Native Fruit Jams

Whenever I can get them, I make jams from the native fruits we have right here in Northwest Arkansas. Some of the fruits have been wild harvested and some have been gifted to me. I enjoy making these native fruit jams for people to experience, whether it's reliving a childhood food memory for them or a first time taste adventure.

 

The traditional recipes for all of these jams call for large amounts of sugar, usually 4-7 cups of sugar to every 4 cups of fruit. I never use more than two cups of sugar, as we don't require lots of sugar for a food preservative the way early farmers did.