Is making home made jam cost effective?

Sambucus_Nigra

There is absolutely nothing on the shelves that tastes as good as my home grown home made strawberry jam. Fact!

kippers

sambucus_nigra wrote: »

there is absolutely nothing on the shelves that tastes as good as my home grown home made strawberry jam. Fact!

I agree, well said.
:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T:T

lostinrates

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

There is absolutely nothing on the shelves that tastes as good as my home grown home made strawberry jam. Fact!

But it presumes strawberry jam is a favourite...for me it's not. We use maybe a jar every second year of straight, unadulterated strawberry jam.....making leads just to giving away. (wild strawberry on the otherhand.....) There are things I would much rather do with my strawberries tbh. And my raspberries. Maybe when I have unusable gluts in the future,......I just cannot imagine that ATM......:o

Sambucus_Nigra

lostinrates wrote: »

But it presumes strawberry jam is a favourite...for me it's not. We use maybe a jar every second year of straight, unadulterated strawberry jam.....making leads just to giving away. (wild strawberry on the otherhand.....) There are things I would much rather do with my strawberries tbh. And my raspberries. Maybe when I have unusable gluts in the future,......I just cannot imagine that ATM......:o

No presumptions...it's the law.

I still have strawbs and rasps in the freezer from last year; and that's with all the slug and weather losses.

lostinrates

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

No presumptions...it's the law.

I still have strawbs and rasps in the freezer from last year; and that's with all the slug and weather losses.

Next time you get flooded come here, sort me out in the Soft fruit garden dept and bring me jam. . ( soft fruit garden plans sometimes wake me up at night. I know where I want it, sort of how I want it, but there are logistical issues...as well as finacial ones!)

We must uphold the law! So you can convince me... I got our early strawbs but the late ones were a constant race against slugs and chicks

niksyg

For me, making my own jam is cost effective as I make most of it from foraged fruit, such as apple and blackberry. Luckily this also our favourite jam which helps!

I only have to pay for sugar and I reuse my own jars or friends from work give me theirs.

I try and make enough to see us through the year, about 20 jars - which allows for a couple of gifts too.

I also make chutney at Christmas which I sell to friends and family, which gives me a profit so for me it definitely works!

lostinrates

niksyg wrote: »

For me, making my own jam is cost effective as I make most of it from foraged fruit, such as apple and blackberry. Luckily this also our favourite jam which helps!

I only have to pay for sugar and I reuse my own jars or friends from work give me theirs.

I try and make enough to see us through the year, about 20 jars - which allows for a couple of gifts too.

I also make chutney at Christmas which I sell to friends and family, which gives me a profit so for me it definitely works!

I used to sell baked goods (never preserves, except not for profit at village fete) but just haven't done it for years now. It's not cost effective for me to do it legally on the tiny scale I would be doing it on and I am not prepared to do it without the necessaries in place (environmental health annual checks and food saftey corse cert )? I don't want to register with my council for making a few dozen pots of ham (not least as in my area they would like a change of use planning submission for this on a small domestic scale. All the labelling etc is an extra cost, and while small I find it really does add up. And my fruit is free too.

Whatever happened about the eu ruling (quite wrong IMO) on banning reused jars in cottage industry or wi/village fete type use? Did it get overturned? I hope so!

Sambucus_Nigra

lostinrates wrote: »

Next time you get flooded come here, sort me out in the Soft fruit garden dept and bring me jam. . ( soft fruit garden plans sometimes wake me up at night. I know where I want it, sort of how I want it, but there are logistical issues...as well as finacial ones!)

We must uphold the law! So you can convince me... I got our early strawbs but the late ones were a constant race against slugs and chicks

You'd have to fight me for the jam...and the spare soft fruit was completely waterlogged, which is why the family didn't get pressies this Christmad.

The good thing about straws is with a couple of years you have so many plants as they all self propagate that you can give the, away to loads of people.

TravellingAbuela

Reading through this thread took me back some 30 odd years and reminded me of my weekly treat! I did my shopping each Friday and, lastly, stopped off in the indoor market for bread. They had the bread baking all morning and I can smell it now! My treat was go home, slice the still warm bread in chunks, lather with butter and top with my homemade strawberry jam. Absolutely nothing has ever tasted as good since!

lostinrates

Sambucus_Nigra wrote: »

You'd have to fight me for the jam...and the spare soft fruit was completely waterlogged, which is why the family didn't get pressies this Christmad.

The good thing about straws is with a couple of years you have so many plants as they all self propagate that you can give the, away to loads of people.

I have loads of strawberry plants, and sometimes a fair few strawbs, but while I love strawbs jam is well down the list of why I love them.

I am sorry about your soft fruit. Hopefully it's all survived and healthy, at least it has been mild while flooded (here at least) so nothing got frozen while wet. .