So, so very beautiful. All the things I've been taught by surrogate grandparents have been gifts so layered they're practically novels--and all offered so humbly.
Also, the photographs of the jam in the jars are so tantalising that they're bordering on being NSFW
Dearest Chloe, it makes sense, of course, taught by surrogate grandparents. Your ability to glean such treasures from some of the least likely of places. It is a gift. As they were to you and as you are to many of us.
It pleases me to know that the images feed your eyes. Thank you.
I am 71 and most of my friends are in their 70s. Most of us had working moms who did not can! None of us are in assisted living or near that day!! Just saying because it made me laugh at the imagined little old 70 something lady sitting alone in assisted living! Still, it is a commendable idea to seek out information on traditional chores from people who actually did those things. No one in my immediate family canned. A great aunt in W. VA did out of necessity. She and my great uncle lived in a log cabin home that was over 100 yrs old, no running water or inside toilet. ( Yep out house!) She canned and baked. Raised a stunning veg garden. They are long gone; I was not able to use her expertise. I decided I wanted to learn how to can vegies and fruit. I canned tomatoes for years because they were easy. I taught myself with books and contacting state universities extensions. Lots of good information on canning and canning safety. I tried jam making a few years ago. It was a hit or miss venture. I did perfect blackberry jam. I did not want to do refrigerator jam as I wanted shelf safe jams. The most fun I had was my learning to make pickles. You know you can pickle almost everything? The best part of canning is seeing those beautiful foods lining up on the shelf and giving it away also. My next adventure will be using my new pressure canning pot to can shelf safe foods (low acid vegies and meats).
Dearest Kay, first off, thank you for your laughing nudge toward a clearer awareness. Given that my folks did not seek the more comfortable safety net of assisted living until their mid eighties, I should know better, and have gone back and changed the sentence to say: "
Surely there must be someone who would be delighted to be recognized as a badass once again, an expert in a lovely, meditative and ever so tasty skillset she still, even in her seventies or eighties knows far more about than Ruby knows about almost anything."
When Dad moved into assisted care there were some folks there who had moved in well before they were 'forced' into it, active folks who still travelled and did all sorts of fascinating things who simply liked the convenience that such a home base allowed them to leave, knowing it would be safe while they were elsewhere and a welcoming place return to. I was picturing them when I wrote about the seventy-somethings, and certainly meant no offense.
I'm so grateful that you made time to wade in here to add your notes and some 'living it' context to the story, and to nudge me toward a slightly more realistic imagining.
May your adventures continue to fascinate and challenge. And may your day be kind.
David, your huge encompassing heart is a joy to read always, but here, as I store away all my preserves for the year, potted and labelled ( at least mostly ) and breathe a huge sigh of contentment to have been taught to do so in the great tradition of jam making, I thank the gods for people like you that always, always think of others less fortunate and lonely. I wish I could share my overfilled store cupboards with each and every one. And next year, if Ruby would like to call by, I will gladly teach her each and every secret my mother taught me - this is beautiful and yes, what if? What if holds much magic of that Im certain...
Dearest Susie, at the invitation of your words I have just peeked into your newly restocked jam cupboard, a delicious treat for these imagining eyes, as it would be for any fellow jam maker. I see the treasure stacked neatly there, rows of garnet and gold, and find myself able to impute some of the tastes, the nuanced quality of those tastes from the quality you so carefully tend, elsewhere, in mixing and laying down words into stories that preserve moments of grace and capture their sweetness. How wonderful the things you make and share.
I trust that Ruby will have caught wind of your invitation, carried aloft by autumn's migrations and whispered into her awareness by the faint vibrations of some diligent orb-weaver's web just outside her window. How very lucky, any student so summoned.
I think you're onto something, here, Susan. Your comments, the chance to interact and find some meeting of the minds and hearts is an immense part of the joy of sharing a story, here. Giving and receiving, indeed. Thank you for such a generous note.
