Ayako Gordon met Katsumi Taki at the University District Farmers Market in Seattle in 2008, both Japanese immigrants who shared a love for conscientiously farmed produce and cooking that could also reflect their heritage. Steamed sunshine kabocha, chiso and vinegar pickled apricots, the distinctly sweet Japanese cucumbers sliced and ready for sampling - the produce that nourished this friendship was fueled by nostalgia. Ayako & Family emerged in the summer of 2009, since then partnering exclusively with Mair Farm-Taki in Yakima, Washington to introduce both heritage and heirloom plum varieties to our signature hexagonal jar of preserves.

From our ingredient sourcing to preserving processes, Ayako & Family continues to produce with the fruit as the core expression of each product. Sako Gordon, Ayako's daughter, brings Ayako & Family into it's second generation with the same legacy recipes and fruit her mother created over a decade ago

With each spoonful of jam there is recalled, like a memory, a certain time of year, the gentle care of each hand that picks the fruit. We preserve this story, the one of the farmer and his harvest, and in turn share with you so that if it should land on your own kitchen table, it may evoke the fondness of your own food making memories. We hope to continue to share our own kind of tradition of Pacific Northwest Japanese farm-to-table food.