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By LYDIA HILL
Virginia Cox is a familiar fixture at the Brazos Valley Farmers ’ Market , cheerfully chatting with customers from behind her table lined with pickle jars and other sundry goods . She wears a matching necklace and earrings that proclaim her proclivity for the briny cucumber , and a lime green shirt bears her business name , Pickle Your Fancy . Cox has been a vendor at the market for seven years . But despite her pickles ’ popularity , it was her hens that first brought her to the event . “ I was just going to the market to sell some eggs ,” she recalls with a laugh . “ I really hadn ’ t intended to make a business out of it .” When she saw how quickly she sold out of eggs , Cox knew she needed something else to make her time there worthwhile . She began offering herbinfused vinegars and quickly expanded to pickles , becoming the market ’ s main purveyor of the product , she says . Now , she sells 10 different varieties of pickles , such as dill or bread and butter , in addition to other briny vegetables , flavored vinegars , and meat rubs . She also makes and sells jams and jellies , from standard strawberry and blueberry to more unusual tastes like mango habanero or carrot cake .
All of her products are made by her and her husband , Roy , at her home in Hearne . They are among Texas ’ s many food business owners who operate out of their house in accordance with
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the state ’ s cottage food laws . Along with chefs who are required to use commercial kitchens for their culinary creations , these food entrepreneurs bring handmade goodness to the community .
Home Cooking
Per cottage food production laws , anyone can sell food made in their home if the product does not have specific time or temperature requirements . Besides obtaining a food handler certification , home cooks do not need a license or inspections , according to the Texas Department of State Health Services ( DSHS ) website . Cottage chefs can produce a variety of items , from granola to roasted coffee to baked goods such as bread , muffins , cakes , and cookies . A recent update to the law expanded this list with a greater array of pickled fruits and vegetables , Cox says . Although the time commitment for a cottage food business can be demanding , Texas laws make it easy to operate from home , she says . “ The cottage food laws are pretty versatile ,” she adds .
Since Texas passed its first cottage food law in 2011 , the number of food entrepreneurs has rapidly grown , according to a Forbes article . In 2017 and 2018 , close to 700 people took Texas A & M AgriLife Extension Services ’ online course Cooking Up a Cottage Food Business , says Julie Prouse , extension associate for AgriLife ’ s Food
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Virginia Cox makes pickles , jams and jellies , and other goods in her home kitchen to sell at the Brazos Valley Farmers ’ Market .
and Nutrition Unit . “ There are so many different reasons people start a cottage food business ,” she says . “ A lot of them get interested in it because everyone talks about how wonderful whatever they like to make is . It ’ s something for them to do as a side business .”
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ELLEN RITSCHER SACKETT |
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20 July 2021 |