We handcraft artisan preserves up here in Madison, WI. And when we say handcrafted, we mean we’re actually in the kitchen slicing, dicing and caramelizing until all hours of the night. We carefully test each step of the process, tasting and tweaking to ensure each batch is up to our exacting standards. This artisan-centered approach allows us to always use the highest quality fresh produce, adjusting for the differences in season and variety. Enjoy!
Chow.com, a national food blog, files us under "stuff we want to eat right now” and TastingTable.com says, "These not-too-sugary jams just may become the secret ingredient in your home cooking." Readymade.com calls our preserves "artisanal and intriguing" and featured them in an online gift guide. Most importantly, our customers consistently tell us they love our preserves and they’ve never had anything like them.
Our preserves are the perfect pairing to Wisconsin's best artisanal cheese. Fig complements Gouda, Chevre, or a mellow bleu, Marmalade counterpoints a sharp Asiago, and Pear is luscious with a triple-creme Brie. Shallot is a natural with meats, veggies and Malbecs. Or pair with a strong bleu or salty Parmesan. Also eat with breakfast pastries, spread on sandwiches, drizzled over ice cream and mixed into yogurt. Or just dig in with a spoon. More ideas
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Our Company
At Quince and Apple, we handcraft small-batch preserves up here in Madison, WI. We’re a husband and wife team, and our company is our passion, embodied. Clare’s the business lady – she runs the company and creates a space for Matt, the chef, to do his thing. He’s what we call the Confiseur, our favorite term for an artisan preserves maker. Our whole process is centered in his culinary vision. Each recipe we create is a product of his experimentation, and then undergoes rounds and rounds of scrutiny from Clare’s demanding palate before making it to the production process.
Throughout the year, we make hundreds of small batches from fresh produce that varies in shape, size and varietal. Our challenge is to create a truly excellent preserve that is both consistent and at the same time showcases the myriad flavors of each individual fruit. The keystone to our unique approach is the chef-centered process. Matt approaches each batch separately, adjusting his technique or even the ratio of ingredients to achieve his vision for the perfect preserve. Each pot is tasted, poked, stirred and tweaked until it provides maximum levels of satisfaction for us, and, we hope, for you. Our taste aesthetic is balance, sophistication and innovation. We have a Midwestern sensibility and our goal is to create new and complex recipes that remain rooted in fruit and have a deep integration of flavors. Sugar, in particular, is kept at a minimum to allow for a subtler preserve and to help showcase the centerpiece ingredients.
Part of the reason we were motivated to make preserves is that we’re in love with our home state of Wisconsin and its amazing cheeses, which are favorites when it comes to preserve pairings. We’re also situated in the middle of a bounty of local farms, which gather weekly at Madison’s renowned Farmers Market, the biggest in the country. We maintain a variety of year-round flavors, sourced locally whenever possible. And, though our snowy state’s growing season is short, we produce select limited-edition preserves jarred at the height of the season, stockpiling the flavors of summer for use throughout the year. Doesn’t everyone need a spot of winter brightening in the form of locally-grown strawberries in January? We would think so.