Beekman 1802 Specialty Food Club July 2016 Subscription Box Review

Beekman 1802 Specialty Food Club is a monthly food subscription for small-batch artisan food lovers from Beekman 1802.  You’ll get a box of delicious artisan food items – often exclusive to this box –  for $50 each month.  Not only will you receive superb gourmet ingredients, but also recipes from the artisans themselves.

The elegant inner box is well-protected by a 360 degree layer of bubble wrap inside the outer shipping box.

The items are properly wrapped and secured to avoid damage while in transit. This subscription is almost overpackaged, but really, none of these items have a chance of breaking!

The theme for this month’s box is “Fruits of Summer.”

The recipe cards are simple and clearly written.  Each showcases an item in this month’s box and using one of these pre-tested recipes is a great way to dive in and get the most from the goodies!  This month’s recipes included a pie crust recipe to use with the pie filling, a drink recipe incorporating the filling, and even a pudding using the fudge.

“Good Neighbor” Gift Pie Kit ($9.95) Before the inner box there was a curious set of cardboard thingies (probably cardboard pie carriers but no instructions) and 3 pie plates!

The little pouch affixed to the pie tins had a gift note you can give along with a homemade pie.  It’s hilarious!

3 heavy duty washable and reusable pie tins were included. I’m going to have a really hard time giving them away.  The tins are lighter than normal metal pie pans, but they hold shape and are much thicker than the cheap disposable pans you get with pre-made pies.  When we cut our pies, it didn’t even mark up the pans!

Everything in my July box!

Wild at Heart Blueberry With Lemon Zest Zing Pie Filling ($7):  These fillings are really delicious!  They are loaded with fruit, and there is just enough sugar to enhance the taste without making them too sweet.  The Wild at Heart Blueberry had great fruit flavor and still-intact blueberries — the lemon zest was really mild and gently complemented the berries.

Backyard Cherry Tree With A Hint of Almond Pie Filling ($7):  The big, cherry chunks were really beautiful and plump.  The almond was a pleasant secondary flavor.  Each jar easily filled a pie, leaving a sizable portion for spooning onto ice cream or yogurt.

The filling has a lovely deep color and is made with pronounceable ingredients.

The wide mouth jar was easy to pour right into the pie crust.

Lots of big cherry halves in here.

We used Josh’s recipe for the crust.  It made a very crisp and buttery crust.

Slices of the finished pies.  We opted for a streusel topping on the blueberry.  The filling solidified nicely when cooled,so the pies weren’t runny and held together well. Our crew demolished them in about a day and a half. They were amazing, and so easy.

Orange Zest Goat Milk Hot Fudge ($12):  Goat’s milk is a real treat in fudge or caramel.  The addition adds a nice complexity to this fudge, and the mellow, slightly sweet/sour taste is balanced by a bit of bright orange zest.

Blueberry Bourbon Barrel Jam (To Be Launched Next Month – their other jams are $10.50):  A healthy splash of real bourbon adds rich character to saucy real blueberries.

The texture is fairly loose, with loads of blueberry pieces throughout.

Honey Sunshine ($4.75):  These citrus hard candy drops have are made with real honey from the Beekman 1802 farm.

The drops are pretty, and also pretty big both in size and flavor.  The honey really comes through.

This month the total value of this box was $51.20 – and it was a delight to open!  We are really enjoying the Beekman 1802 boxes — the products are really high, artisan quality, and they incorporate as many small farm and neighbor-grown ingredients as is seasonally practical.  We love the way the box is curated — though technically not a curation, since all the products are Beekman 1802, the Beekman boys have selected complementary items from their large catalogue of products, giving each month a theme.  This month, for example, it was super handy to have the pie pans and crust recipe arrive in the same box with the jars of pie filling.  It seems obvious, but it actually runs contrary to the scattershot approach of many artisan food subscriptions.

Never did figure out those pie holders, but then again, we didn’t quite make it to the neighbors with the pies either! Next time.

Visit Beekman 1802 Specialty Food Club to subscribe or find out more!