Mrs. Picky Fanicky's NC Marmalades & Chutneys

Mrs. Picky Fanicky's is a small, family owned and operated business in rural North Carolina that grew out of numerous blue ribbons at the NC State Fair for their scrumptious all-natural marmalades and chutneys made from family recipes. Friends and family kept devouring these old-fashioned Southern preserves almost as fast as Miss Jody could make them, and finally convinced her to get her creations packaged for commercial sale -- and boy, am I glad she did, because this stuff is GOOD! Her North Carolina Chutney is an old style peach and apple chutney that's savory, subtly exotic and sublimely spiced with a zesty peppery finish. It's the perfect complement to pretty much any meat or poultry as a side dish or relish, and is also wonderful with salmon or tuna steaks. I like to spoon some of this apple peach chutney over softened cream cheese for a quick appetizer with crackers, and it's also tasty when combined with sour cream as a dip for raw veggies and apple or pear wedges. You can even mix it into cooked rice for a fancy side dish, or stir it into chicken salad for gourmet results. The possibilities are nearly endless for this versatile and delicious condiment!

Another treat from Mrs. Picky Fanicky is her Apple Pie MmmMarmalade, so named because you'll go "Mmmmmm!" with pleasure when you taste this amazing apple marmalade. Although she won't reveal her secret blend of apple pie spices, I'm pretty sure I taste cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and maybe even a touch of allspice and cardamom. It doesn't matter, whatever her secret is, it's definitely a winner because it's extremely difficult NOT to eat an entire jar of Apple Pie MmmMarmalade in one sitting. In addition to enjoying it "straight", it's heavenly as a warm or cold topping for vanilla ice cream as well as on biscuits, toast, bagels, pancakes, waffles, french toast, bread pudding, and more. Stir it into oatmeal for a delicious hot breakfast your kids will love. Serve it with pork chops and other savory meat dishes as a sweet counterpoint to a hearty entree. Add it to poultry stuffing to add subtle autumn flavor. In short, Mrs. Picky Fanicky's Apple Pie MmmMarmalade is not just for dessert!

I asked Miss Jody to tell me a bit more about how she got started making such wonderful marmalades and chutneys, and this is what she wrote:

"I spent many years growing gardens and preserving vegetables as well as making marmalades. Every time we traveled I would study other products, constantly reading labels, and I had a passion for North Carolina apples and North Carolina Peaches, plus a little gift of gab. My youngest son is in a wheelchair but he can work at the kitchen sink washing jars and cleaning fruits or vegetables for preserving. We started entering the State Fair with our pickles, chutneys and marmalades. Well, after winning numerous Best of Show awards and blue ribbons, someone came to me and said, 'you ought to bottle that stuff and sell it. The NC Dept of Agriculture will help you.' Well one thing led to another, next thing we were at Bobbee's Bottling [a local copacker] having large batches made and hauling it home. My kids named the marmalade 'MmmMarmalade' cause it was so good, and the response has been the same from food fairs and taste samplings. Both our products are traditions with time-tested recipes, no preservatives, and we laugh at 'refrigerate after opening' [on the label], cause it's foolish to cool an empty jar. Our logo, 'To Be Sure..That's Good Eatin..' and my company name is a reflection of me, Mrs Picky Fanicky, because after all I am Picky..."

Mrs. Picky Fanicky's marmalade and chutney are all-natural, very low in sodium, and come with FREE "Recipe Ideas" cards -- and they're currently on sale at the Carolina Sauce Company online store.

Zestfully yours,
Gloria