Quince & Apple

I’ll be honest. On first impression, we were slightly dubious about Quince & Apple preserves, not because of the taste (they’re delicious and unique), or their young owners, Matt and Clare Stoner Fehsenfeld, or even their production practices (small-batch preserves made by Matt himself)—but we found ourselves asking, “Where in the world do these ingredients come from?” With far-away sounding names like Shallot Confit with Red Wine, Orange Marmalade with Lemons, Figs and Black Tea, and Pear with Honey and Ginger, we had to wonder.

However, I’m pleased to report we had no reason to worry.

“The exact number of ingredients we source locally depends on the time of year,” says Clare. “During the late summer and fall, we source all of our pears and apples…from local orchards and try to stock up as many jars made with local fruit as we can to last into the winter. This year we made over 1000 jars using local fruit.” Strawberries from Cambridge, rosemary from Troy Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin-only cranberries.

“Whenever we can, we source ingredients locally. When we can’t, we try to work with small, local suppliers or directly with growers we trust,” says Clare. For oranges, lemons, shallots, spices and minor ingredients, they work with RE Golden Produce, a local family-owned business, to source from responsible growers in the U.S.; and for figs, they work directly with Valley Fig, a grower’s co-op out of California.

The couple’s high standards do not disappoint. Our favorites were the Orange Marmalade with Lemons and the (more local than we thought) Pear with Honey and Ginger. This year’s fall feature is Ground Cherry Chamomile, with ground cherries from Janesville and chamomile from Frontier Co-op in Iowa. Visit Quince & Apple’s website for where to buy or to order online: www.quinceandapple.com.