Pamela

It sounds like your pretzels would fall under the “baked good” category in the law (please note that this site only gives a summary of the law; see the resources section for the law itself). You should be able to sell them as a cottage food operation. Sorry if it was confusing, but “Pretzels” is listed as a category in the “Snacks” section:…[Read more]

As long as they’re baked (not fried), you should be able to do this as a cottage food operation: http://forrager.com/law/illinois/

If you only plan on selling them at farmers markets, then you might be able to do that with the cottage food law. Otherwise, I think the only way to do that is with a commercial license. http://forrager.com/faq/#commercial

I really don’t know. My guess is that the added processing would require you to make it in a commercial kitchen. I doubt you’ll be able to find specific info about creamed honey online — you should just talk to the dept.

Typically any sweet fruit jelly is allowed. It should have a significant amount of sugar in it… low sugar preserves would likely not be allowed. Pepper jellies would not be allowed.

You need whatever the farmers market requires. I don’t know how to get a sales tax identification number, but I’d suggest you call the department of revenue.

Here’s some info about insurance: http://forrager.com/faq/#insurance

That would not be legal as far as the cottage food laws are concerned. You must use only your own kitchen to prepare cottage foods.

However, I know that personal chef websites are becoming more popular. There may be some way for the family to hire you as their chef, and then you use their kitchen to make them food. So instead of selling them the…[Read more]

Syrups are not part of the cottage food law in Illinois. I’m not sure what the rules about production are, but you might start by asking the health department.