Jam making, anyone?

Made a batch of Blackberry and apple jam today, neighbour gave me the blackberries and apples from my garden. I hope to make a batch of nectarine jam and chutney tomorrow, got a big bag of jars given to me today, along with about 40 toilet rolls, and a black sack of garden pots. I sent a flyer around my neighbourhood with my wanted list, swopping with seeds, and a few have obliged. We have a small community of 30 houses/bungalows in a cul-de-sac, and we get together for different occasions. Anyone live in a nice neighbourhood?

 

" neighbour gave me the blackberries and apples from my garden"

interesting neighbour you have there! Cheers, Tony.

 

yeah, suppose we are very lucky.

 

I live in a super neighbourhood - everyone is pleasant, everyone speaks, no-one has noisy parties that go on all night and although they 'keep themselves to themselves', there's always be someone you could call on if you needed help.

I keep a spare key buried in my front garden, when in the past, I've been unavoidably stuck somewhere overnight (elderly parent emergency - unexpected night away for work etc) I've been able to ring a neighbour and arrange for my animals to be fed and I often find myself with an 'extra' dog to walk since one neighbour is still going through the looking after the parents bit. One neighbour has inherited a row of laylandii, but long ago took the tops out and will frequently ask if they need cutting back on my side, whilst another annually asks for access to my garden to allow 'the men' to cut back his beech hedge.

My elderly neighbour (now in his 102nd year) long ago invited anyone who cared to, to help themselves to the apples, plums and quince which grow in his huge garden and since he can no longer manage it, is happy for others to cultivate it - one of his friends uses part of it to grow sweet peas and dahlias which he likes to show, another uses the longest border to grow 'cut flowers' which anyone is welcome to pick (wedding flowers cost nothing round here!) and there's a large 'communal' veggie patch (seeds and plants financed from sales at boots fairs etc) where several elderly - and a couple of not so elderly - gentlemen can usually be found 'putting the world to rights' while growing the most amazing produce.

Since I love making jam, jellies and chutney (but don't particularly care for eating it), I seem to have become 'preserve maker in chief' and often find boxes of fruit or veggies - and empty jars - on my doorstep. I make whatever the produce offers itself to, give the finished product back to my neighbour (who's turned his kitchen into a kind of mini shop), I get paid for the sugar, vinegar or whatever and any 'profit' is used first to pay a man to cut my neighbour's grass and do general tidying up and the rest is usually given to charity.

Would I want to move away from here? What d'you think?

 

nah...

 

No, it sounds like the nearest thing to paradise. You deserve it Fidgetsmum,
good on ya,
Jenny

 

I have a couple of raspberry canes that have produced a mass of berries this year but they don't taste brilliant fresh. Never tried fresh raspberries before and assume I must have done something wrong. Does anyone think it would be worth me putting them into jam or not?

 

Speaking as one who loves making jam, of course I'm going to say yes aren't I? However, you could also make 'raspberry preserve' (similar to a jam but keeps for a much shorter time), add them to other ingredients and make '???? and raspberry' jam or jelly or even turn them into raspberry sorbet.

It's a shame your raspberries don't taste as you hoped, but a good squirt of lemon juice in a jam (or if you decided to go down that route, jelly), will not only help with the setting but will also give the raspberry flavour a bit of a lift.