COUNTRY TASTES

I grew up with one foot in the country. On second thought, maybe it was only my big toe. I’m a “town girl,” but the tasks of life in the country have pushed me this week.

·      Serviceberry jelly. I made one batch and would have made another except I discovered jelly on hand from last year. I mean – how much jelly can two people consume anyway? But – we like to make jelly, so we’ll share it and make more.

 

·      Picking peas and processing them for the freezer. How many years have I tried unsuccessfully to grow peas? Who knew I was going to have the mother lode this year! I processed and froze a dozen 2-helping packages.

·      Picking the cherries. Are they ready, or are they not? I finally decided I just had to pick them or I would lose the opportunity. Our Lapins self-fertilizing sweet cherry tree is FULL of cherries – more than we can eat. I’m sure they would make a good pie, so into the freezer with them.

It’s nice if there are two of you when making jelly, but I managed alone. First, I organized the kitchen – you know, putting away dishes and cleaning the counter. Then I prepared the jars and laid out the equipment. Next, I measured the pectin, the sugar, and the serviceberry juice. With Grandma Ina’s antique glass citrus juicer, I juiced two large lemons – almost half a cup. The recipe called for ¼ cup, but with these mild country berries (serviceberries and haws), the lemon juice provides a nice contrast to the sweetness.

And that’s when my late mother began to talk to me. “Do not deviate one iota from the jelly recipe,” she said, “because if you do, you risk that it won’t set up.” She disapproved of my dad’s method of cooking, which was to change every recipe he tried.

Elderberries looking sincere

So, in my mind I commenced to argue with her, which I never would have done in person. (Mother had me well-trained.) For one thing, I’ve read a lot of serviceberry, elderberry, black hawthorn berry recipes, and they are all experiments because in reality very few of us make this stuff. If you want advice, you have to consult the bloggers. And – I don’t think the pectin is nearly as touchy as Mother said. In fact, a friend opined that “they” change the pectin every year.

I used six tablespoons of pectin, 3 ½ cups serviceberry juice, 5 cups sugar, and ½ cup lemon juice. I think I could use less pectin, or perhaps no pectin, but that’s an experiment for another day.

And then of course, once you’ve made the jelly, you have to clean the kitchen again, including the floor. KW