Almost anything edible--
corncobs, tomatoes, ginger--
can be jellied and jammed

By LORI HALL STEELE
Joyce Clark likes her corn-cob jelly on waffles. Stephen Oliver serves his rhubarb-raspberry-ginger jam over oatmeal cookies, with a dose of brandy, chocolate mousse and kiwi.
      And blueberry-Merlot preserves? Carol Vanderberg suggests baking it atop wheels of brie cheese.
     “With jellies and jams, you’re only limited by your imagination,” says Oliver, 44, a Traverse City oil-and-gas consultant who jars his own concoctions throughout the summer. “I don’t think you should be intimidated at all.”
      Indeed, almost anything edible can be jellied or jammed, preserved or marmaladed. Sumac? Why not. Dandelions? Sure. The Jelly Sisters — a trio of Traverse City subdivision neighbors — have turned such grandmother-era spreads into a veritable business.
      They’ve tried rose-hip jelly (time-consuming but lovely), Queen Anne’s lace jelly (tastes like honey), and corn cob jelly (a hint of — go figure — cinnamon.) Clark, one of the sisters, says the threesome began making jellies and jams years ago, when their children would scour woods together, picking this and that.
     “What we started out with was mostly old-fashioned recipes, someone would say oh, my grandmother used to make such-and-such,” said Clark, one of the partners.
      Preserves are made with whole fruit, jam with sliced or chopped fruit, and jellies are made with juice. Marmalades include fruit pulp or acid ingredients, like lemon juice. With many jelly concoctions, the flower, the leaf, or, in the case of corn, the de-corned cobs, are steeped in water to create an infusion or tea.
      All can be sealed up and preserved easily using basic pectin and canning jars.
     “You can make any type of jelly out of tea. Be creative,” said Vanderberg, a preserve chef at Food for Thought, an organic and wildcrafted preserves company in Honor.
      The Jelly Sisters also started a mix-it-up cherry jam line: Cherry-rhubarb, cherry-pepper, cherry-raspberry, among others. But their real niche is the recipes they recalled from the good old days, including dandelion jelly, another honey-flavored spread, and staghorn jelly, made from non-poisonous sumac.
      Tomato jelly, with a hint of lemon zest, is a favorite of area Canadians and English — “it’s something they’re used to,” said Clark — who spread it on toast or bagels, often with bacon or cream cheese. It also works well on “pretty little sandwiches,” such as cucumber sandwiches.
      Elderberry jam “marches right past blueberries” in terms of a flavor whop, and is among The Jelly Sisters’ best sellers, said Clark.
      Food for Thought infuses its products with herbs and wines, essentially cooking in a dose of Merlot or basil with fruits from area farms and woodlands.
     “The herbs enhance the flavor of the fruit,” said Jody Treter, director of specialty products. “They’re cooked together so there’s not an overwhelming taste.”
      Some combinations include strawberry and basil or blueberry and lavender. Wine pairs well with fruit, and Vanderberg, who prepares preserves, suggests adding a 1/2 cup of wine for every 8 cups of fruit, then deducting a half cup of fruit so pectin measurements remain stable.
      Some suggested pairings? Vanderberg likes Pinot Noir with Balatine cherries, strawberries with Reisling, blueberries with Merlot, cherries with Cabernet, and blackberries with Syrah.
     “We try lots of unusual combinations, and it’s always a fun thing,” she said. “When the fruit is being cooked, the alcohol mostly cooks off, and it gives a subtle kind of clarity.”
      Vanderberg used to make jams at home all the time — “I liked to hear the lids pop,” she said — and loved opening jars at Christmas that reminded her of, say, picking strawberries with her children in summer. Canning summer's fruits preserves the memories, becomes “a heritage thing,” she said.
     “You can’t really fail if you’re there to have a good time,” Vanderberg said. “If it flops, just put it on ice cream and try again.”
      Oliver spends several days, total, per summer concocting and canning jams and jellies. He suggests going to a book, getting a standard recipe, then having some fun. Learn what you like, what works, and enjoy the process.
      Once you’ve got the jars out, all the mechanics of the process taken care of, you’ll want to fill as many jars as possible. But don’t overdo at first, he cautions.
     “If you’re trying something for the first time, don’t make 40 gallons of it,” he said.
      Some of his favorites? Try blueberry-lime jam.
     “It’s absolutely gorgeous,” Oliver said. “You get the sweetness of the berries along with the tartness of the lime, but it’s not sharp. I make big jars of it, either to have as a spread, or just to have a lot of pre-made pie filling for the rest of year.”
      Growing up in England, Oliver’s mother made all the family’s jams and preserves. Oliver began making his own in the mid-’90s, with his partner, Julie Howe. He’s served his red-currant jelly with lamb, apple jelly with pork, various fruits on sponge cake with a light cream-cheese dressing.
      Like he said, you’re only limited by imagination. Strawberries and jalapenos? Why not. Green tomatoes? Sure.
     “When I’ve got the boilers going, I might just add something in the refrigerator that needs using up,” he said. “The list goes on and on.”

Published by Traverse City Record-Eagle
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