Afton Cyrus is a food writer and editor, recipe developer, and culinary instructor based in the Boston area. Her areas of expertise include home canning and preserving, baking, kid- and family-friendly recipes, and seasonal New England cuisine. As a former elementary educator, she specializes in teaching fundamental techniques and instilling confidence in the kitchen for home cooks of all levels.
After working for a decade as a teacher and arts education administrator in Boston, Afton pivoted to pursue her passion for food professionally in 2014. She launched her own small business, Jam Sessions, through which she made and sold small-batch, locally-sourced jams and jellies throughout Greater Boston. She continues to teach home canning and preserving workshops today, including as an instructor at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts.
Her experience with recipe development for Jam Sessions led to an eigh-year career at America's Test Kitchen, where she created and edited content for multiple New York Times bestselling and IACP Award-winning cookbooks, including The Complete Cookbook for Young Chefs, The Complete Baking Book for Young Chefs, The Complete Cookbook for Young Scientists, and Bread Illustrated.
Today, she is a food blogger at The Reader’s Kitchen and freelance recipe developer whose work appears in print and online for America's Test Kitchen, Serious Eats, and cookbooks for Ten Speed Press, in addition to King Arthur Baking Company. She lives in Arlington, MA with her cat, Wesley, where she loves to grow vegetables in her garden, host elaborate meals for friends, and wax poetic about Maine, where she grew up and hopes to someday return.
