DAM
GOOD JAM
One
of our customers gave us the name: |
"You
guys make dam good jam". |
We
make dam good jam because we grew it, we foraged it or we know
exactly which of our neighboring farmer friends we got it from.
Some
other jam purveyors are buying bags of frozen fruit from big box
"club" stores and claiming to create "farm fresh"
jam for market. Or you're going to find bizarre blends that make
the fruit component go further, or mask the fruit taste all together.
Beats us why anyone would mask fruit flavor, unless it's not good
tasting fruit in the first place! It's easy to say "we use
only the freshest ingredients", but we don't bother unless
the ingredients really are stellar. We can tell you exactly where
our fruit came from - and when!
We
use old time methods and recipes. There is a science to a truly
good old-time jam. Jams without sugar and pectin in our opinion
are lesser quality jams. Each type of fruit contains the natural
thickeners(pectin) you need for the right jam consistency. Jams
without pectin are cooked a long time until all the nutrients
are gone in order to get that jam consistency. Pectin is a naturally
occurring substance found in berries, apples and other fruit.
When heated together with sugar, it causes the thickening. Pectin
is a soluble fiber which is good for the digestive tract, among
other health benefits.
Getting
the right balance of fruit, pectin and sugar is the science part
of jam making. Sugar is a natural preservative, so there is a
given amount needed to make a preserve. You need to understand
the ripeness of the fruit, the acidic content and the freshness
of the fruit in order to prepare a jam that is more fruit than
sugar and that sets up just right - every time. Folks new to jam
making don't yet understand that and that's why we make dam-good-jam.
We've been at it since 1989 and selling it at market since 2009.
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