Food anthropologist Sarah Goldschmidt set out to defy any tradition the world of candy had to offer. In her New England based candy company, fig + kindle, she strives to prove that sweets don’t have to be pumped up with chemicals and corn syrups to be delicious. Even more, their design is based on the rough rustic landscape of the New England region. Faithfully committed to “sustainability, cultural preservation, and honest design,” fig + kindle prides itself on running a different kind of show.
What is the story behind fig + kindle, how and why did it all begin?
“Fig + kindle began as a way to make pocket money while I was attending college in New York City. I had always loved cooking and candy making and had a particular interest in using herbs and spices in sweets. Our first glass brittles were churned out on a tiny stove in a Manhattan kitchen one fall and the rest is history. A few years later f + k has become a larger project in which I and my partners are crafting multiple products based on botanical ingredients and developing and ethical, sustainable business.”
What is the mission behind fig + kindle as a company?
“We draw inspiration from the history and folklore of culinary and aromatic plants, putting them to use for now in sustainable sweets. Part of our mission is to bring to the public a selection of products that is heavily tied to local land and local culture. While we make products that are designed to delight, we seek to educate, to enrich the experience of sweetness with some kind of deeper connection to the history of food.
“Of course in doing this we aim at cultivating business practices that we feel need to become the norm for business of the future. We do everything we can to source local, organic, and sustainable. Our packaging and production are earth friendly, and we are using our position in the local food web to contribute to the movement of drawing consumers closer to producers.”
How does your candy reflect the cultural and landscape character of the New England region?
“Our candies, as well as our soon-to-be-released lines of sugars and syrups, draw heavily upon the homey but rugged vibe that characterizes New England. Much of what we do circulates around the idea of making quality food, from quality ingredients, by hand. We do not push our flavors too far; we are not seeking to portray ourselves as spice collectors or makers of haute cuisine. We do not seek to craft sleek, fashionable food: no molds, food coloring, or molecular gastronomy at f + k. Just like New Englanders have learned to deal with this unapologetic and stubborn landscape, we allow our sweets to look like and taste like what they naturally want to be. We figure food tastes better when manipulated less, candy included.”
Does the reflection of the New England region come into play when choosing ingredients?
“Of course! Many of the herbs and spices we use either come directly from New England farms or have a history in local culinary traditions. We have a large collection of colonial cookbooks in our library for reference, and look to our grandparents for inspiration as well. Ingredients like molasses, chamomile, and hyssop show up next to local honey, rosemary, and Maine-harvested sea salt.”
What makes your product so eco-friendly and does it at all affect the pricing of your products?
“A big part of our job is in the sourcing of ingredients and packaging materials, and in streamlining our practices to reduce waste. Our products are crafted from ingredients that fall into one or more of the following categories: local, organic, sustainable, fair trade. All packaging is either made from 100% post-consumer kraft paper, biodegradable cellophane, glass, or steel and all of our labels are printed with soy ink. All packaging can be composted or recycled by our customers.
“We make all of our products in small batches to-order, and work at a wonderful facility, Jamaica Plain’s Crop Circle Kitchen, that allows us to recycle and compost virtually all kitchen waste.”
Does your degree in the anthropology of food affect your products?
“Having studied the relationship between people, food, and agriculture so closely, I tend to look at the development of each of our products as an opportunity not only to create and to revive aspects of local food culture, but also as a chance to “do food right.” I know of the problems in our food system both locally and globally, I know fig + kindle’s place within this web and aim at using that knowledge to create products that can play a part, however small, in changing the way we think about and produce food.”
As an anthropologist of food what made you choose candy?
“While fig + kindle is fast expanding out of candy and into provisions, candy was a great starting point for us because it provided a fun way to introduce the more serious topic of local food and sustainability. If there is one thing I know from studying food and culture it is that changing ingrained ideas about food is a tough job. If we can show that earth-friendly food does not have to consist of bran flakes and broccoli, we can spread our message to a wider audience. We also get to declare ourselves the dispensers of happiness, which is a perk.”
If you had to pick only one, what would your favorite sweet be?
“My favorite kind of sweet has always been and will always be ice cream. Give me a bowl of vanilla bean and top it with f + k’s Rose Turbinado Syrup and I am a happy girl.”
Mini Ice Cream Sandwiches with Salt + Pepper Sablés and Strawberry-Rose Ice Cream
For this recipe we paired our deep, dark chocolate Salt + Pepper Sablés with sweet strawberry-rose flavored ice cream; a perfect combination for June in New England. If you don’t have any f + k sablés and need to make these sweets right now, we recommend looking for “Famous Chocolate Wafers” at your local grocery store.
Ingredients:
1 quart strawberries, hulled
½ cup dried rose petals (3/4 cup fresh)
1 1/2 c heavy cream
1 c sugar
1/2c whole milk
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
16-32 Salt + Pepper SablésDirections:
1. Fill a small saucepot with ¾ c water. Bring to a boil, remove from heat and stir in the rose petals. Cover and let steep for ten minutes.
2. Place the clean, hulled strawberries in a food processer and blend until smooth, set aside.
3. When the time is up, strain the rose petals out of the liquid and drain back into the pot. Set over medium heat and add the strawberry puree. Cook this mixture for approximately ten minutes. It should thicken to a runny, jam-like texture and smell strongly of strawberry preserves. Set this mixture aside.
4. Separate the egg yolks into a medium-sized bowl.
5. Heat the cream in a slightly larger pot and add sugar. Whisk the mixture to dissolve the sugar and bring to a boil.
6. Reduce the flame under the cream mixture and slowly pour about half of the hot cream into the egg yolks while whisking rapidly. This process of slowly raising the temperature of the yolks is called tempering — it will allow the yolks to form custard instead of scrambled eggs.
7. Pour the tempered egg mixture into the hot cream and continue to cook over medium, whisking, until thickened. To test you will need a metal spoon: dip the spoon into the mixture and run a finger down the back. If you make a clean line your custard is set, if the line is cloudy or vanishes quickly, you need to cook longer.
8. Turn off the heat and add the vanilla extract. Whisk in your strawberry rose mixture followed by the remaining whole milk.
9. Cool your ice cream base in the fridge and freeze according to the instructions on your ice cream machine.
10. Once your ice cream is finished and cured in the freezer, assemble mini sandwiches with the sablés. This recipe should produce 16-20 mini sandwiches of a normal size, but if you’re anything like us you’ll double the ice cream per sandwich and enjoy the fruity, floral ice cream melting down your face.
This interview is the first installment of The Sweet Life series, in which we profile some of today’s most extraordinary independent candymakers.
