Squeezing the best out of summer berries

I can still remember the day my mother announced that we were going to make jam. I was perhaps 12 years old and the oldest of four siblings growing up in Glennallen. I don't remember what kind of berries we used or where they came from. But the other details certainly stuck in my mind-washing the jars, measuring the sugar, adding the Certo at just the right time, pouring the jam into the jars, and finally adding a layer of hot wax. Mom made very few batches of jam, but that one lesson stayed with me.

So much so that in 1974, with the help of a Cooperative Extension Service publication, I soon became an expert at making a variety of jams and jellies. Minus the wax seal method. My husband Gary and I had recently purchased five acres at 23.5 Mile Chena Hot Springs Road, and we discovered wonderful patches of blueberries and cranberries nearby. That Christmas, we sent out gift boxes of delectable jars of deliciousness. Judging by the thank you notes, family and friends were delighted.

Over the next four decades, jam and jelly making was a routine part of my life in the nine different houses we lived in after Fairbanks. We rarely ate storebought preserves. Flavors varied according to location. During the two and half years in California, we ate more strawberry thanks to a local U-pick farm. Back in Alaska, during our Palmer years, my absolute favorite was red currant jelly. It wasn't until we moved to Slana, and I had good access to wild blueberries again, that spiced blueberry jam became my new favorite.

Once, desperate for a wedding gift in the early 2000s, I gift wrapped jars of an assortment of flavors of wild berry jams and jellies. That was such a hit, it became my standard gift for weddings. Those were also the years of running our Nabesna House Bed and Breakfast. After several guests asked if they could purchase the spiced blueberry jam we offered (alongside pure maple syrup) for our blueberry pancakes, I started a new business. Eight-ounce jars for $5 each or three for $13, and gift sets of four 1.5-ounce. jars for $15.

One family of five enjoyed staying with us so much that they booked a reservation for their return leg. Their travel took them up to Fairbanks, down the Parks Highway to Anchorage, and back around. We only had two rooms and a shared bathroom, so their family filled our space. The night of their reservation, we turned away two different parties and were disappointed when the family still had not shown up by the time we went to bed. (Drop-ins were just as common as reservations.)

Mid-day two days later, a vehicle unexpectedly drove in and parked, and the family of five all spilled out into the front lawn. The mother apologized for not showing up and offered to pay for their absentee night. She explained that they had been stuck (along with several other vehicles) on the other side of a fire that closed the Parks Highway, and they spent a miserable night in their vehicle. No one had cell phone service. I said paying would not be necessary as it was an "act of God" situation. Then she said, "Well, the least we can do is buy some of your jam," and proceeded to buy one each of all four flavors.

While we operated Nabesna House Bed and Breakfast, we advertised in the Milepost travel guide. One year, the advertisers were contacted by letter, asking for participation in a cookbook. I submitted my version of spiced blueberry jam, and it was included in the 2003 "New Roadhouse Recipes From the Editors of the Milepost." I enjoyed sharing my recipe and how-to knowledge. Years later, a young man surprised me by asking me to teach him and a friend how to make jam as part payment for the very physical yardwork he did for me.

Postage kept going up and I quit mailing to family and friends once it started costing a dollar per jar. But, during our snowbirding years, it was easy to transport cases of jam in our truck when we drove out the Alaska Highway, or in our checked baggage when we flew. Our son and daughter each got married in 2005. One of my contributions was a mini jar of spiced blueberry jam for all the guests at a March wedding reception in Louisiana and a May wedding in Colorado. Ribbons and labels were added at the final destinations. Having heard horror stories of frozen Alaska fish disappearing from checked coolers, I wrote a note to the TSA staff each trip, asking them to please take extra care of the precious wedding baggage...and they did.

My jam and jelly selling business came to a screeching halt when we moved back to Palmer in 2011, but for several years I continued to use jam sets for wedding gifts. So, I made a batch every once in a while until 2018. At that time, I made a drastic change in my diet and quit eating anything with "added" sugar. That ruled out homemade jams and jellies, unless alternative sweetener was used, which I didn't want to do. Funny how something that was at one time an integral part of my life no longer held any interest.

However, this change did not affect the amount of berries I eat. Now, they just go straight into my mouth without all the "processing." Berries get frozen whole for use plain or with granola or yogurt and mashed and put into ice cube trays for small size portions for flavoring water. I actually eat more berries now than I did when I would turn them into jams, jellies, muffins, or desserts. Because it is not easy to get out and pick wild blueberries and cranberries anymore, at present I have black currants and raspberries in my freezer, from the berry patches in my yard.

Fall always reminds me of berry picking, which makes me think of making jams and jellies. And I'm still dazzled by the jewel-colored jars I see for sale at "made in Alaska" markets and bazaars. A while back, my brother spent a lot of time and effort on my behalf. He didn't want money but said he would enjoy a jar of my spiced blueberry jam. Since I don't have any wild blueberries in my freezer, I'm thinking about making a batch of spiced jam substituting black currants for blueberries. I'm hoping the experiment turns out well. If so, I will give him more than one jar.

Maraley McMichael is a lifelong Alaskan now residing in Palmer. Email her at maraleymcmichael@gmail.com.