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NATURALLY HEALTHY www.gourmetnews.com n SEPTEMBER 2019 n GOURMET NEWS NH 4 0 Ruth's Mustard Named Small Business Champion By Lorrie Baumann Founded in 2012, Ruth's Mustard LLC, founded by Laurel Smith along with her husband Ed, is a New Hampshire company that's one of the businesses operating out of Genuine Local, a shared-use commercial kitchen located in Meredith, New Hamp- shire and owned by Mary and Gavin Mac- donald. Like the Macdonalds and some of the other small food producers there, Smith lost the use of her previous facility when it suddenly closed with little notice. "When that went out, we were out," Laurel says. With a four- to five-hour trip to the next- closest available commercial kitchen, that might have been the end of the business, but Ruth's Mustard was rescued by the Macdon- alds' decision to build the new shared-use facility and open it as Genuine Local. "They bought all the equipment and kept it going and kept us going," Laurel says. Genuine Local is still a two-hour drive from her home, so she still spends a lot of time on the road on mustard-making days, but that's just part of the price tag for keeping the business going. "When we make it, it's a haul, but we want to keep doing it," says Laurel. The "Ruth" in the mustard's name is Laurel's Grammy Scranton, who used to make her special mustard for family cele- brations. "I thought everyone ate this as a kid. I didn't know it was a unique flavor," Laurel says. "They'd eat it with ham. It was usually what she put on the ham – just driz- zled on. Now people use it for everything." Laurel herself started making the mustard without a thought that she'd ever sell it. In- stead, she gave jars to friends. And then friends asked for more. They said they'd buy it. Suddenly, she had orders for 61 jars, and she had to step up her production from the eight jars a night she'd been making when she was handing them out as gifts. "We were now up to 24 jars a night to get this order done," Laurel says. As the orders kept coming in, it was obvi- ous that she was either going to have to scale back or move out of her home kitchen. "I got an idea, which are the words that totally make my husband cringe," she says. The idea was that if they took Grammy Scranton's mustard into real commercial pro- duction, they could use it as a vehicle to help others, as Grammy Scranton herself would have liked. "You always felt welcome, and she always made sure people had enough, and she was always concerned about other peo- ple," Laurel remembers. "When we started this, we didn't feel like it was ours, so we used her name and put her picture on the label. And we said we'll make sure we share." Today, Laurel and Ed are making nine fla- vors of mustard in batches of 250 jars. The two of them can make two batches a day, and the mustards are sold in shops across New Hampshire and online nationally – Laurel's son Cory handles some of the sales. Ten per- cent of the profits are donated to charities, which have included local charities that serve the homeless, the Make a Wish Foundation and St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. "We'll give 10 percent to feed the need of others, whatever their need may be," Laurel says. "We feel if you have it and you share it, it comes back. She had the attitude of, 'Give your best, and God gives you the rest.'" In 2018, Ruth's Mustards was named a Small Business Champion by SCORE, the Service Corps of Retired Executives, the na- tion's largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors. Ruth's Mustard earned the title of American Small Business Champion by submitting an online application describ- ing what makes their business one of the best small businesses in their community, and how they plan to use the prizes to grow their business. Nominations that garnered at least 100 votes were then presented to a judging panel of small business experts that deter- mined 102 winners – two for each state plus the District of Columbia – including Ruth's Mustard. Ruth's Mustard stood out for many reasons, according to the judgest, not the least of which is that the company was donating that 10 percent of its profits to charities. Ruth's Mustards' nine flavors include Original Hot & Sweet, Sweet Grillin' Glaze, Cranberry, Raspberry, Garlic, Horseradish, Jalapeno, Cracked Black Pepper and Maple Mustard Marinade. In addition to single 7 fluid ounce jars, Ruth's Mustard also offers three-jar gift sets packed in miniature crates made by Laurel's son Dwight from recycled wooden pallets and gallons for foodservice use, and she also takes private-label orders. All of the mustards are gluten free, and the Maple Mustard Marinade is paleo. "All of them have vinegar, mustard and sugar – ex- cept for the maple. The maple is made with natural organic maple extract in addition to local maple from our area. There's no color- ing or salt – most of them are three or four ingredients," Laurel says. For more information, visit www.ruths mustard.com and look for Ruth's Mustard on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. A More Convenient Way to Maple Your Morning By Lorrie Baumann Bascom Maple Farms' Maple Stream is 100 percent pure USDA certified organic maple syrup, packaged in