Betty Price, Sugar Creek Recipes |
Betty Price has stayed close to her roots with a home-based enterprise
that is a tribute to her mother’s legacy. The founder
of Sugar Creek Recipes is the daughter of retired schoolteachers who
worked the 150-acre farm that is the family’s homestead. “We
had orchards and berries, wild animals and tame animals. My
mother canned juice and made jellies and jams. I learned about
canning and preserving from her,” Betty says.
A hairdresser for 35 years, when her husband retired from the Post
Office, Betty closed the beauty shop in her home. “But,
I’m not one to sit idle,” she says. “I like
cooking and preparing meals every day for my family.” After
consulting with the WV Division of Agriculture about how to proceed,
she turned the salon into a separate commercial kitchen and opened
her new venture. She contacted the marketing development department
of Agriculture for advice on turning her cooking pleasure into profit.
Her first sale was July 1997 at the Mountain States Craft Fair in
Ripley. “The first year, only the Tangy Tomato salad dressing
had been thoroughly tested and approved by the Virginia Tech laboratory.
The second year we added Mustard Vinaigrette. I had prepared
both of them often over the years.”
Honey-Lemon Dill and Fat-Free Raspberry-O0range dressings followed.
“I like dressing with a bit of a bite, but these don’t
mask the flavor of greens; they blend and enhance the flavor of greens.”
Soon Betty branched out with the acquisition of the Country Heart
line of preserves and jellies from Elizabeth, WV. She liked
Country Heart because they produced all natural products with no dyes,
preservatives or extracts. “Before we start, we let the
juices settle to improve the clarity of the jelly. Then we let the
juices settle before we start to improve the clarity of the jelly.”
The bottling, canning and labeling for their products are all done
in their kitchen by her and her husband.
Like any food preparation business, even a cottage industry like
Sugar Creek Recipes, the kitchen is inspected regularly by the state.
Fruit is steamed and all the juice is strained into a special container
and skins are discarded. For her peach preserves Betty says, “We
buy a particular kind of peach at just the right moment of sweet ripeness.”
Her grape, red raspberry and black raspberry jellies are $5 for a
9.5ounce jar.
The Sugar Creek and Country Heart lines are carried in several places
around the state including Purdue Grocery in Capital Market, Nitro
Antique Mall, Hardman’s Hardware in Summersville, Heavenly Ham
and My Favorite Things in Parkersburg, Country Scents and Crafts in
Ripley and Mildred’s Gift Shop in St. Marys. Betty also
shares her bountiful harvest at fairs and festivals. In 2003,
she received the Producer of the Year award from Tamarack, another
venue for both lines of products.
Sharon Harms of Image Associates designed the Sugar Creek Recipes
logo, but Betty does the packaging herself. Her sister, daughter
and niece often help with the business and at the fairs. Plans for
the coming year include new recipes along with improving her gift
box packaging.
Betty says she doesn’t have time for computers and has no interest
in developing Internet sales. She takes orders by phone and
by mail. “This is a full time job and a full time business,
but I enjoy doing this. I enjoy my customers. I take it slow,
so I can maintain the quality of Sugar Creek Recipes and the relationships
with my customers.”
Contact Betty Price of at 304-372-3886 or 877-372-3886 or write
to Sugar Creek Recipes, Rural Route 3, Box 232, Sugar Creek Road,
Kenna WV 25248.
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