Grinning Jupiter preserves

Grinning Jupiter will bring a smile to your face—at least, that’s the hope of Ashley Savoy, maker of the delectable jams, jellies and other preserves that bear the name. “I’ve been making preserves forever,” she says, but it was around two years ago when she decided to make the leap to selling them professionally. They’ve proved a runaway success—her Etsy store has her shipping preserves around the country. Found locally at Brew-Ha-Ha, they regularly sell out.

Everything is made by hand with local ingredients from farmers markets or Savoy’s own garden, from the dozen varieties of pepper jelly to the peach-blueberry honey butter. She also makes sugar-free varieties, experiments with unusual combinations, like blackberry lemon-vanilla, and strives to keep her preserves healthy. “We have a tendency to eliminate everything about food that makes it nourishing,” she says. “Most commercial jellies lack anything that feeds the body—I want to keep it natural.”

And it doesn’t stop at jams and jellies—Savoy also whips up sweet syrups and marinades, and she’s working on a cookbook that she hopes will give people a better idea of how to make and use their own preserves. “You don’t just have to spread them on a biscuit,” she says. Preserves can add an extra dimension to many recipes—from meat marinades to dessert fillers. Check out her Etsy store by clicking here.