love jars
Rutland
Preserving is something I have loved doing ever since I can remember – I have
memories as a very small person helping my Mother to make jars of jam ready for
the Winter. I could only just see over the kitchen table but loved all the neat
rows with their cellophane tops and labels. I made my first chutney alone and
unaided when I was about 11 years old - I don't know what my Mother was thinking
of - but I was delighted with the result and embarked upon trying out more
recipes over the next few years. Preserving has been a lifelong passion and I
have enjoyed experimenting with creating my own recipes which is after all, the
roots of preserving in the first place. Our ancestors used what they knew with
what they had in order to extend the life of food that they farmed or foraged in
order to feed their families, and to survive. Nowadays, preserving can be more
of an enjoyable hobby but is still an important means of making the most of what
we grow or harvest or maybe find as bargains at the market. It makes a
significant contribution to the family diet by adding nourishment, variety, and
flavour to everyday meals. Nowadays, when we are all trying to make ends meet it
is even more important to make sure we make the most of all that we can and
prevent waste. about rosie making jam age 5 I now live in rural Rutland with
husband Trevor, love good food, chickens and knitting (when I'm not making jam!)
With teaching jam and preserve making and Master Classes, talks and
demonstrations, writing, running my own Artisan preserves business, LoveJars and
being Nanny to four grandsons, life is busy. In addition there are books! 'In a
Bit of a Jam' is my personal account of my jam making story which began before I
went to school and is supplemented with a series of recipe books on the
individual methods of making preserves - and is a work in progress. We also
publish a monthly digital magazine 'Simply Preserved' for all of those who love
preserving as much as we do, home makers and artisans alike. Free to read in
page-turning software it is a ground breaking resource for the preserving world.