Sour cherry, sour cherry/service berry, and service berry jam.

I thought for a little while on the title of this musing.  My first thought was to title it In a jam, then came Jammin’, but I decided that I didn’t want to go with playing with word meanings.  Instead I started to think about a conversation I had with a friend of mine this weekend.  I have known my friend since Grade 8.  We are both creative people and studied Art in University, she painting, me sculpture and printmaking.  We were talking about art, making time to create, the things she had been doing to get her art out into the world, and the route I am trying to get my art some exposure. During the conversation I said something about how much time I ended up working on the domestic arts.  It was in reference to my admitting that I sometimes colour block or create patterns when I am hanging laundry.

Today, I am not creating laundry art but making jam.  I think one of the challenges of making jam is that the things you want to make jam with are ready during the hottest time of the year.  I have a large pot of water boiling to process the jam, a kettle boiling to top the pot up, a small pot of water simmering the jar lids, the oven on low to keep the jars hot, and I am stirring the boiling jam.  I have the window open and the fan going, but I am still feeling a little hot.  The end result is worth all the heat.  When I am finished I will have made two kinds of jam, using only three ingredients each, with berries and cherries that I have grown, picked and prepared myself.  All that and they taste fabulous and look glorious, prompting me to play with my camera.

Service Berry Jam