Blake Hill Preserves named finalist in two Good Food Award Categories

Vermont Business Magazine The 2023 US Good Food Award Finalists have just been announced and Blake Hill Preserves has once again been honored across multiple categories. Blake Hill’s NEWEST Botanical Shrub Collection has two Finalists in the Elixirs category with their Wild Mint Shrub and Spicy Jalepeño Shrub, and their Fresh Tomato Savory Jam is a Finalist in the Preserves category. Winners will be announced at the Good Food Awards Ceremony in Portland, Oregon, in April, 2023, and so there are many jam-making fingers crossed at the Windsor-based artisan jam company until then. 

Co-Owner and Executive Chef Vicky Allard shares her excitement with the Jam Team “We are once again just thrilled to be honored as a Finalist by the Good Food Foundation where recipients are recognized for not only creating a specialty food product that has superior taste, craftsmanship and flavor but who also follows responsible practices, honoring social and environmental responsibility.”  

Botanical Shrub’s continue to be Blake Hill’s most successful new product launch yet, including a 2022 Good Food Win for their Basil Blueberry Botanical Shrub.  Starting 2023 with Finalist nominations for both their Spicy Jalapeño and Wild Mint Shrubs, they are hoping to land another top spot this year in the Elixir category. “Our wild organic mint is harvested from the meadows surrounding Blake Hill Farm in Grafton, Vermont” says Vicky. “Within just a few hours of harvest we perform our first hot infusion with apple cider vinegar, and then a long cold infusion to capture the fresh, fragrant, herbal essence of this favorite botanical.  Finishing with a dash of cane sugar and lemon juice for the perfect balance of sweet and tart, this is a wonderful Shrub that preserves the essence of Vermont wild mint for you to enjoy year round wherever you may live.”

This unique Botanical Shrub Collection captures the essence of everything that is Blake Hill. At its very heart are wild herbs foraged from their meadows, and organic produce from local farms providing a special taste of terroir. What started as super small batches in Blake Hill’s Private Kitchen Batch series that had customers traveling from afar to secure a rare bottle, is now a formal collection of five botanically infused shrubs for customers to make incredible cocktails, salad dressings, desserts and more. “We are thrilled that each of the Shrubs we entered to the US Good Food Awards is a top scorer at their blind tasting, especially as we create these with our own special techniques that put flavor first, creating our shrubs from scratch with the finest fresh ingredients” says Vicky.

Blake Hill’s Savory & Spicy Jams Collection has also won many US Good Food Awards since its launch a few years ago.  With their Roasted Garlic Savory Jam and Jalepeño and Lime Spicy Jam as previous award winners, Blake Hill’s Fresh Tomato Savory Jam is now honored as a 2023 Finalist. This Jam features fresh seasonal tomatoes including Vermont grown organic heirloom cherry tomatoes from Honey Field Farm and a special blend of fresh Italian herbs to create this naturally sweet and savory tomato jam bursting with flavor.  A perfect accompaniment for cheese – especially classic cheddar and manchego, it is also a favorite jam to cook with as a delicious alternative to regular tomato sauce or ketchup, or as a base on a pizza because it keeps the crust crisp and provides maximum flavor with a perfect caramelization around the edge when baked – just delicious!

About Blake Hill Preserves: An English fruit preservatory in Vermont creating innovative sweet, savory and spicy jams, marmalades, condiments, pie fillings and shrubs for the modern pantry. They combine three generations of preserve-making skills with innovative yet super elegant flavors and the finest ingredients for health-conscious customers. Blake Hill has garnered multiple wins at the US Good Food Awards, the Specialty Food Association’s SOFIs and the World Marmalade Awards, and are available nationwide at specialty food stores, and served on the plate and cheese board at restaurants and other fine establishments. Blakehillpreserves.com 

About the Good Food Awards: The Good Food Foundation exists to celebrate, connect, empower and leverage the passionate and engaged, yet often overlooked, players in the food system who are driving towards tasty, authentic and responsible food in order to humanize and reform our American food culture. With over 2,000 entries each year, the competition is fierce for a Good Food Award. In each category, three food crafters from each region – North, South, East, West and Central – receive the honor each year. Look for the blue Good Food Awards seal on the shelves of exceptional grocers like the Good Food Merchants Collaborative who take care to stock them. Explore their standards and discover the winners. goodfoodfdn.org/

Windsor Vermont, January 9, 2023 – Blake Hill Preserves. www.blakehillpreserves.com