Autumn

Autumn is a bit of a contradiction. On one hand, autumn is a beginning with children returning to school; young adults beginning their college year; yet it is a season transitioning to the end of summer’s heat and flourishing blooms and growth. It’s a time of tempestuous storms. The contradiction of comforting sunny afternoons with the distinct evening and early morning chill settles in with that unmistakable fragrance of autumn air. Most of us refer to this golden season wistfully as “fall” as leaves and over-ripened fruit let go like a virgin parachutist taking that fateful step outside the plane. Autumn is also a season of abundance with farmer’s and gardeners reaping their laborious rewards in fall’s harvest.

And so, as I do during this golden season of abundance, my jars, lids, canner, and cooling racks are brought out and put to work. Canning can be time-consuming but the rewards far outweigh any time spent in a steamy kitchen. The satisfaction of turning summer’s produce into jams, chutneys, pickles and the like can be described in the mildest terms as pure joy.

Sharing the bounty adds to the joy. People love homemade things. Knowing that you thought enough about them to share your hard-earned results speaks volumes. I often take the extra time to make it ‘pretty’ including a handwritten note especially when giving something as a hostess gift, for instance.

Yes, even a loaf of homemade whole wheat bread, together with a jar of my strawberry jam ended up as a hostess gift this weekend. Everyone brings wine but how many people took time to bake and make jam for you?

Happiness is like jam. You can’t spread even a little without getting some on yourself. [unknown source].

Oh and did you know that Marie Curie was a jam-maker? In the book Marie Curie: A Life, Susan Quinn writes that in 1898, the year Curie discovered polonium, she was also putting up a batch of gooseberries. After all, preserving fruit depends on simple chemistry: a balance of pectin, sugar, and acid. So, all the jewel-like jams and chutneys of summer are simply creative exercises in chemistry.