"Huckleberries in November..." 9º

Huckleberry jam that is!..About 9am Friday morning, the sun was shining full force on the deck, wearing just a light jacket I cleared the snow away...The day remained cold but sunny and I remembered what my project for the day was.

Huckleberries in the freezer, and assorted juices (frozen or jarred) and a new kind of pectin were waiting to be used...Using 1 qt of huckleberries, 1qt of juice, 2/3 cup of "lite all natural pectin" and 6 cups of sugar, I soon had 10 jelly jars of jam...I did this 3 times yesterday morning and ended up with 30, 1/2 pints for the cellar shelves...This is much less sugar than the usual recipe and it was easy...Juice and berries in my deep 6 quart kettle, add pectin, bring to a boil for 2 minutes, add sugar, return to boil for another 2 minutes...Ladle into jars, seal and voilà, huckleberry jam in November.

I've been buying pectin in the bulk for several years now, much less expensive than at the grocery store...Kauffmans' in Island City sells bulk items and the last package of pectin I bought was called "Dutch Jell" and had a pamphlet with all the instructions...I bought lite so I could use less sugar...If you used "boxed" pectins for this much jam, the cost would have been over $15.00...I paid $5.13 for Dutch Jell pectin, for 3 double batches!..I like saving money.

Late afternoon I attended the retirement party for longtime Joseph Librarian Jannine, a steady stream of loyal customers wished her well after 30 years of faithful service...Hugs To All...OWAV:)