Jay Hiebert - The Jelly Savant!
Ma Mere’s Maison
I create Jellies to taste deep in the Soul – to trigger sweet forgotten memories of how “grandmother’s” jelly tasted back in the day! My friend Shawn, a fellow vendor, calls me the Jelly Savant! I get tremendous satisfaction from creating quality products for my customers at farmers’ markets. I love to watch the reactions of my customers when tasting my jellies – particularly the reaction to the Crème de Banana as the flavor activates the taste buds with the invariable lifting of the head and closing of the eyes as a spontaneous “yummm that’s good” escapes! I laugh, as they are typically very suspicious as this in an unusual flavor to find at the Farmers’ Markets.
Mustang Grapes
I have been making Ma-Mere’s Maison jams and jellies for over ten years and full time for the last seven years. As a small family farmer, I realize that I need to differentiate my farm and products from other farmers to create a brand and build a loyal customer base. After several years of trying different products and ideas, I found that making jams and jellies was my sweet niche! I’m blessed to have the wild Mustang Grapes growing on my farm, and naturally it was the first jelly I produced. I’m also fortunate that the Mustang Grape is my lifelong favorite jelly. I must have eaten thousands of peanut butter and mustang grape jelly sandwiches growing up. My mother would pay me .25 cents per gallon to pick the grapes growing in the woods and ranches behind our house. Today, I still enjoy my PB&J’s, as they are a comfort food, and on a good day, I wash them down with an ice-cold glass of chocolate milk.
My Mother
My children and all my nieces and nephews call my mother, Ma-Mere. As I started this business with help and inspiration from her, I thought Ma-Mere’s Maison was the obvious name for the business. It really should have been La Maison de Ma-Mere, but we are in the U.S.. This translates roughly as my Grandmother’s Kitchen. We worked together in the beginning baking pies, soups, and other dishes before settling in on the jelly as the focus of my business. The inspiration behind the different flavors comes from different places. Some of my best-selling jams were originally pie recipes that I tweaked to make them work as a jam or jelly. Many of my customers will take my products and fill Pillsbury crescent rolls to create their own turnovers and pastries. Pretty cool, don’t you think?
Know Your Farmer
Knowing your Farmer is core to my belief of how to come to market. If you know your farmer, then you can trust the product. When you, the customers, know the growing philosophy and farming practices, you know the products are healthy because the farmer engages in sustainable practices without chemicals. My goal is to be able to grow all my fruits and vegetables to ensure that no chemicals are used.
My Inspirations
I am often asked what my inspiration for the different flavors is. I get suggestions from so many places…from customers, seeing a new fruit in the market, and reading books -cookbooks and others. In fact, many of my jams come from my experience baking pies. A nice easy way to enjoy the taste of your favorite pie is in a jar of jelly – just add the bread or pastry! Also, I try to think of how the different jams and jellies could be used as condiments in other cooking or grilling applications. The mustang grape for instance pairs wonderfully with barbeque as does the pineapple ginger or mango habanero with grilled fish, chicken, or pork.
My Dreams
It is my long-term objective to grow on my farm most of the fruits and vegetables and knowing the provenance and assurance of their quality and wholesomeness. I have dreams and plans to grow beyond jams and jellies into other fine specialty foods. To date, I grow the grapes, blackberries, dewberries, watermelons, and tomatoes. I have planted plums, persimmons, figs, loquats, and mayhaws that will be producing soon. Most other ingredients, such as peppers, are produced locally. Some fruits and vegetables do not grow locally, and I must purchase them, such as mangos, papayas and guavas. I am actively working on creating a network of suppliers that operate with similar growing philosophies as mine. Regardless of the source, I use only farm-to-table quality ingredients.
The Soul of my Products!
People always ask me about having my jams and jellies in supermarkets. I worked for many years in Sales and Marketing for the Coca-Cola Company in Europe and have a significant experience supplying the grocers’ channels with products and I understand the complexities of working with large retailers. At this point, I am enjoying being my own boss, making my own decisions. I currently reap the full rewards of my efforts. I make my jams and jellies in small batches with a lot of attention and care. As a result, sometimes there are slight variations in flavor, heat, or color due to the sweetness or ripeness of the fruits, or in the case of peppers – the heat due to temperature and rain conditions. This is the beauty of small artisanal batches made with the best available ingredients and alive with flavor and soul! I want to succeed and keep the soul of my products for as long as I can!