Jam Makin

All around the woodland paths,
Foraging fresh and crisp from the start,
From plums to berries,
And tasty wee cherries
Grooming the line with care
Stopping to stare,
At the many labelled trees,
Blowing in the midday breeze,
Then back to Buchan,
For a pleasant function,
Food, information and jam makin

A poem about the day by Gill

Gill was one of the participants of the Fruit Picking and Jam Making workshop that took place on the 13th August. It was a really great day; fun and informative thanks to Jacky Sutton-Adam and Aasia Bibi. The day kicked off with a short taxi ride to Histon Wood, where the group met Jacky for a spot of foraging. Along the way the group were shown a variety of wild plants that could be eaten such as dandelion leaves. First came the plum trees and then blackberries along the guided busway. We were very lucky with the weather, which held out til the afternoon. Jacky took us on a circular walk, with a final stop at the Apple Orchard. We then headed back to Buchan Street Neighbourhood Centre for tea and flapjack, then lunch!

While we waited for Aasia to set up for the afternoon jam making session we talked about Kettle’s Yard and Jim Ede’s fondness for toast and jam in the afternoon.

Next it was time to prepare the fruit! Everyone was involved in the process of de-stoning the plums, weighing and cooking. It was all hands on deck as we had managed to pick a surprising 3 kilograms of fruit! The smell of the fruit and sugar as the jam pan heated up was intoxicating and while we waited for it to set Gill conducted a poetry reading about the day.

The jam tasted beautiful. Served on thick, buttered bread. We made enough for everyone to take home a small jar and a bag of plums. The participants decided to call this particular jam ‘Fresh Forest Jam’ and we hope you can delight in tasting it for yourself at our celebratory event, On Your Doorstep, on the 27th September at 37 Lawrence Way.