Important with jammin’ and pickling is that you need a far amount of jars. A short message in the ’round&about’ always worked out well. Also you want to make sure the jars you are using are absolutely clean. Heat them in the oven on 100 degrees C, at least for one hour.

Jammin’

Traditionally jam is made with 1 kg of sugar for every 1 kg of fruit. You can reduce the sugar to half or three quarters. Use some lemon juice for preserving. Use agar agar or apple to thicken. Also sweet cicely is a fantastic add on.

Sweet cicely

To bring the amount of required sugar down, you can add sweet cicely as a natural sweetener. Fresh it tastes a little like anise, but this changes after cooking.

You can eat the leaves all year round. The ripened seeds, you can use for pickling. The roots can be cooked and eaten as vegetables.

Fuchsia’s

You’ve heard it about nasturtiums. Maybe even gotten used to finding marigolds in your salad. But fuchsias? No way!

Rest assured, though. All parts of the fuchsia are non-toxic, and all parts are completely edible, from the berries to the flowers. Or the leaves, for that matter, if you’re into that kind of fodder. This fact is often a complete surprise to most gardeners and growers, even ones that have had fuchsias on the porch or in their beds for decades.

It should put the minds of parents and grandparents at ease, when they discover that Junior hasn’t just been impishly popping the flower buds, but merrily popping the berries into his mouth with reckless abandon. And dog owners can relax. Fido has been known to nip a few low-hanging fruit from the fuchsia bush a time or two. They’re also non-toxic to canine connoisseurs.

Fuchsias are perfectly safe to eat. Plus, they’re tasty!