First came the swearing...and then, surprisingly, a happy ending.

[marilynfl]

It's summer and mounds of strawberries are everywhere. I picked up a package and then promptly forgot about it until half of the strawberries had gone bad. So I decided to make jam before the rest died, only I opted for the idiot version: freezer jam.

However I couldn't find "freezer jam" gelatin packages. I finally located an off-brand in the FIFTH store I checked, but not before swearing. (Does nobody make freezer jam anymore? Am I so far out of the loop I've circled back to the beginning?)

After finding the gelatin, I realized I didn't have enough strawberries, so I pick up another package--organic, this time--at Whole Foods. Turns out (insert favorite swear word here) at least ONE THIRD of the strawberries below the top ones were moldy. It's an 80 mile round trip to Whole Foods, so returning them wasn't an option.

So I dug around in my freezer with the faint hope there were frozen strawberries in there. There weren't (of course there weren't). But there WAS a frozen package of Andean Blackberry puree called MORA. I have no clue what this stuff is, but this is a typical example of my buckshot shopping habits.

I used it to augment the few real strawberries I had and canned 4 8-oz jars. Tasted it the following day...and it's a DELIGHT! It's not as sweet as regular strawberry jam (which was always an issue with me) and the pulp from the few strawberries gave it the texture I wanted. And it tastes like RASPBERRY JAM...just not as firm as regular jam.

End of story: I have 4 jars of quasi-raspberry jam and don't even feel bad about all the swearing.

 

[mariadnoca]

It's summer and mounds of strawberries are everywhere. I picked up a package and then promptly forgot about it until half of the strawberries had gone bad. So I decided to make jam before the rest died, only I opted for the idiot version: freezer jam.

However I couldn't find "freezer jam" gelatin packages. I finally located an off-brand in the FIFTH store I checked, but not before swearing. (Does nobody make freezer jam anymore? Am I so far out of the loop I've circled back to the beginning?)

After finding the gelatin, I realized I didn't have enough strawberries, so I pick up another package--organic, this time--at Whole Foods. Turns out (insert favorite swear word here) at least ONE THIRD of the strawberries below the top ones were moldy. It's an 80 mile round trip to Whole Foods, so returning them wasn't an option.

So I dug around in my freezer with the faint hope there were frozen strawberries in there. There weren't (of course there weren't). But there WAS a frozen package of Andean Blackberry puree called MORA. I have no clue what this stuff is, but this is a typical example of my buckshot shopping habits.

I used it to augment the few real strawberries I had and canned 4 8-oz jars. Tasted it the following day...and it's a DELIGHT! It's not as sweet as regular strawberry jam (which was always an issue with me) and the pulp from the few strawberries gave it the texture I wanted. And it tastes like RASPBERRY JAM...just not as firm as regular jam.

End of story: I have 4 jars of quasi-raspberry jam and don't even feel bad about all the swearing.

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Huzzah!

The next time you’re at Whole Foods, I would walk up with the empty plastic strawberry basket and tell them what happened. I bet they either give you your money back or give you new berries. They also should be a made aware they were selling moldy produce so they can keep an eye out for that.

FYI, the big Whole Foods near me, the one with the fancy smoothie bar, seating, and all the things, has been shut down by the health department, and it’s been well over a month now with no end in sight!

Apparently there were rodent droppings all over the store!! I very rarely went to that store because it’s huge and extremely busy.

While waiting for a parking space at that store, I saw a car backing out from both sides of the aisle. Hit each other, then both pull forward, then both back up, hit each other again and do it yet a third time. I couldn’t believe that was happening in front of me. There was significant damage to their cars. One whole quarter panel was completely crushed in, and yet neither one of the drivers got out of their car. Both just drove away with completely smashed cars. So that’s another reason I don’t go to that store. A friend had warned me of people like that in the parking lot and then I saw it for myself And thought there’s nowhere safe at this Whole Foods. And apparently there’s nowhere safe inside that Whole Foods either. Yuck!