When Life gives you Lemons – Make Jam!

When Life gives you Lemons – Make Jam!

If you live anywhere near a social media outlet and you follow the Women’s Institute, one of the most frequently used headlines you will read is “WI – More than Jam.” Not to be contrary, however, the Women Inspiring Women WI of Brant County are all about the jam! Strawberry jam, to be precise, made the old fashioned way without pectin. The recipe has three ingredients: berries, sugar, and lemon juice.

On June 3rd, about a dozen members and guests gathered in the basement kitchen of the Paris Presbyterian Church, turned on the tunes, and commenced jammin’. Event organizer Andrea Roddy provided everything needed to prepare strawberry jam, including the aprons!

Throughout the process, Andrea shared safety tips about the proper handling of canning equipment and jars. “Many hands make light the work” is a saying that could have been coined for this group. The women, hulled, mashed, stirred, and poured. There was even some math involved. And timers. No worries! We had our apps for that!

The canning event was not without its “lemons”. No worries – creative minds rallied in an instant and all hiccups were overcome. For example, a pizza pan works as a canning pot lid. Need a funnel? Trim a plastic bottle to suit. One member made an emergency shopping trip to buy more jars and another solved the dessert emergency by bringing ice cream and shortcake shells. The cheerful room fell silent for a spell while the gals sampled the leftover syrupy goodness.

During the last stage of the jamming event, the WIW WI members labelled the jars and conducted one final round of clean-up. The group may repeat their canning adventures once cucumbers are ready to pickle. Stay tuned!

If you’d like a copy of the jam recipe, here is the link.

Carrying on with the strawberry theme, the following Sunday saw twenty-five women and friends meet at the Adelaide Hunter Hoodless Homestead for a pot-luck picnic. The weather was as fabulous as the food and friendship.

Many new faces were at the event. Mia Ferguson, a former WI member who resides at Telfer Place made a special effort to pay a visit. She had read about Women Inspiring Women WI in the papers and said that the new WI is the talk around the residence. Planners hope to organize a get-together between WIW WI and the women at Telfer.

Women Inspiring Women WI meets the second Thursday of the month from September through June. Over the summer there are no formal gatherings, however the group holds informal craft events and other social outings. See the events calendar for details.