Ma's Marmalade
About
Ma's Marmalade
Meet my "Ma" -
"Ma" was Ruth my paternal grandmother. When her eldest son dropped me off to be raised by Ma in a small town on the outskirts of Boston to pursue his dreams, he made mine come true.
Ma was the archetype of a sensible woman of her time. Raised by her Ma, Florence, in Rutland Massachusetts, Ma's grandparents were from the towns that now lay submerged under the waters of the Quabbin reservoir which serves Eastern Massachusetts now. Her Pa, Jesse, died of a heart attack at 58, leaving Florence to raise the girls as best she could. Ma was the eldest of five sisters, Norma, Dorothy, Gertrude, Thelma, then Ruth herself. She studied hard and became a Registered Nurse. And yes she looked like a knockout in her nursing school graduation picture.
So naturally Ma met and married my grandfather. After the war was over they moved into a nineteenth century house in a nineteenth century town outside of Boston, where they settled into raising three kids of their own, and just when they thought they were done, me.
During wartime there was a movement called the Victory Garden. Ma always kept a garden, both near Boston and later at our farm in Southern New Hampshire. In her garden among rows of green beans, Swiss chard and pumpkins grew well ordered tomato plants in perfect soil. By mid summer they were dripping with bunches of ripe red tomatoes, and in years when Ma had a bumper crop she'd can as much as she could. She wasn't fond of Marinara or any red sauce, but she loved stewed tomatoes, and her family recipe for tomato marmalade.
In summer, when fresh strawberries were gone by, and blueberries were yet to come, her secret was to make a jam out of the only other berry on hand that was ripe: tomatoes.
If you just learned that tomatoes are a berry, congratulations! I didn't know before either. But science tells us that taxonomically tomatoes, or Solanum lycopersicum, are berries.
Ma, circa 1996
Ma and I used to watch Crockett's Victory Garden every week while it aired on Boston Channel 2, WGBH
Ma, circa
1996
Ma made what the family called "Marmalade" from the ripest tomatoes, peeled and seeded. Ma would only use the zest from her lemon rind, never the pith, and all of the juice from those lemons. A couple lemons would do for a batch and even though Florence may have found them pricey during the Great Depression, they were still worth hunting for at market to make this stuff.
Fresh spices are a must. We use the freshest spices we are able to obtain, never from a supermarket shelf. On the original recipe index card which is in Florence's writing, Ruth had erased the amounts, and penciled them in at half of the original strength. I have restored them to full strength in the product we present to you as Ma's "No Foolin'!" Marmalade.
GET IN TOUCH
Ma's Marmalade
Ma's brands llc
Rockport ma
01966
WE'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!
It's been a long time since Ma's Brands LLC owner Alexander Thompson first started selling Ma's Marmalade direct at an array of local Farmers Markets. Much has happened since those first sales in 2012. Alexander went through several career changes, then a random phone call from a friend turned his thinking around, and led to Ma's Marmalade being reborn.
In all dealings Alexander honors the memory of his Ma, whose original "No Foolin'!" Marmalade recipe is the basis for them all. As a foodie himself, one variety just wouldn't do. Talking with his customers led to the creation of other versions, each slightly more spicy than the last. Thai Chili in our "Jeesum Crow!" Habanero Chili in our "Holy Hannah!"
Thanks to an army of friends and allies and on the strength of the unique flavor of Ma's Marmalade, it is again being made available in stores throughout New England.
We hope your family finds Ma's Marmalade as delightful as Alexander's family has for almost a century.
Regards,
Alexander Thompson
Owner, Ma's Brands LLC
© 2025
In 2021 I met my co-founder, Linda Hudson. She speaks for herself:
"A warm welcome to those of you to whom Ma's Marmalade, is a new experience, and welcome back to the many of you who have waited for Ma's Marmalade to be more readily available.
It's been an exciting process to go from small kitchen batches, to farmers markets, to where we are now.
We are delighted to now offer Ma's Marmalade in retail stores!
Just pull up a spoon! After much trial and plenty of errors, we have found a way to make enough [to serve our markets] without sacrificing any of Ma's standards-
L.F.H. 02/12/25
Meet The Founders
