Good Times:
Kristen Cederquist leans in with her knife and stabs a chunk of blue cheese. It curls up and she slides it along a gluten-free cracker, then she pops open a jar of homemade fig jam, and smothers that onto her mini-appetizer.
One bite and she nods. It’s the nod of someone who knows food, and knows when it has been paired well with other items. I, on the other hand, have zero skills when it comes to pairing foods. So, I douse my cracker with carrot jam and brie. (Probably not a likely choice for some.) But it’s an insanely pleasant combination of flavors.
And for the next hour, Kristen, her mom Lynette Cederquist, and myself, gorge on fine cheeses, these flat, little crackers, and a quartet of exquisite jams, created by the Cederquist mom and daughter team. The pair divulges the story behind these tasty treats, and how what started as a Christmas gift morphed into a full-fledged business, with their jams being sold at Farmers’ Markets, locally-based Whole Foods stores, as well as our very own New Leaf Markets.
The Cederquist women are the brains and brawn behind Serendipity Saucy Spreads, Jams & Preserves. Back when the elder Cederquist was growing up, she used to make homemade jam with her mother and grandmother. The family tradition was passed down, and when Kristen was a child, one of her first “jam memories” was as a 5-year-old, plucking plums from trees, and squishing them into a bowl, with the aid of her grandmother. Who knew that they had an empire on their hands?
As the years went on, the women continued to make their jams for friends and family. Last year at Christmastime, they had 200 jam jars lined up on their kitchen table. It was then that Kristen’s boyfriend looked at them, then at the jam, and suggested that they put the stuff in jars to sell.
Photo from Serendipity Saucy Spreads