In 2002 I started making jam from an old Blenheim apricot tree in a Santa Clara, California backyard. What started as a hobby turned into a business when Food & Wine magazine wrote in their February 2007 issue it was the best jam they ever tasted.

Eric picking apricots from the original tree

The Blenheim apricot was one of the first items listed on the Slow Food USA Ark of Taste. This is a list of endangered food processes and agricultural items. Until the 1970s, what is now Silicon Valley was the largest producer of apricots in America. Acres and acres of farms grew this delicious fruit, that due to its fragile nature, was either canned or sun dried. We have a customer in her 90s who said you could drive down the main freeway, 101, and smell apricots in the air each summer. That is how many farms there were!

Well, we all know what happened. Virtually all the farms are gone - replaced with high tech corporate offices and suburbs. An important agricultural area was almost completely wiped out in the name of progress. However, this region is famous for its soil and climate, and the few farms left are extremely special because the fruit and vegetables they produce are the very best.

Ironically, prior to my jam making, I worked just a short distance from this tree for an important early tech company in the 1990s that started the internet boom. After learning the farming history of the area, I felt compelled to launch welovejam and try to re-popularize this variety of apricot, as well as work with local farms in the area.

Since founding the company in 2007 I have kept growth of the business organic, sustainable and consistent over the years, and am constantly innovating with new products. And yes, I still work in the kitchen making everything with the help from friends and family.

If you appreciate well-made food with outstanding flavor, why not give my incredible products a try?

 

Eric Haeberli