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With a disposition as sweet as their small-batch spreads, Suzy and Clark Neal, the makers behind Unicoi Preserves, are two of the nicest folks you’ll ever have the chance to meet.

Residing in the North Georgia mountains, Sautee-Nacoochee to be exact, this couple has a passion for creating Georgia Grown spreads that are sure to bring people together whether used in a party food, on a cheese plate, or in an old-fashioned PB&J.

Recently, we had the opportunity to chat with Suzy about everything that’s been going on for the Georgia artisans including their newest product addition, award-nominated pretzel rolls, and much more.

When your Georgia Crafted Peaches first found out about Unicoi Preserves’ newest jar of goodness, we were immensely excited to discuss their sweet with a little heat Cherry Jalapeno spread.

The idea for this sweet and spicy spread came from their love of cherries but with a little twist of flavor.

“Cherry Jalapeno Spread came about from our love of cherries. Clark and I look forward to cherry season every year and think that the bright, tart flavor of cherry is complimented by the spice of jalapeno peppers. Ours is a unique recipe that we have been cooking and taste testing for over a year, working to get the balance of sweet, tart and heat just right.”

As Thanksgiving and Christmas approach, this spread is perfect for your holiday recipes and to include in a Georgia Crafted gift box.

“This is a beautiful product for the holiday season and gifting; it's just so festive spooned over goat cheese or cream cheese. We are all about entertaining and Unicoi Preserves Cherry Jalapeno Spread is the perfect pair with Georgia Crafted bamboo cheese boards.”

Adding their newest spread to their collection of other delicious flavors such as Vineyard, Vineyard Fire or Apple Cider Pepper has given Suzy and Clark plenty of new recipes to explore.

“Clark and I have been creating new recipes using Cherry Jalapeno Spread so stay tuned. It’s delicious on a toasted panini sandwich with roast beef and your favorite melty cheese and on bagels with a schmear of cream cheese.”

Not only are the Neal’s talented when it comes to concocting delectable spreads, but they also create delicious recipes to share with all of their friends, family, and followers. If there’s anybody’s get-together your Georgia Crafted Peaches would like to attend, it’s a party at the Neal house because they’ll serve up get-in-your-belly-good food.  

Recently, Suzy’s recipe for Peanut Butter Pretzel Rolls was a top contender at the National Festival of Breads in Manhattan, KS.

“I am very honored to have my Peanut Butter Pretzel Roll recipe chosen from over 300 entries as a finalist at the National Festival of Breads. Bread baking is a hobby I shared with my Mom and I'm always looking for unique ways to spotlight Unicoi Preserves, so a bread baking competition was right up my alley!"

"I created my recipe, took some pictures of my bread and submitted it online following the guidelines of the contest. I was thrilled to get a phone call from the organizers of the event asking if I was available to come to Kansas to compete and immediately said yes.  I competed in the Food Blogger category against three wonderful bakers and while I didn't win my category, I came away a winner with great memories, a lot of nice swag from the sponsors, new friendships and connections.”

Suzy’s Peanut Butter Pretzel Rolls are easy to bake and are best served with Unicoi Preserves Strawberry Vanilla Spread. 

When it comes to Suzy’s favorite recipe to cook up during the hot summer months, she prefers a delicious appetizer that brings the heat as well: Her Jalapeno Poppers glazed with Unicoi Preserves.

“There are never any leftovers when we take them to parties. We usually use Apple Cider Pepper Spread but we've recently tried our new Cherry Jalapeno Spread and its great as a glaze on them too!”   

With so many different flavors of Unicoi Preserves spreads to choose from, you have to wonder which flavors best reflect the personalities of the artisans.

Suzy says, “I'm Salted Caramel Peach Spread because I'm constantly looking at what's trending in the food world and I'm a proud Georgia Grown Peach!”

As for Clark, “He’s Strawberry Vanilla Spread because he's a traditional guy but is always up for an adventure and putting his unique twist on traditional recipes.”

To check out more delicious recipes from Unicoi Preserves, click here. We promise you’ll be hungry as soon as you start scrolling. To add all of their spreads to your pantry, you can shop our Unicoi Preserves collection to ship these little jars of goodness right to your doorstep.

Based in North Georgia, we can always count on Unicoi Preserves for lip-smacking & low-sugar fruit spreads. Get to know founder Suzy Neal in our Artisan Spotlight!

Our Meet the Artisan series continues today with Lauri Jo Bennett of Lauri Jo's Southern Style Canning. Our subscribers will recognize Lauri Jo's name since we featured her delicious Georgia Peach Salsa in the August subscription box. You might also recognize Lauri Jo's name from the October 2016 issue of Southern Living magazine—way to go, Lauri Jo!

Lauri Jo Bennett is a wife, mom, former teacher, and entrepreneur in Norman Park, GA. Lauri Jo took her family tradition and personal hobby of canning—along with hand-written family recipes—and built an award-winning business. Her company produces southern favorites like pepper jellies, pickles, and more.

Lauri Jo told us that throughout her married life, she had canned fresh vegetables for her family, using the canning plant at a local high school. Now, Lauri Jo does all her canning in-house in her very own 4000-sq-ft processing facility. We're inspired to hear that Lauri Jo has achieved such success, from very relatable beginnings!

Lauri Jo, when did you launch your company? Tell us why you decided to launch.

"My business launched in September of 2009 from a much loved hobby.  After giving away gifts for my husband's trucking company made of fruits of my labor from the summer at the canning plant putting up salsa, jams, soups, and pickles, I decided to see if it really would sell. Here we are today in over 1,200 outlets."

Since you launched, what would you consider to be your most successful product?

"Our most successful product is our Southern Pecan Pepper Jelly."

What has been a true highlight of launching your business?

"I think I would have to say my biggest highlight since launching our business would have to be getting emails and notifications from people across the US telling me how much the love the products and the different ways they use them. I also love traveling the Southeast speaking and sharing my story while promoting other great Georgia Grown Entrepreneurs as well."

Thank you for sharing your story with Georgia Crafted, Lauri Jo!

You can order Lauri Jo's Georgia Peach Salsa here on the Georgia Crafted website and be sure to keep your eye out, on our site, for more of her products this holiday season!