For many who enjoy making jams and jellies, their preserving time usually arrives in late spring and ends in the fall. That does not hold true for Jan Towne of Onemo. She makes jams and jellies all through the year, winter included.
“My products are seasonal,” Jan explains. Eliminating fresh fruits from her list, you find many unusual ingredients that also make good jellies or jams such as wild violets, Meyer lemon, honeysuckle and the list goes on (note in her recipes other unusual varieties). Annually Jan has made 37 different varieties.
Finding her special ingredients is not always easy. “I keep looking and when I find what I can use, the first thing I ask the property owner is if this area has been sprayed or treated for insects. When the answer is no, then I know I can use it—if they graciously allow me to harvest. All my jams and jellies are natural and not colored in any way.
“I make each flavor in small batches and pack them in 4-ounce and 8-ounce jars. Once I have sold out of one flavor, that is it for the year until the next season rolls around.”
Jan can be found at Mathews Farmers’ Market each Saturday possible. Not only does she offer the jams and jellies for sale, but she also has a tasting corner. She even provides written suggestions on various ways to use her products with other foods, and seven ways to use jams and jellies that don’t involve toast.
“I started making jams and jellies soon after Shawn and I moved to Mathews in 1988. I fell in love with going to pick-your-own farms.” At that time Belmont in Mathews and Fiddler’s Green in Gloucester both grew strawberries for picking. “There was a place way up on Route 17 north that had pick-your-own raspberries and I also went to Wood’s Orchards in Hampton for peaches. I would come back home and make lots of jam and jellies and give them to friends and family for gifts.”
Once Jan looked around her yard and saw all the fragrant and edible flowers, her repertoire of jams and jellies exploded. “I knew they would make great-tasting jelly.”
Jam and jelly are not all the Townes brought to Mathews when they moved from Gloucester; “I had always wanted to live on a farm.” They also started the kayak and the sport of paddling venture for the community, providing a new way to enjoy the surrounding waterways.
Here is one of Jan’s “7 Ways To Use Jams and Jellies That Don’t Involve Toast. ‘Make a marinade with it. Using a blender, food processor or by hand, mix ½c. jelly of choice, 2 Tbs. soy sauce, 2 tsp. minced garlic and 3 Tbs. apple cider vinegar. Place in large zip-lock bag to marinate pork or chicken before grilling.’”