Preserving the Harvest: A Gift of Maine Jams and Jellies

This spring, I decided I was going to make some gift sets of Maine jams and jellies where all or at least almost all of the fruit came our homestead. I decided to purchase sets of the beautiful little tulip jars from Weck and fill a set of six jars with jams and jellies that encompass our entire harvest season here on our land. In my mind, it would be the best gift I could give someone–because I love Maine, I love Maine’s berries, I love jams and jellies, and I love these little jars. This would be a gift full of love, and I am a big believer that positive energy can be transferred like that. Plus, my friends and family always ask for more of these jams and jellies, so I figured having a whole series would just be extra special.

My plan was to start in May with our rhubarb and figure out how to make pink rhubarb vanilla bean jelly. Our rhubarb is not a very red variety, so getting pink jelly is a challenge. Then, in June, I would make strawberry jam from the berries in our raised beds, raspberry jam from raspberries in the garden patch in July, blueberry jam from blueberries in our blueberry patch in August, as long as the birds shared enough, elderberry jam from elderberries in bushes in the duck yard in September, and apple butter from apples from a local orchard–the only ones not from our property, though I realized when it was too late that I should have made pear butter because we have pear trees. But next year!

My plan all worked out, for the most part. I was over the moon when I managed to get the recipe for the pink rhubarb jelly to work. I was devastated when the birds ate every bit of our elderberries just before they were ripe. But when I lost the elderberry, I realized I could make grape jelly instead–and it’s my favorite. Then, it was my good fortune that my very kind neighbor gave me a huge pot of her grapes. I ended up with only four complete sets though because some people I live with kept eating the rhubarb jelly.

Below, I will share the recipe I used for each of these beautiful jars in case you would like to try something similar. Maine is such a beautiful state. I love it for so many reasons, but I think my favorite part of Maine is the food we grow here. But this series would be great in any state. I am imagining right now peach preserves, plum butter and blackberry jam from where I grew up in Texas. Anyway, I hope this gives you an idea for something special next year when you harvest.

1. Rhubarb Vanilla Bean Jelly–I used this recipe from A View from Great Island (if you have greener rhubarb like I do, just use the red parts only and then save your green pieces of rhubarb for muffins, scones, etc.).

2. Strawberry Jam–I just used the recipe from the Sure Jell Low Sugar box.

3. Raspberry Jam–I also use the Sure Jell Low Sugar recipe for this.

4. Blueberry Jam–Again, I just used the Sure Jell Low Sugar recipe.

5. Grape Jelly–I modified several recipes to get a batch that worked really well. I picked the grapes from the stems and then cooked them with about a cup of water for about half an hour. After they cooled, I used cheesecloth to strain the juice. My grapes had seeds, but it’s no problem when you are straining for jelly anyway. I then used three cups of sugar, five cups of grape juice, and a package of Sure Jell Low Sugar. I could not use the recipe on the box because it was for Concord grapes, and somehow, it just didn’t translate well to the grapes I was using.

6. Apple Butter–I used this recipe from My Baking Addiction.