The Highly Innovative Blueberry Bourbon Balsamic Sauce by the Talented People of Vermont Harvest Will Wow Your Tastebuds this Summer! It's Highly Recommended by Whom You Know.
If you were the kid that loved Blueberries for Sal, JUST WAIT until you try the BLUEBERRIES BY WHIP, otherwise known as Vermont Harvest Blueberry Bourbon Balsamic Sauce.
We see a lot of products come and go in this column (not everyone is as ambitious and illustrious as Fresh Origins); we can't tell you how many olive oils we have tried and the condiment count overall is quite high. It's quite rare that we find something as unique and innovative as the Blueberry Bourbon Balsamic Sauce, and your sophisticated palate will adore it as well we believe! The panel raves:
Temptation in a bottle. Vermont Harvest might call it a “sauce”, but their Blueberry Bourbon Balsamic Sauce just became my new best friend. No need to slather this sauce anywhere, because the flavor is so rich, it only takes a little bit to improve any salad, or recipe. Drizzled over a beet salad, with fresh goat cheese, it becomes dessert. No fooling. Mix it with some of your favorite olive oil and use it to grill, or finish a roast. Use it in a chutney to accompany any chicken dish for a not-so-basic Sunday dinner. You’ll absolutely love this sauce, and you’ll have to share the secret with all of your friends, or someone will steal your bottle.
Making your own salad dressing has never been so simple… or so delicious! Vermont Harvest’s Blueberry Bourbon Balsamic Sauce seems like it would be a great topping or dip for many things… meats, breads, the list is endless. I was looking for something just a little bit sweet to have on my salad, and this tempted and inspired me in just the right direction. I whisked together a little Blueberry Bourbon Balsamic sauce and some olive oil, and it was the perfect highlight for an early-summer salad.
To a novice, it could be a little challenging to know what to do with this unusual sauce. But I could not wait to delve into my cookbook arsenal to see what recipes of mine I could improve with this killer new product. Since I’m not a huge fan of fruit on my meat, we didn’t marinate anything with it, but if you are, you might try that. It did make a unique salad dressing, and the onion and berry flavors mixed successfully. We just added the Blueberry Bourbon Balsamic Sauce to some olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon and poured over greens to really get a taste for this tremendous sauce standalone. Next time, we will add sunflower seeds, tomatoes, and avocado and I anticipate a fantastic blend of fresh summer tastes.
Whip Burks, owner of Vermont Harvest tells us:
Vermont Harvest is celebrating its 31st year in business this year. Our tradition of amazing gourmet condiments are consistent with those that were created 31 years ago. I purchased the business in 2007; at the time I was working for Ben & Jerry’s in Waterbury, Vermont. My main focus was managing the scoop shop at the factory and on the side I was asked to participate on the quality control of the products that the plant was producing. I was asked to join this team because of my background with food. Not just because I had attended culinary school in Vermont, but more from what was discovered while I was in school. The fact of the matter was, I was a super taster, which is allows me to taste with far great intensity than the average person. I really enjoyed this aspect of my job, so much that I was trying to find away to get into the field. And so when I was playing golf one weekend at a local golf club, and I was approached by a husband, whose wife was trying to retire from a jam business, I said I would take a look.
When I went into the meeting at first I was a complete greenhorn, in fact I rarely ever ate jam or jelly and really just figured they were all the same. How wrong was I. As I took some time to investigate the field, I started to understand that there were many things that I didn’t know about the whole field. And when I tasted the 16 or so products I was amazed. I was not only amazed but truly humbled. As an average person growing up I had my fair share of grape jelly and strawberry preserves that my grandmother made from going picking at a local fruit farm, but those flavors were pretty basic, one flavor, one purpose. When I began tasting the products by Vermont harvest I was amazed at the numerous flavors that were in each mouthful, and the fireworks that were set off when different textures were added to each flavor. I was intrigued and this was just the beginning. As I tasted all of these products, I was amazed that not only did they taste great but they all were complex with flavor and balanced. So it wasn't really a surprise to my coworkers and my family that we decided to purchase this business.
Since buying the business it has been our goal to further their development as well as introduce them to farther reaching heights. The original business was more of a hobby than a business set on reaching international customers. The first several years I really concentrated on learning the ropes and trying to figure out the best way to approach my international goals. I quickly learned that our products are like minnows in an ocean. There are literally thousands of brands out there and we have to be better than the average one. With that in mind it is hard to distinguish your products in a very competitive market. We do so through our flavor profiles.
Our product line currently sits at 21. We are committed to conning to produce products that ignite the fireworks in peoples taste buds. We hope to be in more countries in the next year. In a matter of a couple of months are products will be available nationwide in Canada. We are in discussions with Sweden and have just started to investigate a new export market in Korea. Our products are natural, gluten free and non gmo. We have a simple motto here at Vermont Harvest. “If it doesn't taste good….Why eat it”.
I attended Lake Forest College and earned a BA in Economics.
I also attended New England Culinary Institute and received an associates degree in culinary arts and a BA in Food & Beverage Management. I've been a
Board Member of the Vermont Specialty Food Association 2011 to present.
