Still, every year some Flemish Beauties turn up at the market. They're a small, heartier variety that can stand our climate, but they remain a fairly small crop, so it feels like you're really getting something special when you get your hands on some. A limited edition.
It follows that one should make something special with the pears, and I think I found them a pretty fine partner in St-Germain, a French liqueur flavoured with elderflowers. It really brings out the floral side of the pears, which are cut into chunks and suspended in fragrant jelly. Let's face it, this is a bit of a frou-frou jam-- more suited to scones and crème fraîche than to a peanut butter sandwich. Something to save for a cold winter day. So stock up.

Branding...

I finally have amazing new labels!

They basically look like the header of this website...

They were designed by my very talented friend Katie Bethune-Leamen.

As much as I think the labels rule, I think her talent is better represented by her non-jam-jar-label art. You can see some on her website: www.katiebethuneleamen.com

Preservation Society @ smart design mart

Next Saturday and Sunday, you can find Preservation Society preserves at the General 54/Local 23 table at Smart Design Mart.
This will be my first sale of the season, so nothing's sold out yet! First come...
It's going to be a pretty amazing weekend-- a cut above your standard craft fair. Definitely worth a visit. Please drop by and say hi...

Smart Design Mart
 5333 Casgrain, suite 602

Saturday, Nov. 28th
11am-9pm
Sunday, Nov. 29th
11am-5pm

Be there.

Introducing...

A society of one...

Seeking civilized folk who appreciate foods made with love and integrity, with a respect for tradition coupled with a curiosity that engenders healthy experimentation. In a jar.
When I was young, my grandparents' cellar was full of jars of produce they had "put up" in summer to last them through the winter.
Now neon yellow Heinz pickles and gummy 25% fruit jams dominate the supermarket, and no one has ever heard of chutney. Well, barely anyone.
Of course, we can't all be canning all the time anymore. It's simply not practical. People have busy lives, important things to do.
That's where I come in. I don't have anything else to do. And all I want to do is can. Maybe it's the survivalist in me. Or the glutton. I don't worry too much about it. I make jam, marmalade, chutney, and pickles.
Ingredients are local whenever possible and even sometimes handpicked. All my preserves are free of any artificial ingredients-- my jams, for instance, are made only with fruit, sugar and lemon juice. Heavy on the fruit, light on the sugar. People have been known to eat whole jars with a spoon, so watch out.
And pleased to meet you.