Saturday, June 02, 2007

And the Jelly Bag Hangs

Plums are ripe which means jelly making. This is one fruit that I go to the trouble to make jelly and not jam. The jars of crystal clear, ruby jelly are so beautiful that I waste the pulp. O.K., I don't really waste it since I give it to the chickens and compost pile. They seem to like mushy cooked plum leftovers. I imagine that the jelly bag will remain in that position for several days, even though I didn't have plums of my own this year. In the past couple of days I've had acquaintances and neighbors bringing plums. Plum jelly is my family's absolute favorite, Last year, I only made two jars because I didn't have plums for more, but I mentioned the lack of plums and jelly shortage to a few people.

The few people have remembered and now the whole town appears to be bringing plums that would otherwise be wasted. One man brought a bag saying, "I brought these for your children." They ate plenty, but then I took the rest for jelly. As I was getting ready to cook them, another friend brought a basket. Another woman told me I could come pick. I will. By the time I finish with the plums the blackberries should be ripe.

Let The Summer Canning Games begin!!!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Pays to make random complaints in public, I guess.

do post lots of practical things about canning. some of us need to know. And our summer is later than your summer...

Anonymous said...

Oh how I wish I was closer! I remember doing this with my grandmother growing up. Plums and sour cherry were always favorites! Enjoy!
BTW, I tagged you for a meme!

Jennifer said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jennifer said...

Mmmm.

(I felt like a voyeur, enlarging the picture. Other people's kitchens fascinate me. I love your utensil-holding crockery.)

Garden State Kate said...

We did not get plums this year..not sure why. I'm thinking it was the weird weather, but maybe someone in our neighborhood had a tree that was secretly pollinating us and they cut it down.Enjoy your bounty!