March Slice of Life No. 11.
When I was young, jelly or jam was served with toast at breakfast. Once in a while, it would be served if we had hot biscuits. . . once in a while.
When I married, my husband wanted jelly/jam on the table at every meal. I objected. He insisted. Jelly/jam became a regular part of all meals. But never grape jelly.
In the years when our children were young, I made jam/preserves. Plum was our favorite. Jars of deep purple, tart sweetness. There were sand plums* we’d pick from bushes that grew along fences bordering grasslands and wheat fields when we lived in Oklahoma.
Photo by John M. Row
And then there were the Italian plums we’d harvest from two trees in our backyard when we moved to Oregon.
Now, many years later, jam/preserves on a piece of warm crunchy rustic toast or a hot flaky homemade biscuit is one of my favorite winter treats. We often have two or three choices on our table, even though it is only the two of us now.
- No sugar or sweeteners added. More fruit. Simply Fruit selections are always in our pantry or refrigerator. Apricot and blackberry are the favorites.
- About a year ago we discovered Kelly’s, made in Oregon. I think I’ve become addicted to the touch of heat in the sweetness. And, in case you don’t know, there is nothing like the sweetness of an Oregon strawberry or an Oregon marionberry.
- A friend introduced us to Robert Rothschild hot pepper peach, poured over a brick of cream cheese, served with water crackers. Now, this one has bite to it. Needless to say, a jar is on the jam shelf in our refrigerator.
And when my biscuits are a day old, I split ’em, butter ’em, toast ’em under the broiler, and spread with jam. Yum!
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*Also known as sand hill plum, mountain cherry, and chickasaw plum.
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Thank you to
Two Writing Teacher
One of my favourites snacks has always been toasted English muffins with jam. Yum! The jams you noted sound delicious.
Made me miss my mom’s homemade grape jelly and strawberry freeze jam. Toast, biscuits, English muffins- yummy on any of those. You made your jams, jellies, and preserves sound so inviting!
Strawberry jam spread on hot buttered toast is one of my favorites. Your post has my mouth watering for some right now.
I love reading about the evolution of your jam/jelly choices. I’ve been working on something like this about my caffeine habits, but hasn’t quite working out yet. I think your Slice may help me pull mine together. Thank for sharing!
How delightful does all that sound?! How enticing, can just taste the sweetness with the hint of other…! Love the photos too!
Never could make jam but I used to preserve and dry pears, peaches, apricots and nectarines, when our family was young and there were many hungry mouths to feed. Sure miss those days!
Thank you for taking us on your jam tasting trip. I will be going to Oregon this April. I will make sure to try Kelly’s Jelly on a warm biscuit ;).