What's Jammin...
2/2/2021
Good Times Santa Cruz
Tabitha Stroup Talks Product Discovery and Highlighting Local Foods
Ever the flavor sorceress with local harvests and eccentric seasonings, Friend in Cheeses Jam Co. chef and founder Tabitha Stroup recently scored another Good Food Award for her latest must-have condiment, the outrageous Smokin’ Padron Jam.
12/3/15
2015 Holiday Gift Guide: Tasty Tidbits for the Foodie in Your Life
12/1/15
Our jams were the start of an inspiration by a competitor in the movie Barista just released in December 2015...while it may not be the best press coverage for us we are still elated to be on the big screen! If ever you find our jams not handling their position well at a store...reach out to us. Our jams Rock! and are amazing...and we stand behind our product.
The product he is holding is our Salted Watermelon Jelly that was not set well...we used to use our own in house pectin...thinking artisanlly and keeping within the local status, we quickly learned we needed to use a commercial pectin and we found one that met our standards. Hence we no longer have loose jellies!
The product he is referring to is our Strawberry Tarragon Conserve (not tarragon plum) which is a loose drizzling conserve meant to drizzle on fresh farmed cheeses...not sure what he meant by crystallizing as we have never seen our Strawberry Tarragon crystalize...There isn't enough sugar in it to do so...
Needless to say we recommend seeing this movie in its entirety! It is a great peek into the barista sub-culture... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4651932/
11/4/2015
Here is a list of the Finalists for 2016!
6/24/15
Thank you Wall Street Journal for highlighting our
Drought Responsible Product Line in your July 24th article,
Eco-Conscious Preserves, Mail Order Brisket and Nutty Spreads! It was an honor, and we are thrilled the message about eating with your environmentally conscious mind as well as palate is getting out. It's such an important message to us here at the Jam Lab.
11/30/15
The only person to win one of our Local Hero awards all four years that we’ve held them is Tabitha Stroup of Friend in Cheeses Jam Co., and while slightly astounded, the wildly talented jam maker is never at a loss for words: “It feels badass. It tickles and amazes me. It will never get old to have this kind of recognition. It deeply means so much to me.”
Edible Monterey Local Hero! Yippee!!
11/30/14
“It’s beyond amazing,” beams Tabitha Stroup, on learning she’d been voted best food artisan for the second year in a row. “I’m working about 80 hours a week with my head down, so when something like this happens, it makes me stop and realize I must be doing what I’m supposed to be doing.”
Stroup took her tasty jams and condiments national last year and they’re currently available in 20 states. She also started selling in large 4-pound containers to bars and restaurants to reduce the ecological impact of jam jars—now made with all recycled glass. With an eye on the environment, she’s also switching over to new eco-friendly FiberStone labels, made with no paper or water usage.
As for new flavors, last fall she debuted Pisco Pear Butter, made with French butter pears, candied ginger, nutmeg, pepper and a shot of Peruvian pisco. In 2014 she plans to release a new Kumquat Shrub, crafted with whole candied kumquats, bay leaf and Meyer lemons— perfect as a cocktail base, meat glaze or garnish on cheese trays.
6/27/14
Emeryville, Calif. (June 27, 2014) – On Wednesday, July 2, Whole Foods Market shoppers will help fund 40 grants for local food and body care product makers based in Northern California and Reno to develop their business – one for each of the region’s 40 stores. This is the first time the company has implemented a grant program. Stores will fund the grants by donating five percent of the day’s total sales, and Bay Area microlending nonprofit Working Solutions will administer them. - See more at: http://media.wholefoodsmarket.com/news/foodmaker-grant-winners#sthash.0QWb7yt6.dpuf
11/30/13
Tabitha Stroup of Friend In Cheeses Jam Co. was voted best food artisan.
“I’m super honored, tripped out and blown away,” says the creative jam and condiment maker. “I think the attraction for the public is that I am guided by Mother Nature and believe in representing, protecting and supporting what comes from this region.”
Stroup has been a professional chef for 22 years, including a stint at the now-closed Theo’s in Soquel—a garden restaurant that was ahead of its time. She started her Santa Cruz-based company just two years ago and has gained a loyal following for amazing flavors that include Forbidden Fruit Marmalade spiced up with a hint of ghost chile and Salted Watermelon.