an eco-friendly can that doesn't need to be refrigerated, as other maple products do, so it's very convenient for a multitude of uses. Bascom Maple Farms sources additional maple from small family farms in the U.S. – more than 3,000 of them – that share its commitment to qual- ity, environment stewardship and sustainable forestry management. By purchasing their syrup, and bringing it to market, Bascom Maple Farms supports other small farmers and builds local, rural economies. In the Maple Stream, the syrup is forced out of the can by air pressure. The syrup streams rather than sprays, so it's not not atomized into a fine mist. Bascom Maple Farms Maple Stream offers the distinct advantage that it's not going to spill all over the table if it gets tipped. Mess-free and portion-controlled, the product helps consumers avoid sticky situations. During consumer testing for the new prod- uct, one of the things that the company heard from parents was that they'd use real maple syrup themselves, but they didn't want to give it to their kids because they didn't want to take the risk that it would be spilled and wasted. This new packaging solves that problem. The Maple Stream doesn't require refrig- eration because the syrup is sealed so that no air can get into it, so bacteria can't grow. "From the bulk containers to this package, it's a unique way of packing it," said Arnold Coombs, Director of Sales and Marketing for Bascom Maple Farms and a seventh genera- tion sugarmaker. Since it doesn't need refrigeration, the Maple Stream can come warm to the table, so it doesn't cool down the flapjacks or the French toast or the coffee or tea to which it's added. "We're spoiled up here in Vermont, and a lot of people put maple in their coffee or tea," Coombs said. "We have a local bartender who's experimenting with it for maple mojitos – it's a lot easier just to squirt it in than to go to the refrigerator for a bottle. A lot of uses we hadn't thought of are now coming to light." Bone Suckin' Recipes Use these six recipes to make delicious meals with Bone Suckin' products. Bone Suckin' Ribs Recipe Ingredients: Bone Suckin' Sauce, 16 oz. jar Baby Back Pork Ribs, 5 lbs. Instructions: Preheat grill or oven to 300 de- grees Fahrenheit. Put ribs in shallow pan and baste with Bone Suckin' Sauce. Cover ribs with foil. Cook for 3 hours. Uncover, baste with Bone Suckin' Sauce. Raise grill or oven temp to 350 degrees. Cook ½ hour uncov- ered but still in pan, basting again after 15 minutes. 4 Step Bone Suckin' Baked Asparagus Recipe Ingredients: Bone Suckin' Vegetable Seasoning, season to taste Asparagus, 1 bunch Olive Oil, drizzle Instructions: Place asparagus on baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over asparagus. Pour Bone Suckin' Seasoning over asparagus. Bake asparagus at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 15-18 minutes. Bone Suckin' Chicken Recipe Ingredients: Bone Suckin' Sauce, 16 oz. Chicken, 1 Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (set oven rack to middle position). Pat chicken dry using paper towels, place chicken on the baking pan lined with aluminum foil (for easy cleanup). Season both sides of chicken with salt and black pepper. Bake chicken for 45 minutes. Pour Bone Suckin' Sauce over the chicken, turning the pieces over with tongs to coat both sides. Bake for about 15 minutes more or until chicken is cooked through (165 degrees). Bone Suckin' Chicken Wings Recipe Ingredients: Bone Suckin' Wing Sauce, 1 jar Chicken Wings, 2 pounds Butter, ½ lb. melted Instructions: Preheat oven to 450 de- grees Fahrenheit. Place rack inside large baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and arrange chicken wings. Place wings in oven and bake for 25 min- utes. Remove wings from oven and coat with butter. Cook for 25 more minutes. Pour Bone Suckin' Wing Sauce in bowl. Remove wings from oven and reduce heat to 350 degrees. Dip wings in sauce using tongs, coating evenly. Put wings back on wire rack. Cook 15 more minutes or until done. Bone Suckin' Blackberry Chicken Salad Recipe This wonderful and healthy recipe won top honors in Taste of the South Magazine. Ingredients: Bone Suckin' Sauce, 2 - 16 oz. jars Chicken breast, 4, boneless and skinless Blackberries, 1 cup Walnuts, 1 cup Gourmet greens salad mix, 16 oz. Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place chicken breast in oven safe pan. Pour 1 jar of Bone Suckin' Sauce over chicken. Bake in oven for 1 hour or until internal temp reaches 165 degrees. Cut chicken into strips. Place on gourmet greens salad, add fresh black- berries and shelled walnut pieces. Use sec- ond jar of Bone Suckin' Sauce to drizzle over salad. Recipe serves four. Bone Suckin' 4 Step Steak Recipe Ingredients: Bone Suckin' Steak Seasoning & Rub Steaks, 2, ribeyes or your choice Instructions: Rub both sides of steaks with Bone Suckin' Steak Seasoning 30 minutes be- fore grilling and let stand at room temper- ature. Preheat grill with direct and indirect cooking areas. Sear steaks over direct heat, then move to indirect heat to finish. Re- move and let rest 5 minutes. Can also do in cast iron skillet. For more information, visit booth #553, call 919.833.7647 or email sales@ bonesuckin.com.

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