Selling homemade jam in New York as a registered home processor
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Yes, if you register with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets (NYSDAM) as a home processor and stick to the fruits on its list. Registration is free and does not expire, and it allows "Fruit jams, jellies, and marmalades made with high acid/low pH fruits" [1]. The condition that matters most is the prohibited list: pepper, wine, vegetable and flower jellies, compotes, spreads and anything that needs refrigeration are out, and making one of them voids your registration [1]. In return, New York lets home processors sell wholesale to local restaurants, cafés and grocery stores, which fewer than half the states allow [1].
The fruit list decides what you can make
NYSDAM does not leave "high acid fruit" to interpretation. Its home processing page names the fruits: apple, apricot, blackberry, blueberry, cherry, clementine, cranberry, currants, elderberry, grape, grapefruit, lemon, lime, nectarine, orange, peach, pear, pineapple, plum, raspberry, rhubarb and strawberry [1]. A jam, jelly or marmalade made from those 22 fruits fits the exemption. If your fruit is not on the list (fig, quince, mango or guava, for example), ask NYSDAM before you sell it. Several of those fruits need added acid even for home use, as the fruit chart shows.
Edge products under New York's prohibited list
The prohibited list is long, and several items on it are preserves [1]:
| Product | Status | What the source says |
|---|---|---|
| Pepper jelly | Prohibited | "Pepper jellies" named [1] |
| Wine jelly, other jellies with alcohol | Prohibited | "wine jellies" and "alcohol-containing products" named [1] |
| Vegetable, herb or flower jelly (lavender, rose) | Prohibited | "vegetable jellies, flower jellies" named [1] |
| Compotes and fruit syrups | Prohibited | Named [1] |
| Low-sugar or sugar-free spreads | Effectively prohibited | "Spreads" are named; a reduced-sugar product that falls below the jam standard must be sold as a fruit spread, so treat it as out unless NYSDAM tells you otherwise [1] |
| Freezer jam, refrigerator jam | Prohibited | "Any finished food product that requires refrigeration is prohibited" [1] |
| Fruit butters (apple butter) | Not addressed | Not on either list; ask NYSDAM [1] |
| Canned whole fruit | Prohibited | "Cooked or canned fruits or vegetables" named [1] |
The penalty for crossing the line is the whole registration. NYSDAM says a registration becomes void if you sell prohibited foods [1], so one batch of jalapeño jelly at a market can put your strawberry jam out of business too. Recipes and naming for herb, flower and wine jellies are on herb, flower, tea and wine jellies; the rule for low-sugar names is on what you can call your jam.
Registering, and the well water test
Registration rests on 1 NYCRR 276.4 and works like this, according to NYSDAM [1]:
- Fee: none at present. Expiration: none.
- Location specific: if you move, you register again.
- Adding products: resubmit the registration form marked as a supplemental registration.
- Private well: submit a water test for total coliform and E. coli from a certified lab. (NYSDAM's FAQ mentions only total coliform, so send both to be safe.)
- Opening a licensed food business also voids the home registration.
Where a New York home processor can sell
| Channel | Rule [1] |
|---|---|
| Farms, farm stands, farmers and green markets, craft fairs, flea markets | Allowed |
| Home delivery | Allowed |
| Internet | Allowed within New York State only |
| Shipping out of state or any interstate sale | Not allowed |
| Wholesale to local restaurants, cafés and grocery stores | Allowed, within New York |
| Packaging jam at an agricultural event | Not allowed; fill and label at home |
| Sales cap | None stated |
The wholesale allowance is New York's distinctive feature. A café that serves your jam with scones, or a grocery that stocks it, is a legal customer as long as both of you are in New York. Approaching buyers and setting a wholesale price are covered on selling jam to shops and cafés.
What the label needs
NYSDAM requires the common or usual name, ingredients in order of predominance by weight, net quantity, your name and full address, the major allergens identified in the ingredient statement, and a phrase such as "Made in a Home Kitchen" in type at least 1/16 inch high [1]. NYSDAM accepts variations on the phrase, so "Made at Home by" followed by your business name works too. The federal rules behind each element are on what a jam label must say.
When the home exemption is too small
Pepper jelly, shipping to other states and anything on the prohibited list need an Article 20-C Food Processing Establishment license, the license NYSDAM issues to food manufacturers and processors [2]. NYSDAM will license a home annex, a separate second kitchen on your property, if local zoning allows one [3]. Sources disagree on the fee: Cornell Small Farms (May 2026) lists $175 for two years and an older NYSDAM sheet lists $400 [3] [4]. A pepper jelly under 20-C also needs a scheduled process from a recognized process authority; see process authorities and scheduled processes.
Writing to NYSDAM
The agency is the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Division of Food Safety and Inspection, 10B Airline Drive, Albany, NY 12235. Use the Home Processor Registration contact on its home processing page [1]. Ask about fruits that are not on the list and about fruit butters before you make them for sale. Verified in October 2026.
Setting two prices: retail and wholesale
Because New York lets you sell to shops, you need a wholesale price that still pays for the fruit. How to price jam walks through both, and selling jam to shops and cafes covers the buyer meeting, consignment and what a café will ask for.
References
- New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Home Processing, not dated (viewed October 2026). https://agriculture.ny.gov/food-safety/home-processing
- New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Licensing Overview (Food Business Licensing), not dated (viewed October 2026). https://agriculture.ny.gov/food-business-licensing
- New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Small Food Processors comparison sheet, not dated (posted March 2019). https://agriculture.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2019/03/smallfoodprocessors.pdf
- Cornell Small Farms Program, Becoming a Small-Scale Food Processor, updated May 18, 2026. https://smallfarms.cornell.edu/?p=45340
