The Jam and Jelly Lady

I flew through house cleaning, laundry, and starting pulled pork for dinner just so I can get through this morning's canning a little earlier (I'm making Pear Honey) and get to my favorite springtime chore: shopping for my canning garden!

Of course I have about 10 varieties of tomatoes.  I like to mix romas (for texture) and heirlooms (for flavor) when I make salsas and sauces.  But it's the herbs that I really get excited about buying.  I like several varieties of basil and cilantro to flavor my tomatoes. 

I'm also going to get several varieties of scented geraniums.  I love rose geranium jelly, and the other flavors like nutmeg and cinnamon are fun to experiment with, too. 

If you want to play with aromatics when you make jam, just tie a clean handful in a bit of muslin, and let it cook with your jams.  It won't hurt it - just flavor it a bit.  And you can keep your sugar and lemon juice (or citric acie) ratio just as you always do. Lemon thyme is a gentle way of adding a soft citrus scent to light butters like pear and peach.

I like to bottle infused vinegars, too.  So I'll be shopping for staples like rosemary, sage, dill, parsley, and chives.  I tilled my garden last week, and the earth is perfect for planting today!  So excited!!!