Single Tree News: October 2024

Hurricane Helene. And Milton.

Since my last post, Florida and the Carolinas were absolutely hammered by hurricane Helene. Shortly thereafter hurricane Milton tore across the Florida peninsula. Both storms left significant devastation in their wake. Single Tree is in full production but between market cancellations and volunteer cleanup efforts, there hasn’t been a lot of opportunity for me to sell very much. The online store remains open and I am still making deliveries for anyone who chooses to purchase Single Tree jams and granolas that way. I ask all my market customers for patience as we work through these tragedies together. All of us who were affected directly or who have family or friends who were affected greatly appreciate any help you can provide, including donations to organizations providing help, on-site cleanup help, and prayers. We need them all.

Rosella Jam?

What is that thing that looks like some sort of spooky Halloween decoration? It is the October newsletter, but the picture has nothing to do with Halloween. It’s a rosella, perfectly edible, full of all kinds of nutrients, and eaten all kinds of ways. It’s flavor resembles a cranberry; strong and bitter when eaten raw. But you can put in your salad raw, you can steep it as a tea and, yes, it makes a WONDERFUL jam! But what is a rosella? This is what happens to a roselle hibiscus blossom when it gets done blooming.

The roselle plant is an annual, and my neighborhood friend Susan planted one in her garden. It grew a lot bigger than expected, so she invited me to come over and harvest all I wanted. An opportunity for a new jam! I was so excited! I harvested a few to make a test batch. It wasn’t too difficult to make, and the initial attempt yielded about 1.5 cups. And the flavor was amazing! Sweet, strong, and tangy; it resembles your Thanksgiving cranberry jelly. I needed to make a couple of adjustments to the recipe, but this stuff was definitely worth making and selling.

My next challenge was to harvest enough rosellas to make a full batch. By my estimation from the trial, it would require 84 rosellas to make one batch of 6 jars. I ended up harvesting 88 and that was probably only half of what was on Susan’s plant. I discovered that a rosella is a great place for a variety of little bugs to hide, so thoroughly washing them was important. I carefully washed them and removed the hard, red parts (called the calyxes) from the seed pods. then washed everything again.

Next I simmered the seed pods in water to extract the natural pectin they contain. Using that water, it was time to begin making the jam.

When you cook rosella calyxes, the brew is a startling bright red. I think you could make war paint from that stuff. I can see why certain cultures use it to make food coloring. Regardless, I donned an apron to protect my clothes and quickly wiped up little splatters to keep anything from getting stained.

My test batch was made straight from the resulting “pulp” you get from cooking rosellas. Susan and I agreed that we would prefer the jam to be less lumpy. The biggest for my second batch was to cook it down to a pulp and then make a smooth jam by running it through a food processor. I then put it back into the pot, added the lemon juice and sugar, and began cooking it down.

Another problem from the test batch was not appreciating how much natural pectin the jam contained, and I overcooked it. As all jam enthusiasts know, this results in jam with the consistency of a brick. So this time I began testing for the jammy done-ness early and often. As the jam continued to cook down, the color began to darken. It turned from bright red to a very dark purplish color. When the jammy-ness was just right, I put it in jars and canned the batch in my water bath canner.

The resulting jam was nothing short of fabulous. Tangy and sweet, with a flavor a lot like cranberry. When Susan first tasted it she made two comments. First, “Oh, I like that!” Followed by, “Can you imagine this on a cracker with some warm brie?” Yes I can!

Supplies this year are very limited, as I am only making rosella jam from the one plant in Susan’s garden. I expect it to sell pretty quickly at the market. So if you want to add this brand new offering to your Thanksgiving charcuterie, order now!

In Other News…

• Pear jam has been outselling everything else by far. If you want some pear jam for yourself or as Christmas gifts, you don’t want to wait before ordering some.
• Despite the storms, the neighborhood citrus crop is coming along nicely this year. You can expect a variety of orange and other jams in December.
• As mentioned above, I have not been to the market for a while due to a number of circumstances. But I’m back now! Tallahassee friends, come to the Tallahassee Downtown Market on Saturdays and visit the Single Tree tent!