British Jam, by Way of France

Tea Together, a producer of artisanal jams based in northern France, has just opened its first retail store in Millburn, New Jersey.

I caught up with owners Nick and Judith Gifford when the shop opened last month.

The British couple started their business 12 years ago after leaving busy careers in film and television production for country life in the northern French village of  St. Remy au Bois. Before long, they traded film for food and tried their hand as culinary entrepreneurs.

"We wondered what the English could do better than the French" said Judith, and they hit upon British traditions of breakfast and tea time as their angle. "You see," she explained. "The French do everything based on lunch and dinner."

Seizing an opportunity, they started out baking scones (what could be more British?). When they set up shop at the market, the scones attracted a lot of curiosity from the locals, but few sales. Judith recalled that her French customers were bewildered about what to do with them. "'But, when would you eat these?' they would ask." The scones never took off.

Still Life Fruit Bowl

With Barnaby Barford and André Klauser's novel Still Life Fruit Bowl, you can create a piece of art that changes according to your fruit-buying patterns. The oak frame and earthenware bowl is available for pre-order for $100 at Areaware (though it also looks like something you might try making yourself).

Just Fruit

I raved earlier about Southern Alps Slow Dried Fruits when I spotted them at last year's Fancy Food Show. Unlike other dried fruits, these contain no sugar, sulfites, or other additives and preservatives. The result is visually stunning, not to mention tasty. The mangoes, for example, have a distinctly sour and sweet flavor, and a very chewy, leathery texture (almost like beef jerky) that's nothing like the sugary sweet kind you might find in Chinatown grocery store. Mango, mulberries, pineapple, green apples, figs, and strawberries, among other fruits, are also available in snack size pouches. $4.99 to $7.99 each at iGourmet.com.