Read on this month as we raid the winter pantry for the very best Northern Michigan jarred foods.
Next year’s agri-bounty is dormant under a thick blanket of snow, but lucky for us the folks at American Spoon jarred up Northern Michigan’s best essences to get us through the winter. Spoon’s tidy emporiums in Traverse City, Charlevoix, Petoskey and Harbor Springs offer a diverse and delectable spectrum of small-batch preserves, fruit butters, syrups and sweet toppings sourced through decades-old relationships with the region’s best farmers, foragers, beekeepers and sugar bushes. The Rashid family has a trove of James Beard, Sofi and Good Food awards to back their cred but the proof is in the preserves.
6 Local Jarred Foods We Love
American Spoon | Salted Maple Caramel + Chocolate Fudge Sauce
A dual shoutout to Spoon’s deservedly worshipped takes on caramel and chocolate sauce. Put them on citrus or sundaes or furtively scarf from an open fridge. (Dessert recipes below for both!)
Mabs’ | Atomic Mustard
This sweet and spicy legacy of a Polish Petoskey grandmother is what every thick-sliced smoked ham sandwich dreams about. Also a great base for barbecue glazes.
Brownwood Farms | Apple Riesling Salsa
Orchard and vine conspire in this delicious dip that wants to be dolloped on cheese boards or used to glaze bone-in pork chops.
Food for Thought | Blueberry Lavender Preserves
Cooked blueberries with a heady floral lift. Serve with vanilla gelato or pair with smoked duck breast.
Jampot | Wild Thimbleberry Jam
Forager monks comb the Keweenaw wilds for sweet, tangy thimbleberries then cook them down in copper pots in the monastery kitchen. Invest in some artisan butter and take your toast to new heights. (These monks have an incredible story. Read it.)
Pond Hill Farm | Corn Relish
From the Pond Hill family’s catalogue of vintage picklings, this sweet, tangy, subtly spiced relish is a choice sidecar for smoked fish or atop veggie burgers.
Easy Dessert Recipes with American Spoon
Citrus with Caramel and Vanilla Mascarpone
Ingredients
- 1⁄2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
- 1⁄4 cup mascarpone
- 1 teaspoon vanilla paste
- 1 ruby red grapefruit, peeled and cut into 1⁄4 inch wheels
- 2 navel oranges, peeled and cut into 1⁄4 inch wheels
- 1 blood orange, peeled and cut into 1⁄4 inch wheels
- American Spoon Salted Maple Caramel
- Pomegranate seeds, optional
Method
In a small mixing bowl whisk together yogurt, mascarpone and vanilla paste. Spoon vanilla mascarpone onto a serving platter, arrange citrus wheels and drizzle with warm caramel. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds, if desired.
Fudge-Kissed Clementines
Ingredients
- As many clementines as you want, pulled apart into segments
- 1 jar American Spoon Chocolate Fudge Sauce
Method
Dip peeled clementine segments halfway into gently warmed American Spoon Chocolate Fudge Sauce, place on wax paper. You’re welcome. Douse with a light snow of sea salt flakes, if you like.