Homebased Food Products - Jam by Hand


This morning I tagged along with my wife to a craft fair sponsored by the High School Band Booster Club.  The craft fair was pretty typical with a mixture of handmade, handsewn, and bake sale items combined with some items that appeared to be mass produced crafts that pushed the borders of what I personally consider "craft". 

While walking through the cafeteria we ran across a booth selling homemade jam.  I tried a sample of the Strawberry Lemon Poppyseed Jam that was spread on a Ritz cracker. The jam was excellent, so I purchased some.

I have written previous articles about Cottage Food Laws, so my discovery later on that the jam was made in a home kitchen that has not been inspected by the Michigan Department of Agriculture was an interesting surprise. Just as the law requires, the container had a label explaining the details.

It's good see entrepreneurs taking advantage of the rules and regulations that have helped many wannabe food producers get started. Many small businesses grew into medium sized businesses by starting small and growing by word-of-mouth.

Later on I learned that Jam by Hand is made with Michigan Made Pioneer brand sugar, which is an additional bonus for us because we firmly believe in buying products that are produced as close to home as possible. 

You can read more about Jam by Hand on Facebook and on the Jam by Hand blog on Blogger. To read more about Michigan's cottage food laws visit this page on Michigan.gov.

I found this How to Make Small Batch Strawberry Jam video on You Tube: