Sunday's Plate

This weekend, I was shopping for jam, and I realized just how expensive it is. My husband usually buys jam at Aldi's which we call "East Germany" for a reason. As I was musing, I remembered back to a time when I made jam. I never remember it being a tough thing to do. I remember hearing stories from people about making jam in a hot summer kitchen, and how all these ladies would gather around doing various and sundry jobs, and how this huge production would make what amounts to ten jars each and create enough dishes to call it Purgatory.

As a natural simplifier, as a busy person with many interests and not a lot of time, I have to re-evaluate nearly everything, and find an easy precise, timely way to do just about everything. So while I was holding a six ounce glass jar of jam which was mostly sugar and thickener, I put it back and marched over to the green grocer.

I picked up $5.99 worth of strawberries and added them to my cart. Then I picked up a box of fruit pectin. Then, finishing my shopping, I came home.

At home, after putting all the groceries away, I left out the strawberries. Gathering my wits and a heavy bottomed pot, I hulled and cut four cups of fresh strawberries, measured out three tablespoons of pectin, dumped it into the pot with two cups of sugar and brought the whole thing to a boil for about two minutes. Then I ladled the boiled fruit and sugar into some jars, and screwed the lids and put them by in the fridge. I made four half-pints or $24.00 worth of jam for $6.50. Plus I had a third of the strawberries left. Plus the outstanding taste was well worth the fifteen minutes it took to complete the task including the clean up.

Years ago I made jelly from frozen concentrate grape juice and apple juice.

Jars? I store my leftovers in glass because plastic leaches. I always have jars at home, but always canning jars or the big glass jars you find at the Dollar Store. Those are great for storing food - cranberries especially, so you know how many you have.

The whole scheme of jam making is: use half the sugar of the fruit. So if you make strawberry jam, and you are using four cups of fruit, use two of sugar. If you are not using apples, throw in a tablespoon of pectin for every cup of fruit.

Making fruit, just like making bread, or cookies, or cake does not have to be a huge ordeal. It should be a quick, easy, fun gig, you can do while doing something else.

Try it while the berries are still available.