Public Fruit Jam: Canning Celebrates Community

public fruit jam

I have canning on the brain these days! It seems like I run across tasty canning recipes constantly. Last week, I stumbled on yet another great canning idea: a Public Fruit Jam.

The concept of public fruit is nothing new. Urban areas like Toronto and Seattle have urban fruit foraging groups. The idea is that there are fruit trees growing on public lands, and fruit foragers take advantage of the free, local produce.

Fallen Fruit’s Public Fruit Jam

Los Angeles group Fallen Fruit has been working to create a map showing where all of LA’s urban fruit trees are. They even take things a step further and preserve that bounty at their annual Public Fruit Jams.

They held the most recent Public Fruit Jam at LACMA on August 1st. The collective jam-making event celebrated community and healthy, local eats while promoting the Fallen Fruit project:

Participants work together without recipes to come up with unique flavors that reflect the collaborative nature of this public performance.

Because they don’t follow a recipe, the jam’s shelf life may not be as long as true preserves. With awesome flavors like lemon fig lavender, though, I don’t see these freestyle jams languishing in the fridge.

While we may have missed the official Public Fruit Jam, what’s to stop you from hosting an awesome jam-making party of your own? Get some friends, some fruits and herbs, and have at it!

Have you gone urban fruit picking or done any freestyle jam-making? I’d love to hear your stories in the comments!

Image Credit: Photo via Fallen Fruit

[h/t: CRAFT]

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