FrogPrincesse

Peugeot here. It's a very common brand of pepper mills in France that's been around for a long time. I really like mine! It looks like this one.

Sure, that sounds great (I've always wanted to try something like that). If that is not too much trouble, I would love the recipe!

Thanks for the wonderful ideas and advice, @teonzo! You know what, I recently made a red onion "marmalade", and that'd be a great thing to include in the selection because I wanted to have savory items as well. Thanks for reminding me!

Thanks for the ideas @blue_dolphin! It's a mostly a matter of preference when I said that the only thing interesting right now was quince. Because I have seen Asian pears, apples, persimmons, pomegranates, guava here too (actually they are all represented in my fridge right now, for eating as is), but I don't find them especially good for jam. Figs are finished here, and I've seen raspberries too but they are horribly expensive and not so great in jams because of the seeds. I am honestly not too worried about finding something nice. It's just that today, nothing caught my eye. I am going to focus on quince for the time being... I was thinking a quince "marmalade" with little shreds of quince, like in the Blue Chair book. David Lebovitz has one too in Ready for Desserts that looks super simple.

Guest jams! I love it. Sourcing the fruit for my jams... November is a bit of a tough month. The interesting (bitter) citrus are not available yet, fig season just ended, and pear season has barely started. Right now the only interesting thing seems to be quince, but I don't have much experience with it. I have three large pineapple quinces and will make a small batch that I may or may not end up selling depending on yield & results (if it's bad, obviously I won't try to sell it, but if it's really good, I may keep it for myself!). My main sources for fruit are Specialty Produce (I buy from their local organic inventory, what they call "Farmers' Market" in their inventory) and the local farmers markets. Usually price is not really a concern because I make small batches, but this time I will be making larger quantities so I have to watch cost. A few days ago I got really excited when I saw that a rare variety of kumquat, fukushu, had become available. However they are priced at close to $9 per pound, which didn't seem reasonable (I had planned on buying about 4 pounds). So I passed.

I like these, but they seem a bit small! Some of my jam-eating friends eat a lot of jam, and these contain barely enough to cover a piece of toasted bread or two!

Here are some price points for similar artisanal jams made in California (per ounce price in parentheses). Blue Chair Fruit - $13 for 6 oz ($2.2) Robert Lambert - $14 for 8 oz ($1.8) Inna Jam - $13.50 for 10 oz ($1.4) Frog Hollow - $9 for 8 oz ($1.1) We Love Jam - $10 for 9 oz ($1.1) Then here in San Diego, there is a jam company that is pretty well distributed, but their products look a lot more like industrial jams with TONS of pectin, so I don't feel they are really up to par with the ones I listed above or with what I make. Jackie's Jams - $6.50 for 8 oz ($0.8) I was thinking $9 for 8 oz. I know I would be willing to pay that kind of price. As a side note, I came across this article about a local jam-maker who does this just for the fun and doesn't sell, but won many prizes. She has lots of good tips. They mention that in one year, she made as many as 43 flavors! I think I am closer to a more reasonable ~ 10 in the past 12 months... (Trying to remember them all: aprium, persimmon (not great, this was the only batch I used pectin in, and I hated the stiff consistency), Bartlett pear & vanilla, yuzu marmalade, chinotto marmalade, ponderosa lemon marmalade, bouquet de fleurs marmalade, strawberry (a partial failure - too liquid), saffron & peach, quince with citrus zest & cardamom, fig & vanilla, and I am sure I forget one or two!). But sadly these are long gone now, eaten or given to friends & family. I will need to make new batches to sell, with the fruit I can find between now and the beginning of next month!

For the jams, I would prefer to sell them in smaller 6 ounces jars because I don't want to charge too much by jar. (My batches are small, I only use the best local, organic, seasonal fruit, and I spend a lot of time on them.) However I am limited by the type of jars I can find easily and at a reasonable cost. So far the best option for me has been 8 oz mason jars that I can get for about $8 for a dozen. I have to calculate my costs, although I am obviously not doing this to make money (it's more like a fun thing to educate myself and my daughter about what it's like to make & sell things that you make). It's more to make sure that I recover most of it!

