Jeannie Sanders Spices up Life – Literally
Jeannie Sanders cuts herbs from her garden to use in her seasonings, vinegars and teas.© 2018 Encore Publications/Brian Powers
Last autumn, I had the opportunity to speak with Jeannie Sanders of Schoolcraft, Michigan. Jeannie and her husband, Leonard, own Sandershire Seasonings. They grow their own herbs for seasoning blends, teas and artisanal vinegars – without pesticide. And boy, she has a gift for creating blends – my personal favorite being Rustic. Her spicy blends a close second. Growing up a self-proclaimed Army-brat, Jeannie’s most popular seller, Nostimo, stems from living in Greece as a child. I checked in with Jeannie to find out the latest on their entrepreneurial endeavors.
Jeannie and husband Leonard, who helps with much of the gardening and harvesting.© 2018 Encore Publications/Brian Powers a caption
Their garden continues to expand…
A portion of the Sanders’ garden.
As does their product line: It now boasts 30 varieties of freshly fermented artisanal vinegars, 17 seasoning blends and a plethora of teas.
“Violet Vinegar was very popular again this year,” Jeannie says. “We sold nearly 10 gallons, all grown from our own homegrown violet flowers.”
The ever-popular violet vinegar.
Other popular vinegar blends were black raspberry, blueberry, cherry, pear, pawpaw, and rhubarb. At customers urging, they created four new seasoning blends: Ubertoso (Sicilian), Mostaza (honey mustard), Texas Heat (roasted, toasted Tex-Mex) and What’s This Here? (a robust pub-inspired Worcestershire blend).
A fine garlic harvest from the Sanders’ garden.
Jeannie calls 2019 “a whirlwind year” – and provides a peek into 2020: a possible pop-up seasoning and vinegar demo event.
To find out more about Jeannie (and the reason her husband lovingly refers to her as a hobbit!) check out the story published in Encore Magazine at the link below.
Lisa Mackinder 