Help Ann in a Jam Get Started!
Donation protected
Ever since I was a little girl I have loved cooking. I was fortunate growing up to have parents who encouraged this interest and as soon as I was big enough to hold a wooden spoon, I was cooking meals for my family. My stepmother was a patient teacher and from her I learned how to bake. I spent a good deal of my childhood in the kitchen.
Attending culinary school was a natural step for me. I earned a Culinary Arts degree at Madison Area Techincal College and later was a teaching assistant in their culinary program. During this time I was working in a number of restaurants and soaking in everything I could learn from my teachers and coworkers. My restaurant career was ended by arthritis in my hands and I have worked in business administration ever since. Through it all I have never lost my love for flavor profiles and cooking.
A few years ago my husband’s grandmother passed away and she willed me her canning pot. At the time I had never canned before, but I guess she knew something that I didn't. I started with something simple: making apple butter for my family members. Next, I branched out into jellies and jams. Pickling soon followed. A new world of cooking had opened up to me and I was falling in love all over again.
Canning has given me a new way to enjoy cooking. I am rarely more happy and at peace then when I am stirring a pot full of fruit and sugar and praying to the food gods that it will gel. Making jam has given me a new way to spend time with my daughter by getting her involved as my helper and sharing (and hopefully passing down) something that has been a lifelong passion of mine.
Last year, I entered some items in my local agricultural fair and to my surprise one of the jars won a Best of Show award. I was thrilled! Shortly after that my mother-in-law suggested that I sell my jams which brings me to this request...
I am asking for funding to help get this project started. I want to make delicious and unusual jams, jellies and pickles using as many local ingredients as possible. My goal and mission is to preserve the wonderful flavors of our growing season for people to enjoy all year round and create flavor combinations that go beyond the boundaries of toast. My plan is to sell my products at local farmers markets to begin and see where it goes from there. I have partnered with some local farmers so that I can have the best and freshest ingredients possible. Unfortunately for me, jars and ingredients to build up my inventory cost a little more than I can put together right now. As humbling as it is, I am asking for your help to get my dream going.
Attending culinary school was a natural step for me. I earned a Culinary Arts degree at Madison Area Techincal College and later was a teaching assistant in their culinary program. During this time I was working in a number of restaurants and soaking in everything I could learn from my teachers and coworkers. My restaurant career was ended by arthritis in my hands and I have worked in business administration ever since. Through it all I have never lost my love for flavor profiles and cooking.
A few years ago my husband’s grandmother passed away and she willed me her canning pot. At the time I had never canned before, but I guess she knew something that I didn't. I started with something simple: making apple butter for my family members. Next, I branched out into jellies and jams. Pickling soon followed. A new world of cooking had opened up to me and I was falling in love all over again.
Canning has given me a new way to enjoy cooking. I am rarely more happy and at peace then when I am stirring a pot full of fruit and sugar and praying to the food gods that it will gel. Making jam has given me a new way to spend time with my daughter by getting her involved as my helper and sharing (and hopefully passing down) something that has been a lifelong passion of mine.
Last year, I entered some items in my local agricultural fair and to my surprise one of the jars won a Best of Show award. I was thrilled! Shortly after that my mother-in-law suggested that I sell my jams which brings me to this request...
I am asking for funding to help get this project started. I want to make delicious and unusual jams, jellies and pickles using as many local ingredients as possible. My goal and mission is to preserve the wonderful flavors of our growing season for people to enjoy all year round and create flavor combinations that go beyond the boundaries of toast. My plan is to sell my products at local farmers markets to begin and see where it goes from there. I have partnered with some local farmers so that I can have the best and freshest ingredients possible. Unfortunately for me, jars and ingredients to build up my inventory cost a little more than I can put together right now. As humbling as it is, I am asking for your help to get my dream going.
Organiser
Ann Podlich McGrath
Organiser
