🍑🍓Picking the Right Fruit🍑🍓
Everyone is always looking for that warm, down-home guide to choosing the perfect fruit for homemade jam. Well, I’m going to teach you how ripeness, smell, color, and season all shape your jars- with kitchen wisdom, heart of the matter, and a touch of Kentucky charm.
Understanding why Picking the Right Fruit is best for jam making. When it comes to making jam, my beautiful jam lovers, the real magic doesn’t start when you turn on that stove- it starts way earlier, with the fruit you pick. I don’t care how fancy your pots are or how cute your jars look…if the fruit isn’t right the jam isn’t right. Simple as sweet tea in july.
See, every jar has a story, and the first chapter begins in the orchard, the market, or right out back if you’re lucky enough to have bushes and trees of your own. Whether you’re making strawberry, blackberry, peach, or something wild and wonderful, the secret stays the same: good fruit makes good jam. Now let’s mosey through how to choose fruit that’s ripe, ready, and practically begging to be simmered down into something magically delicious shall we.
Color: Nature’s Brightest Clue: Fruit should look like it’s showing off a little. Berries should be rich, dark, and full of color- not pale or patchy. Peaches and plums should have that deep sunset glow, not a tired, washed-out look. If the fruit looks like it needs a nap, it sure doesn’t need to go in your jam. Always use your senses.
Smell: Your Nose Knows: Lean on in and take a sniff, my lovely jam lovers. Good jam fruit smells like itself- big, bold, and honest. Strawberries should smell like strawberries. Peaches should smell like peaches. If you got to search for the scent, that fruit’s still holding back.
Texture: Firm, Not Mushy: Now you listen here jam lovers- soft is fine, mushy is not. You want fruit that gives a little when you press your thumb into it but doesn’t collapse like my aunt Kim’s folding chair at the family reunion. Pay attention to the seasons.
Season: Don’t Fight Mother Nature: If you’re trying to make strawberry jam in November, bless your heart- that’s a battle you are not going to win. Fruit tastes best when it’s in season. It’s sweeter, juicier, cheaper, and honestly just happier. Never underestimate the power of a fruit that’s in its natural moment.
Picking the right fruit is the first promise you make to your jam. It’s you saying, “I want this jar to matter.” And trust me, your tastebuds- and anybody lucky enough to get a spoonful- will thank you kindly.
The Heart of the Matter: Picking the right fruit isn’t just a chore on your list- it’s the part where your heart steps into the kitchen. When you pause long enough to feel the weight of a peach, breathe in the smell of berries, or check the shine on an apple, you’re carrying on something older than any recipe card. You’re doing what your mama did. And her mama. And her mama before her. You’re carrying generations of history.
Fruit tells you a story if you listen- whether it’s ripe, ready, tired, or excited to become something sweet. And when you honor that, your jam will taste like more than fruit and sugar. It’ll taste like care, patience, and pride. Jars made with intention hit different. They taste like tradition. They taste like love. And sweetheart, that’s the real secret every great jar’s been whispering for generations.
So, before you buy, ask yourself: Does it smell strong and sweet? Is the color deep and even? Does it feel firm with a soft give? Is it in season? If the fruit says “yes,” your jam will too.
Question for the Jam Community
So, here’s a question for my fellow jam lovers out there: What’s your must-test rule when you’re picking fruit- the smell, the touch, the color, or the season?
Stay Sweet. Stay Sassy.
By: Tiffany Pfeifer Co-Founder & CEO of Sassy’s Jams