Like so many of your stories, this one brought back some wonderful childhood memories. My family grew our own raspberries and strawberries, working together to pick up to 30 pints of berries a day. We sold them from the roadside at 50 cents a pint and plenty were reserved for jam, which was not for sale. My pragmatic mother made "freezer jam", which did not require sterilization, and stored it in stackable Tupperware containers (very pragmatic!). I can still picture the little boxes of Sure-Jell pectin. It was more like fresh fruit than canned jam, not necessarily better, just different.
Good morning John, your note is a real treat. I'm well acquainted with 'freezer jam' which was my stepmom's preferred method too. As a full time, working Registered Nurse, time was precious, and most freezer jam recipes allowed for less time to make, and less sugar than fruit (healthier and tastier), in order to thicken to a proper, 'jammy' consistency. We went through a lot of raspberry and peach freezer jam in our house during the high school years and it was delicious.
I know I could Google to find out but in the spirit of this charming post I'd rather bother your benign self for an answer! It's another language/culture blip (as with your post about hunting flickers) for this UK gal (crone!); so, what are the ingredients added to the fruit to make the "butters" that are being lovingly and extensively created in your kitchen please? Italian plum butter sounds as though it would have been a godsend a few weeks ago when we were knee-deep in them! My partner made lots of jam and dried some but an alternative would be welcome! We make clear jelly from fruit like crab apples and redcurrants, and coulis from blackcurrants, but I don't know about butters - please fill this knowledge gap!
Hi Liz, I wish I could attach a plum butter recipe that was tidy and complete. Alas, after consulting several books in our canning library, I did search the internet for specifics. I knew I wanted a crock pot recipe so the fruit could “melt” while we slept. In the morning I added brown sugar and warm spices then puréed it with an immersion blender. Leaving the lid propped open, the purée cooked for several more hours until thickened. Once in jars, the time in the water bath is longer due to the thickness of the butter. The plum is both delightfully tangy with a warm sweetness.
This is a special post on so many levels to me. I’ve been Ruby, anxious to learn. Some of my best recipes, like bread and gluten, have come after being Ruby. I have been the old lady seeking interested younger folk to be interested in learning a lost art—jam making!
I’m still open to finding the young person eager to learn…
Your story gave me a huge lump in my throat, and the desire to share my canning skills with a friend. My dear neighbor, 87 two years ago, crossed. And I miss her every day.
My god this is so beautiful. I want this experience for everyone, and how easy it can be if we only make it so! Next time I grumble about never really having had grandparents I’m going to zip it up and find me a shining elder. I’ve always wanted to learn how to make marzipan, I bet there’s a little lady somewhere in Portland daydreaming about her past creations right now. I see a screenplay developing out of this David.:)
The boomer generation is retired or retiring, a bridge between centuries and paradigms, and absolutely loaded with gifts that few know to value or even ask for. We'd be so much richer if we learned...
This is really lovely. I’ve used YouTube and the Ball Canning book to guide me in making various pepper jellies, but there’s so many little tricks I’d love to learn from a master. While working the farmer’s market circuit for my local bakery, I befriended a lady who made and sold pepper jelly and she gave me some ideas, but maybe I need to stop by the assisted living place nearby … Really lovely story, much appreciated.
This is a beautiful story. Thank you!
So, so very beautiful. All the things I've been taught by surrogate grandparents have been gifts so layered they're practically novels--and all offered so humbly.
Also, the photographs of the jam in the jars are so tantalising that they're bordering on being NSFW
Dearest Chloe, it makes sense, of course, taught by surrogate grandparents. Your ability to glean such treasures from some of the least likely of places. It is a gift. As they were to you and as you are to many of us.
It pleases me to know that the images feed your eyes. Thank you.
I'm in tears here. So powerful!
David, are you the David Perry of OSU?
Dear Neva...
your note and your tears, noted... a gift of recognition. Treasure.
Thank you for making time to leave this glimpse of your heart.
I see you.
Delightful story!