And there is another new Tiki bar & restaurant in San Diego, The Grass Skirt, this one located in Pacific Beach, by the team of Kettner Exchange! I have to check it out soon... http://www.sandiegomagazine.com/Blogs/SD-Food-News/Fall-2016/FIRST-LOOK-The-Grass-Skirt/

This fairly old thread was for selling chocolates at markets, but I found that it had a lot of great information (I am slowly going through the 73 posts...) And in the addition to my local site that I had already linked, I found more good links with info about regulations, although some of it seems more geared towards businesses. Surely I don't need to register as a business if this is a one-time bake-type sale?! (I am pretty sure there is an exemption since this is organized by the school). http://sdcottagefoods.com http://forrager.com/law/california/ http://foodstarter.com/how-to-start-a-food-business-in-california-with-the-cottage-food-law/

Ok, I see. Thanks for clarifying!

It's a small venue, so checks could be another back-up option for payment. For jam, bread seems like natural pairing. I could bake some, if time permits, and use it for samples.

Thank you, that's a great idea.

I will keep paypal as a back-up option, although not everyone has an account. Samples... I was thinking of getting little taster spoons like these. But I don't really want to spend close to $10 for a bunch of plastic spoons... Also it's a lot of waste. Maybe something like these little wood ones (at least they are compostable). More research needed... Good ideas about the chairs, cooler, etc.

I am double-checking because it's important. I don't want to realize at the last minute that the canopy I intended to use isn't allowed at the market!

Some good ideas here. Although I have to note that this is a French school, so there will be plenty of bread items already! About packaging, I have little clear cellophane bags already, so all the items that are not in jars will be in these bags, with a silver twist tie.

I have a little bit. I looked at the California regs for the items I am allowed to sell. California has a "cottage food law" that was passed a few years ago and has that info. Of course, now that I am going through it again, I realize I probably have to nix my pickle idea unless the law was updated. Pickles require special permits etc because of the risk of botulism... Bummer. Jams & cookies are allowed. I know that I will have to study the CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) about the specific requirements for jams.

Thanks for all the advice so far! Please keep it coming... This is super useful. You are absolutely right, the fee is 2.75%. The reader does sound convenient, but it's also asking me for a business name which may have other implications... so I am still wondering if I should go that route. People will bring cash I am sure, and I will make sure to go to the bank and get a lot of change before the event. I will probably encourage cash transactions as much as possible, and will have the reader as a back up in case someone didn't bring any. I am hoping that my daughter & her friend will be in charge of tracking sales (with some minor supervision on my end). Maybe a little clipboard with a list. I don't think we will be inundated with buyers, so it should be fairly easy.

Understandable. There is actually a separate Pacific Northwest forum where you will find all the suggestions.

Seattle is in California now? Here are a few ideas.

Hello everyone, My daughter's school organizes a holiday market every year, and this year she would like to participate (she is 10). The market is exactly one month away and we've never done this. We are thinking of selling mostly food items, and maybe a few crafts too. My idea is to sell a variety of jams (seasonal fruit, marmalades too hopefully, if I can find the type of citrus that I need before the market date), cookies, and pickles (which are super easy to make). With her friend, they are going to make little friendship bracelets to sell as well, and they will help me tending the booth, which will be a great experience for them. I am starting this thread to document the process and because I would be interested in any advice that those of you who have experience selling your wares might have! I have a couple of folding tables I can use for the booth, and a friend is going to lend me a canopy. I still have to verify that it's within the allowed 10 x 10 size. Next, I will be thinking of decorating the booth. And then of course, I will start making things to sell... I am trying to figure out how much inventory I am going to need. Another question has to do with payment options. There are credit card readers that are free (square) so I am considering getting one. Of course they take a commission on the sales (that is about 3%). Does anybody has any experience with those? Or should I not bother since this is a one-time thing, and only accept cash?

It's a Cuisinart Mini, so it's only 21 oz (2.6 cups). It is really meant for things like sauces, herbs, etc, not this kind of prep, but it worked fine.

Ok, so they are a bit dry (like a shortbread texture but a bit softer, with much less butter taste), and they taste very nice with coffee. The little hint of salt is great.

@blue_dolphinWas that a gentle reminder that it was time for another batch of cookies? Guess what, it worked! Here are the French snacklettes. I never heard of this cookie but they looked good on paper with a mix of almonds & chocolate chips + cocoa powder, with a bit of cinnamon and salt. They are made in a food processor. Mine is really small so I had to make the dough in 3 batches, which was a bit of a hassle, but other than that they are very to make. My yield was 52 cookies vs. the target yield of 60 (I made them slightly too big apparently). Before the oven After the oven. They are cooling down as I type. They are still extremely soft and crumbly.

I've tried a lot of recipes from the book, and haven't had a bad one yet. Some I make regularly, like the short ribs, because they are truly fantastic and require very little effort. But I haven't tried the rabbit! I will make sure to stay away from that one. I prefer my rabbit a la moutarde anyway.