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Sunday, April 25, 2010

Getting out of my jam - closure

A lot of things are better when they come in twos:
twinkies
shoes
limbs

Then there are things which are more cumbersome in twos:
yards full of dandelions (front and back)
sinks full of sticky pink dishes
flats of strawberries
So to back up a bit, I should first tell you that the flat of strawberries I made into jam last Wednesday (was it wednesday? my days are running together, maybe it was Thursday) made roughly 200 ounces of jam; 25 cups. Can you visualize 25 cups? If not, then I dare not go on to remind you that I had yet a second flat of strawberries with which to make jam. As math would have it, I processed an additional 200 ounces of jam on Saturday and re-stikiefied (yes, my own word) all those dishes Jonathan had lovingly washed two days prior.
Sitting on my kitchen counter yesterday were 12 glass pints and 3 plastic half-pints of sweet sticky joy. Later they were taken downstairs to accompany the 6 glass pints and 11 plastic half-pints already in the chest freezer. As I took them down I wondered aloud: "after the cost of raw ingredients, what is the cost of goods produced?" Well, here it is folks.

Cost of jam ingredients, including all cups/jars not previously owned: $50.00 (rounded up 9 cents)
Total jam ounces produced: 400
Cost per ounce: $0.125
Cost per 8oz: $1.00

And how much does an 8oz jar of low-sugar jam cost at the store? I haven't a clue, but I'm willing to guess it's over a dollar, and even if it isn't, the quality of my homemade jam far outweighs that of anything a factory could produce. Beat that, Smuckers.

As for the two yards of dandelions and the two sinks of dishes, TODAY'S BIRTHDAY BOY took care of them both yesterday, bless his heart.

Anyone have any good ideas for what to do with all this jam?

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