Before we get into our upcoming week of California posts, we wanted to catch up on our Jelly of the Month Club adventures. We got a little behind after a photographic mishap in February (filed under: taking so many adorable photos of your dog you forget to take photos of the jelly), so here are the results – 2 delicious and 1 not so much – from February, March, and April.
We’ll start with February’s, which was unfortunately not one of our favorites. It was a real bummer; I had found this jelly at a local tiny grocery store I visit sometimes in Aspinwall. The jar looked lovely, the flavor sounded wonderful, and I was super pumped to try it.
Unfortunately, the Sarabeth’s Blueberry Cherry Jelly just didn’t live up to my expectations. What I had hoped to be a rich, luxurious jelly, was actually a little too muddy in color and a little too dry. The earthy flavor was a bit more than either of us want from a jelly.
(Fully Lucy-endorsed nonetheless, though.)
color: 3 – a little too dark and muddy
flavor: 3 – very earthy on the first taste, and while the fruit came out a little as you warmed up to the jelly, it still wasn’t quite sweet enough to be a favorite.
jelly-ness: 3 – drier than most jellies.
jar presentation: 3.5 – very pleasant
awesomeness: 2.5 – points came off for how disappointed we were that this wasn’t amazing. We will certainly give the brand another shot, but I think we will steer clear of the Blueberry Cherry flavor.
March’s jelly, however, was a real winner. We picked up this jar of Adirondack Winery‘s Amethyst Sunset Wine Jelly on our trip to Lake George last summer to see Dave Matthews Band. Somehow, it had gotten tucked away in the pantry and not eaten all through 2015.
But now that we’ve brought it out, it’s become a jelly we regularly reach for when making cheese plates or late night snacks. The Amethyst Sunset Wine Jelly is fruity and pleasantly sweet and just spreads like a dream.
(Delicious enough to induce Crazy Eyes in little red dogs.)
color: 5 – very rich and lovely.
flavor: 4 – the flavor was great on its own, but it wasn’t strong enough to stand up to peanut butter. This would be your English muffin or toast jelly, although it would probably also be great as part of a rub on a grilled pork chop.
jelly-ness: 5 – sooooo gelatinous!
jar presentation: 4 – very charming, with the signature Adirondack chair and Lake George in the background.
awesomeness: 4.5 – this jelly will not last long in our fridge for sure.
Finally, we come to April’s jelly, which was not one we chose, but one that we found in a Penn’s Corner CSA box at the end of our winter farm share season: Penn’s Corner Strawberry Preserves.
This jelly is the jelly that all other jellies aspire to be. It’s sweet, but not that ‘loads of added sugar’ sweet. It has a tartness to it. It spreads on anything with ease. And that jar? So adorable.
(Our Lucy pictures were not the finest quality, because she was freaking out so much with joy that she could hardly hold still.)
color: 4 – literally the only place this jelly could improve at all; it was a bit light in color.
flavor: 5 – sweet but not sweetened, little notes of tartness, very strawberry on every bite.
jelly-ness: 5 – (my notes on this literally just say: ‘awwwww yeah’)
jar presentation: 5 – SO. CUTE. The state of Pennsylvania on your label? Heck yes.
awesomeness: 5 – thank goodness we get these in our box with semi-regularity, because the awesomeness is strong with this one.
So there you have it – three months, three jellies, and one very happy dog tummy. Our look back on our California trip comes next on the blog, so be sure to check back tomorrow!