jammin' & jellin'

Last year, mom made some jellies and jams while I was home.

This year, she made a new kind of jam using the loquat. Loquats are called biwa in Japanese.

A nice thing about houses in Hawaii, is that most people have fruit trees. Our neighbor has a loquat tree, so we picked the loquats on our side of the wall and mom made jam. (By the way, in Hawaii, as long as stuff is on your side of the wall, you're allowed to pick it. This is the "rule of neighbors" as I understand it. Nothing is written down, but "you just know".)

After making the jam, we shared one bottle (there were only 2) with our neighbor and she was impressed. This jam was tart from the lemon juice that mom put in, but the texture reminded me of apricots. (Another "rule" is that whatever you make with the "stuff" you've received, you share with the person that gave you the "stuff".)

Depending on the type of fruit, mom makes jams or jellies. Like if a fruit tends to have worms, she'll make jelly from the fruit so that she can strain out the pests.

Here are some other jams and jellies that mom made before I came home and some while I was home.

Poha is Hawaiian for cape gooseberry. We used to have a poha bush, but now mom gets her poha from one of our "aunties". (In Hawaii, we call many non-related people, but family friends, "aunty" or "uncle".)

Surinam Cherry, she's made this before. And I think she got these fruit from a friend.

She also made Ohelo, this is related to the cranberry and only grows near the Volcano area on the Big Island. Ohelo is the Hawaiian name for it. I remember visiting Grandma's and stopping on the side of the road to pick these berries. Mom got the berries to make this jelly from the "aunty" that gave her the poha.

Do you make your own jams and jellies? If so, or if not, what is your favorite?

Have a nice weekend!