Jammin’: Artisanal Flavors Made with Love

Not everyone can say they are doing what they really love to do, but Kim Osterhoudt can.

Osterhoudt is the creative force behind Jams by Kim, a line of artisanal (made by hand) jams, jellies and preserves she founded two years ago.

After taking early retirement from the corporate world, Osterhoudt focused on deciding what to do next. When a business mentor asked what she enojyed most, Jams by Kim was born.

“This is what I love to do,” she enthusiastically declares. “This was the time and the opportunity to be able to do it.”

“I always liked to cook and loved making jams,” the Belle Mead resident explains.

She recalls helping her mother can peaches and pears and her grandfather giving her grapes to make her first jelly when she was 12 years old. It was a skill she continued to develop, often using her homemade creations as hostess or holiday gifts.

Today, Osterhoudt produces the large variety of flavors in a rented commercial kitchen, making 80-100 jars a day. Each is totally natural, with no preservatives and nothing artificial. Licensed and certified, she goes above and beyond legal requirements and includes a nutritional label prepared by the Rutgers Center for Advanced Food Technology on each jar.

The original Jams by Kim product line featured six flavors. Today, the list continues to grow, depending on the availability of locally grown fruits and vegetables and Osterhoudt’s imagination for combining flavors. Popular flavors include Temple Orange Ginger, Strawberry Orange, Bartlett Pear and Strawberry, Raspberry, Blackberry, Pomegranate and Orange and more. For a complete list, visit www.jamsbykim.com.

“I make the flavors that I like,” she admits, adding that she is “a little partial to Bartlett Pear Jam because it reminds me of my grandmother,” while one of her favorite winter flavors is Tangerine Marmalade.

She experimented to find something her father, a diabetic, could enjoy and created a no-sugar strawberry using organic agave nectar in place of sugar. While she uses butter in most of her jams, she also developed several flavors (Pomegranate & Orange, Carrot & Ginger and Cranberry Chutney) made without butter, making them ideal for vegans.

While Jams by Kim are available online, Osterhoudt continues to expanding her reach, taking her products to markets and craft shows, including Norz-Hill Farm on South Branch Road (three Sundays in October), Valenzano Winery WineFest 2011 in Shamong (Sept. 17-18), Union County Harvest Festival in Mountainside (Sept. 25), 22nd Annual Cranberry Festival in Bordentown (Oct. 1-2), and Readington Reformed Church Craft Fair (Oct. 22).

She is also working on getting Jams by Kim into Whole Foods and will be teaching a “Cooking with Jam” class at Raritan Valley Community College in January.

Looking ahead, Osterhoudt hopes to someday own a commercial kitchen that would be a teaching kitchen capable of hosting events such as children’s birthday parties, girls’ nights out and book club meetings.

“I want people to think of jam as a gift – it’s local, unique and made by hand,” she says proudly. “I still love making jams.”

Osterhoudt can be contacted by calling 908-672-5418 or by emailing info@jamsbykim.com.