Teaches at Brooklyn Brainery
Laena is the Founder and CEO of Anarchy in a Jar, a jam and mustard company based in Brooklyn. She grew up making traditional jam with her family in New York’s Hudson Valley, and after a career in science and academia decided to make her passion for jamming into a business. Laena ended up back in New York City at an opportune time, when there was a revived demand for fresh, local, and creative food. With help from her team of tasters, fellow food makers and jam fans, she stirs her eclectic experience into the elixirs of the jar.
Founded in 2009, Anarchy in a Jar makes over 8 varieties of shelf-stable jam, jelly, marmalade, and mustard at their certified facility in Brooklyn, New York. The jams are cooked by hand and all natural, made primarily with produce from local and small farms. They add just enough sugar to preserve the fruit and enhance its natural flavor, combining pure fruit with botanical herbs + spices. Their methods combine old world techniques with modern finesse, bringing innovation to the tradition of jam making.
You can find the jams at many grocery stores and cheese shops throughout the New York region, at Whole Foods Market in the Northeast, Midwest and Mid-Atlantic, and at Publix markets in the South, online, and in select cities nationwide.
Anarchy in a Jar has been featured in The New York Times, The New York Times T Style Magazine, The Martha Stewart Show, New York Magazine, Bust, Elle Japan, Tasting Table, Food & Wine, and Saveur. Laena's cookbook, Jam On: The Craft of Canning Fruit, was published with Penguin in 2012.