"Tastes like Pie in a Jar"

What makes Jams Gone Wild Products Unique?

SECRET RECIPES:  My aunt sent me an 1874 cookbook from my great grandmother and I found several recipes for butters, jams, jellies, etc.  My great-grandmother was named Mary Susan McClure.  I didn’t know her, but I have a picture of her and I love to look at it.  I wonder what she was like, what were her dreams, and did she live a great life?  I believe my butters, salsas, and jams are different because I use the recipes from 4 generations of canners.   I think it is cool to be able to say:  “ I have "secret recipes" just like Coca Cola..”  Will I have to lock these secret recipes in a lockbox?  Somehow, I feel these grandmothers are guiding me because I am trying to preserve a dying art, that of canning and preserving foods.  I hope to teach my granddaughters or grandsons, for that matter, to can.  It is really fun and kids would love the process.  I take so much time and care in the development of the recipes and am constantly studying new ones or creating new ones myself. One of my new customers gave me a great compliment at the Farmer’s Market.  She said, "Your Caramel pear butter tastes like a pie in a jar."  My mother passed on some of the recipes for these fabulous butters!   Today, there aren’t many canners left to carry on the traditions.  I feel it is up to me to pass on secret recipes of my ancestors for future generations to enjoy.

YUMMINESS FACTOR:  A product that is really, really yummy is hard to come by these days.. So many products and foods I buy, just aren’t that great. Most companies are focused on profit, not quality, in my humble opinion.   The time I spend making these jams is worthwhile, because the customers love the taste.. I can see it in their expressions.. Like MMMMMMM…I decided to give taste tests of my products directly to the customers at the farmers market.  After tasting the products, most all of them purchased something.  It was the taste selling the product.  A yummy, yummy taste.  This test made me very, very happy and to see children love the jams, well, what an awesome experience.  One little boy came back three times for samples!  Of course, I told his dad, “Hey, he needs a jar of his own.”

CARAMELIZING SUGAR:  I believe another factor which makes my jams different and unique is I spend hours on some of the products, such as the butters.  They bake about 4 hours and I add the ingredients gradually as they are baking.  Have you ever caramelized sugar?   This scientific process takes about thirty minutes of constant stirring and you have to be really careful not to spill any of hot, hot sugar on any part of your body!  The caramelizing process turns the sugar into a caramel, which is carefully added to the products during the baking process, along with top secret ingredients.    My caramel pear, peach, and apple butters will melt in your mouth!!  Talk about thick, rich, creamy and natural, these butters are to die for.. You have to try some on a buttery hot biscuit!

THE WILD FACTOR: Jams Gone Wild, literally means, we harvest in the wilderness.   I harvest my prickly pear cactus down by Abilene on my brother's ranch.  I believe these prickly pears are like the Vidalia onion, or Hatch Chile's, secret is in the soil.  The cactus jelly is so sweet, tastes very much like wild plum or wild blackberry.  For people who are tired of basic grape jelly, this jelly is a real hit.  I sold out at The Farmer’s Market last week and the week before, so cactus will be a main ingredient for some of the jams.   I will soon make another harvesting trip to Abilene to pick fresh prickly pear tunas for the cactus jellies and butters.. I also harvested fruit and berries from the wild most of the summer, which was quite an adventure.  Last week, while picking pears, I was stung by a tarantula wasp, which wow, packs a huge amount of venom in its bite.  My arm is still swollen, and it is now, about 5 days later after the bite.  On the pain scale, 1-5, it is a 5 in the insect world.  So not only am I delivering you a great jam, but I have stories to bring back to you from the wilderness.  While picking prickly pears last year, I slipped on a hillside and fell right into the cactus.  I received some lacerations, cuts, and a few bruises.  This mishap was my first prickly pear outing, so this year, I am more experienced, more careful. It gives me great pleasure to find the ripest berries, fruits, and cactus for our jams and jellies out in the wild.  I love the thrill of the hunt!

Life is and adventure at Jams Gone Wild.  If you are looking for adventure, you will love our products!