Well folks, I just got back from the kitchen and made the first pear butter of the year. I love the smell of it cooking — ginger and cardamom make a great fall scent. I also made more fig with vanilla and apple jam with real maple syrup. I’ve been thinking about why my jam is so much better than that made in stores and have come to a simple conclusion. I use better fruit. All of the jam recipes call for good fruit, but I suspect that many home cooks and large manufacturers both use what they can get cheaply. The pears I bought were tree ripe, delicious and perfect. Under-ripe or overripe simply wouldn’t have worked the same.
The consequence is that I have to charge a higher price. The fig jam, for example, will go for $10/jar, which is more than I like to pay but is the only way I can break even.
I’m not sure where I’ll be this weekend, either Ballard or Fremont on Sunday, but Issaquah is all done.
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