I am 71 and most of my friends are in their 70s. Most of us had working moms who did not can! None of us are in assisted living or near that day!! Just saying because it made me laugh at the imagined little old 70 something lady sitting alone in assisted living! Still, it is a commendable idea to seek out information on traditional chores from people who actually did those things. No one in my immediate family canned. A great aunt in W. VA did out of necessity. She and my great uncle lived in a log cabin home that was over 100 yrs old, no running water or inside toilet. ( Yep out house!) She canned and baked. Raised a stunning veg garden. They are long gone; I was not able to use her expertise. I decided I wanted to learn how to can vegies and fruit. I canned tomatoes for years because they were easy. I taught myself with books and contacting state universities extensions. Lots of good information on canning and canning safety. I tried jam making a few years ago. It was a hit or miss venture. I did perfect blackberry jam. I did not want to do refrigerator jam as I wanted shelf safe jams. The most fun I had was my learning to make pickles. You know you can pickle almost everything? The best part of canning is seeing those beautiful foods lining up on the shelf and giving it away also. My next adventure will be using my new pressure canning pot to can shelf safe foods (low acid vegies and meats).
Dearest Kay, first off, thank you for your laughing nudge toward a clearer awareness. Given that my folks did not seek the more comfortable safety net of assisted living until their mid eighties, I should know better, and have gone back and changed the sentence to say: "
Surely there must be someone who would be delighted to be recognized as a badass once again, an expert in a lovely, meditative and ever so tasty skillset she still, even in her seventies or eighties knows far more about than Ruby knows about almost anything."
When Dad moved into assisted care there were some folks there who had moved in well before they were 'forced' into it, active folks who still travelled and did all sorts of fascinating things who simply liked the convenience that such a home base allowed them to leave, knowing it would be safe while they were elsewhere and a welcoming place return to. I was picturing them when I wrote about the seventy-somethings, and certainly meant no offense.
I'm so grateful that you made time to wade in here to add your notes and some 'living it' context to the story, and to nudge me toward a slightly more realistic imagining.
May your adventures continue to fascinate and challenge. And may your day be kind.
A delightful adventure, David.....which not only made my mouth water but tugged at my heartstrings.
Thank you my friend. Looking forward to your next visit.
David, your huge encompassing heart is a joy to read always, but here, as I store away all my preserves for the year, potted and labelled ( at least mostly ) and breathe a huge sigh of contentment to have been taught to do so in the great tradition of jam making, I thank the gods for people like you that always, always think of others less fortunate and lonely. I wish I could share my overfilled store cupboards with each and every one. And next year, if Ruby would like to call by, I will gladly teach her each and every secret my mother taught me - this is beautiful and yes, what if? What if holds much magic of that Im certain...
Dearest Susie, at the invitation of your words I have just peeked into your newly restocked jam cupboard, a delicious treat for these imagining eyes, as it would be for any fellow jam maker. I see the treasure stacked neatly there, rows of garnet and gold, and find myself able to impute some of the tastes, the nuanced quality of those tastes from the quality you so carefully tend, elsewhere, in mixing and laying down words into stories that preserve moments of grace and capture their sweetness. How wonderful the things you make and share.
I trust that Ruby will have caught wind of your invitation, carried aloft by autumn's migrations and whispered into her awareness by the faint vibrations of some diligent orb-weaver's web just outside her window. How very lucky, any student so summoned.
What if...
Hi David,
I love how you give to us in the posts you write. And how I imagine you must feel receiving our comments.
Giving and receiving.
Sweeter than blackberry jam.
I think you're onto something, here, Susan. Your comments, the chance to interact and find some meeting of the minds and hearts is an immense part of the joy of sharing a story, here. Giving and receiving, indeed. Thank you for such a generous note.
Ooh, great! Thank you, but there's no hurry, plums are over now, it'll be good to have for next year though!
Sweet sustenance. You never disappoint.
Music to a storyteller's ears, dear Retta. Thank you.
Haven’t cried this much in years… God bless you! I’m the young and the old lady all wrapped in one. This is how you bring the kingdom into being🙂
Dear M, you are seen. And heard.
That ache is so real.
I suspect there are many of us who understand.
Perhaps with imagination and kindness we can help one another...
What if...
