It’s high summer, that time of year when we go crazy for the fresh fruit that only comes once a year. My memory wanders back to the aroma of sticky pots of fresh fruit simmering on our kitchen stove under my mother’s watchful eye, her wooden spoon in hand. Oh, the taste of it! I loved spreading it on top of one of her perfectly flaky biscuits, enduring the lumps for the delectable flavor.
Years later I tried my hand at it and found the process costly and labor intensive. Canning jars, lids, sugar, pectin, a lot of sweat. And the fruit itself didn’t come cheap. But I persisted until one day I compared the size of one small jar of jam to the box of strawberries that had gone into that boiling pot. Hmm. Which one tasted better? Which one cost more energy? Of course, there was the nostalgia. Women have been preserving that summer taste from time immemorial, I suppose. Still, was it worth it all?
Then my sister introduced me to freezer jam. Much, much easier. Mashing and freezing in small Tupperware containers. She can pull one out of the freezer any old time. It really does taste exquisite, just like it came right off the bush, brimming with summer juiciness. Compliments flow, and lumps are minimal. What a concept!
But I must confess that at this stage of life, I am happy to be “jammed” in the PB and Jam aisle, leaving it all up to mass production. I will visit my sister as often as possible and beg her to share.