Today we’d like to introduce you to Linda Kunkel.
Hi Linda, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I have preserved food for 50 years but stopped canning when our five children grew up and moved on with their lives. What brought me back to the love of canning was when my husband was semi-retired and started doing the garden. We had left over produce at the end of the season and that is when I decided not to let it go to waste. The canning equipment came back out and I started filling jars with relishes. From there it went to anything and everything. I was giving away what we couldn’t use and then our kids encouraged me to sell the “extras”. About 14 years ago my husband started planting squash and pumpkins and would put a sign at the end of the driveway – “Pumpkins for sale”. This gave me an outlet to sell my items too. The past couple of years, I have participated in local vendor events and a couple of Farmer’s Markets but I prefer to have my stand set up in the fall at my home. Having my stand in the yard allows me to take time to visit with customers and talk about the different ways to use my products.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Basically it has been a smooth road so to speak. I decide what I want to process and how much or if I want to participate in a vendor event or not. The struggle I might have is getting my husband to taste test a new recipe……especially the pepper jams. 😉
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I make pepper jams, jams, jellies, nut syrups, fruit butters, sauces, pie fillings. Then about the middle of summer the pickled items start. Beet pickles, garlic dilled carrots, garlic dilled geen beans, bread and butter pickles, sweet pickles, and Kosher Dill pickles, some miscellaneous items would be BBQ sauces, Bloody Mary mix, Coleslaw, and different flavors of salsa,
I do like to make pepper jams. Currently I have 13 different varieties of pepper jams and always looking for that unique new flavor to try. This is where my husband comes in. He doesn’t have the same heat tolerance I have so if he tells me it HOT, I know it’s just right! 😊
I am known for pumpkin bars/cream cheese frosting thru the years. I have people come back each year just for the bars or call and order!
A couple of years ago I added baked items for sale. I love making sourdough discard bread, cinnamon rolls, banana bread and chocolate chip cookies. Along with regular white bread, English Muffin bread, and honey wheat bread. This year I plan on adding bread using fresh milled flour. I purchased a mill and wheat berries and have been finding wonderful bread recipes. What an awesome flavor bread has when it is made with fresh milled flour.
Quick breads are fun to make! My husband said that the dill pickle bread would never sell but it is the first one to sell out! Pumpkin, rhubarb and pineapple zucchini bread never last long either.
What am I most proud of? I guess seeing the smile on returning customers faces and hearing how much they loved the product they purchased from me. Also when the older grandchildren are here and ask if I made anything new and if they can have some!
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
That I don’t consider this a job or something that I am required to do. It is an enjoyment for me. Also taking the time to visit with the people who stop in and sharing different ways to use my products is important to me.
Here is a little funny.
I asked my oldest daughter to help me with a two day vendor event last summer. Lots of people. She was only able to help the first day. I told her I don’t know if I will be able to handle the second day by myself. Her response was “well, quit talking so much!” 😂
Contact Info:
- Instagram: Lindascansandjams
- Facebook: Linda’s Cans & Jams