Like so many of your stories, this one brought back some wonderful childhood memories. My family grew our own raspberries and strawberries, working together to pick up to 30 pints of berries a day. We sold them from the roadside at 50 cents a pint and plenty were reserved for jam, which was not for sale. My pragmatic mother made "freezer jam", which did not require sterilization, and stored it in stackable Tupperware containers (very pragmatic!). I can still picture the little boxes of Sure-Jell pectin. It was more like fresh fruit than canned jam, not necessarily better, just different.
Good morning John, your note is a real treat. I'm well acquainted with 'freezer jam' which was my stepmom's preferred method too. As a full time, working Registered Nurse, time was precious, and most freezer jam recipes allowed for less time to make, and less sugar than fruit (healthier and tastier), in order to thicken to a proper, 'jammy' consistency. We went through a lot of raspberry and peach freezer jam in our house during the high school years and it was delicious.
My mother was also a Registered Nurse. I suppose a good nurse must also be an efficiency expert and a problem solver.
I know I could Google to find out but in the spirit of this charming post I'd rather bother your benign self for an answer! It's another language/culture blip (as with your post about hunting flickers) for this UK gal (crone!); so, what are the ingredients added to the fruit to make the "butters" that are being lovingly and extensively created in your kitchen please? Italian plum butter sounds as though it would have been a godsend a few weeks ago when we were knee-deep in them! My partner made lots of jam and dried some but an alternative would be welcome! We make clear jelly from fruit like crab apples and redcurrants, and coulis from blackcurrants, but I don't know about butters - please fill this knowledge gap!
Hi Liz, I wish I could attach a plum butter recipe that was tidy and complete. Alas, after consulting several books in our canning library, I did search the internet for specifics. I knew I wanted a crock pot recipe so the fruit could “melt” while we slept. In the morning I added brown sugar and warm spices then puréed it with an immersion blender. Leaving the lid propped open, the purée cooked for several more hours until thickened. Once in jars, the time in the water bath is longer due to the thickness of the butter. The plum is both delightfully tangy with a warm sweetness.
Thank you, Mary.
Liz, give me a few hours and I'll be back with a recipe...
This is a special post on so many levels to me. I’ve been Ruby, anxious to learn. Some of my best recipes, like bread and gluten, have come after being Ruby. I have been the old lady seeking interested younger folk to be interested in learning a lost art—jam making!
I’m still open to finding the young person eager to learn…
Thank you for this lovely story, David.
Dear Ruby, I love that you just put it out there into the universe ..."still open to finding the young person eager to learn… "
May the breezes carry your words and may the attentive, searching ears hear them.
Thank you for such encouragement.
Your story gave me a huge lump in my throat, and the desire to share my canning skills with a friend. My dear neighbor, 87 two years ago, crossed. And I miss her every day.
Dear Teyani,
What if...?
I understand the missing part.
And if that lump in your throat is worthy of the bother, I heartily encourage you to find some way to share your gifts...
Well, thank you, David. That is why I’m writing.
Now I’m rooting for you.
My god this is so beautiful. I want this experience for everyone, and how easy it can be if we only make it so! Next time I grumble about never really having had grandparents I’m going to zip it up and find me a shining elder. I’ve always wanted to learn how to make marzipan, I bet there’s a little lady somewhere in Portland daydreaming about her past creations right now. I see a screenplay developing out of this David.:)
The boomer generation is retired or retiring, a bridge between centuries and paradigms, and absolutely loaded with gifts that few know to value or even ask for. We'd be so much richer if we learned...
I love how you think, my friend.
This is really lovely. I’ve used YouTube and the Ball Canning book to guide me in making various pepper jellies, but there’s so many little tricks I’d love to learn from a master. While working the farmer’s market circuit for my local bakery, I befriended a lady who made and sold pepper jelly and she gave me some ideas, but maybe I need to stop by the assisted living place nearby … Really lovely story, much appreciated.
Tom, this is fantastic! I'm so very grateful that you weighed in with your experience.
I hope you find a pepper jelly sensei, and beg you to write about it if you do.