By Julie Murphree, Arizona Farm Bureau
Now that Arizona Farm Bureau’s Fill Your Plate is getting into the product tasting business, we’re delighting our taste buds with Dottie Ray’s Artisanal Apple Butter; The latest local Arizona food product by Sheryl Valentiner.
An Arizonan and one of my Twitter buddies (@sav01), Sheryl celebrates our Arizona Apple growers with her delicious gourmet apple butter she's named after her parents Dottie and Ray. She began playing with the recipe around Thanksgiving and in March launched the product for the BoHo Farm and Flea Market. It’s also sold at the Bodega Market on 7125 East 5th Avenue in Scottsdale. Customers can also order by emailing Sheryl at dottierayfoods@gmail.com
So, I gathered Peggy Jo Goodfellow (I call her “PJ the Price checker” for her savvy shopping strategies) and Paula Jensen (Our in-house, Arizona version of Martha Stewart). Excitedly opening one of Sheryl’s 4-ounch jars in its stylish wrapper, we first tried the Apple Butter in spoonfuls. Yum!
The Apple Butter is a spreadable smooth made from Arizona apples from McClendon’s Select Farms and the taste was divine. Peggy Jo described it as good as grandma’s homemade apple pie with a nice hint of cinnamon.
We then tried it on salty crackers. Delicious! The salt with the fresh apple sweet was a good combo. In the end, we finished the 4 ounces between the three of us. Paula said, “Super job Sheryl. I’m ready for more!”
Says Sheryl, “After recovering from an illness, I have developed a deep respect for those responsible for growing and producing the food we eat. We are lucky to have McClendon's Select here in the valley. I use three varieties of apples, all of which come from Farmer Bob. The other ingredients in my product are organic [apples, cinnamon, allspice, lemon juice and maple syrup] with the exception of the Madagascar vanilla. Adding just a ‘whisper’ of organic amber maple syrup allows the natural flavor of the apples to shine.”
Sheryl offers the product in two sizes: 8 oz jar for $6 and a 4 oz jar for $4. Besides email, she can also be reached at 602.481.6467.
