Yesterday we talked about Pudding (haha or should I say on Day 9) Today we are going to talk about Jello
Its a total follow up to the same idea but its even cheaper to stock as it goes on better sales, comes in more flavours and its ok on its own but its outstanding as a extender. The same amount of fruit in a bowl will serve one maybe.. but used in a jello can jump to four servings for sure.
It turns out that between the fact that my hard fruits have been flower frost killed for the past two years, leaving me pretty much only soft fruit to put up, combined with a reno year last year that lead to very little canning compared to a normal year, along with poor price sales on canned fruit in the stores.
Hubby adores his rhubarb fruits and applesauce for work and that has been outstanding in terms of being a staple for his work lunches for the last year, which means its getting low.. thankfully fresh rhubarb season will start again in April-May. We still have a good supply of canned pineapple
But otherwise, unless I want to use dried, I am far lower on fruit then I expected I would be.. however I happen to have lots of fruit jams in my cold storage. This means I have sweet burst of fruit flavour.
You do not want to eat jam as a fruit, but it can be used in a number of ways in the menu planning. I consider this lack of canned fruits to be my first big “pantry gap” find and I will need to step up my fruit put up this year. I will not just be needing to can for a year, I need to plan for canning for a min of a 18 months worth of fruit putting up.
How is your fruit in your pantry looking? Do you have lots still after your winters of eating? Have you been effected by weather in terms of your growing patterns or results in production? Have you also noticed that the sales on canned fruit has become fewer and further between?
Just another Day on the Farm 
Fruit is something I never buy – unless I can get it straight from the Okanagan in season. Last year none. Hubby and I really aren’t dessert people……most of what I can grow up here – rhubarb, raspberries, Saskatoon berries mostly get mixed up in my steam juicer 😊
now that is interesting, did they have a bad season last year that no fruit from there.. we had a bad fruit year locally and even in our big fruit belt down the province.. first the droughts, then the floods.. we will see what this year brings, so far.. here at the farm snow.. so much snow yet
Oh I didn’t explain that right – the fruit crops did fine, but I only buy if my son happens to be going through there and headed this way. It’s an eight hour drive away – I never seem to have the time to make the trek. There are ‘fruit trucks’ that come up here and park all summer…..their prices are beyond comprehension. I get they have fuel costs associated with the business – but still. One year their ‘field tomato’s ‘ were 2.50 a pound. My son brought me a 100 pounds of pristine tomato’s – he paid .60 cents a pound directly from the grower. Dusty pounds of beautiful freestone peaches for forty bucks – as opposed to near five bucks a pound. So if he can’t make the trip – I simply don’t buy. 😊
ah, got it now and wow I can see why at those differences
Hooray for rhubarb! For some reason it’s ridiculously expensive in the grocery stores here (I live in Tennessee) – no GOOD reason, it grows fine here! $3.99/pound in the store is cheap – usually it is more like $7.99/pound! Insane. So as soon as I owned a yard I ordered some crowns to plant. I should get my very first small rhubarb harvest this year and I’m really excited.
Canned fruit was the first thing I ever put up – I guess it is a gateway to food preservation for a lot of people. For the last few years I have made up baskets of preserves to fundraise for a charity marathon I run in December, and that has kept me from keeping back a lot for my own use. This year I’m just volunteering at the race, so no fundraising – it’s really going to change the way I think about preserving.
yes, store rhubarb is very costly, I do think fruit is a good first canning item and congrats on your first coming harvest this year 🙂