Today we’d like to introduce you to Ruth Taylor.
Hi Ruth, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Ruth started making jam for her family many years ago, particularly strawberry. As a frequent visitor to local farmers’ markets, Ruth needed to use excess produce and developed recipes using combinations of fruit to take care of excess purchases. She gifted friends with excess jam and they would return their jars for more and encouraged her to sell jam. Mrs. Ruth’s first retail customer is La Farm Bakery. Ruth would smuggle her jam in a Tupperware container to enjoy with their wonderful bread. When she confessed, they said, “Bring us some!” Sixteen years later, they are still a wonderful customer! Thank you, LaFarm Bakery!
Mrs. Ruth’s is all about loving and caring for people through food. We cook because we love people and want them to have good food, even if we don’t know them. Food preservation is an artistic expression.
As a child in Appalachia, Mrs. Ruth grew up loving people through food. Her earliest cooking memories go back to creating food for celebrations and church/school bake sales. It is simple, if you love someone, you cook good food for them. Through cooking for bake sales, Mrs. Ruth learned that you make the food for those you don’t know in the same way you do for your family and friends – quality preparation and cooked with lots of love. Those early childhood experiences are the foundation for Mrs. Ruth’s business.
We’re magnifying the good work of our farmers by caring for what they’ve grown in such a way that it becomes even more beautiful.The produce is so good that we want to highlight the flavors, not hide them. Our recipes are simple, usually with 3-5 ingredients and created by hand to rigorous standards. We know our farmers – Mrs. Ruth’s Jams are farm to jar! Our jams evoke life’s simple pleasures and happy memories, bringing joy and smiles to all.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Ruth is an engineer and business person by educational training, but has loved to cook since she was a small child. Love of cooking lead to the lifelong hobby which became a food manufacturing business. With no formal education in cooking, there have been trials along the as home based recipes had to scale and be made shelf stable. Once the product is ready, there are challenges with packaging, pricing, shipping and distribution. Fortunately, there are many resources to help with these challenges and provide training. People have been generous to mentor those new to the food business.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Ruth is the Chief Jammer and owner of Mrs. Ruth’s, a national award winning innovator known for our unique flavor combinations. Our jams, preserves, marmalades and chutneys are hand-crafted, small-batch, and created with the freshest NC produce from farmers we know. All products are vegan; created with minimal ingredients; preservative free and non-GMO. We are honored to be a five time national Good Foods Awards winner, the provider of jams to the 124th US PGA Open and the recipient of many state and local awards.
Mrs. Ruth’s believes that no one should go hungry and donates 10% to hunger relief. Local food pantries are the recipients of the donations and are very grateful for our assistance in feeding our neighbors.
Ruth is an engineer by training with a career in information technology. There are many applicable lessons learned the corporate world to support customers and build and grown a business.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My husband is my biggest cheerleader and a partner in the business. He believes in me and shares my passion for cooking for people. We have complimentary skills and are a wonderful team. Additionally many friends encouraged me to create a business, bought and continue to buy our products. Our customers are amazing and we are grateful for their support. La Farm Bakery and the Angus Barn became our customers in the early days and continue to be invaluable supporters and customers. Many thanks to each of our customers – both wholesale and retail. We would not have a business without them. We are grateful for each of them!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mrsruths.com
- Instagram: mrsruthsfarms
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MrsRuthsJams
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruthataylor/
