Sunchowder’s Emporia was founded by Wendy Read. I was born and grew up in New Jersey and my corporate IT job brought me to Longwood Florida in 1991. I always yearned to do something a bit more creative than engineering voice network capacity for a major telecom corporation, and thankfully I was freed from the bounds of corporate America in April of 2008! I re-invented myself and pursued my passion.

I have always been drawn to cooking and baking, I have collected hundreds of cookbooks over the years, and had dabbled a bit in jam making for a fundraiser I did for my daughter Rachel a few years prior. Armed with a fabulous collection of canning guides, I bought my first gorgeous copper jam pot in December of 2008 and the rest we shall say, is now history!

My company is based in Longwood, Florida. All of the jams and fruit butters we make are processed in small batches, never using corn syrup, pectin, preservatives or colors. These fruit and vegetable jams take longer to process than many store-bought jams as commercial pectin is not added to form the gel. Our fruits and vegetables are cut and processed by hand using only fresh, quality ingredients, locally sourced whenever possible. I use French methods of jam making, such as allowing fruit to macerate overnight to coaxe out the luscious flavors of berries, stone fruits and vegetables. My preserves have a pure, smooth texture and are deliciously different from the average jam. I hope is that Sunchowder’s Emporia jams, spreads, chutneys and pickles will become pantry staples and wonderful time savers in your kitchen as they make fabulous glazes, dips and appetizers for mealtimes. They can be added to quick breads and cookies for unique baked goods.

We feature our products at many small local boutiques and shops across the country. All of our products are produced in a commercial kitchen inspected by the Florida Department of Agriculture. I am certified as a food safety kitchen manager and carry my Better Process Control Certification for acidified foods from the University of CA Davis.

I can be contacted at 407-718-8897 and can be reached via email at sunchowder [!at] cfl.rr.com

I publish a blog too featuring recipes that incorporate my products here: http://sunchowdersemporia.com/blog/

You can join me on Facebook for company news, specials and blog postings too: http://www.facebookcom/sunchowdersemporia

If you would like to meet me personally, we have produced a fabulous short video: http://vimeo.com/47487448