sweet and slow: no-pectin jam

bumbleberry jam recipe

i take the kids berry-picking in the summer, clean and freeze the berries and then make jam the old-fashioned way (in a hot and steamy kitchen) without artificial ingredients, additives or preservatives. why bother?

well, for one, the berry-picking is pretty fun for all of us (the aisles are wide enough to fit a stroller) and eating-while-you-work provides motivation and/or distraction for the kids to continue on while i power-pick my way up and down the rows.

there’s the health factor – picking fruit at the height of freshness and freezing/canning it helps to preserve nutrients, and lets me control exactly what goes into each jar – less sugar, no crap. (of course, the flip side of this is that it also makes me responsible for not poisoning my family with botulism, but this isn’t as hard to do as you might think).

most of all, there is the yummy factor. homemade jam bursts with flavour and knocks those wussy, store-bought jams out of the park. well worth the effort and appreciatively received as gifts (delicious and consumable – just remind the giftees that jam etiquette requires prompt return of empty jars).