- Jam Making Month-By-Month, by Mel Sellings. Published by The Good Life Press, 192 pages, $27.95.
MEL Sellings' version of jam making is not done in a pristine white kitchen where all stains are banished.
Hers is a bubbling cauldron of delicious flavours where things do occasionally spill over and sometimes make a mess.
Sellings guides you through the introduction with recommendations for your own jam maker's kit and then follows with an explanation of how jam is created. From that basic information she leads you into the processes for Conserves, Jellies, Curds, Marmalades and Chutney.
There is a look at the various fruits and a season chart to help you plan ahead for future creations.
Sellings starts her Month-by-Month recipes in June when there are plenty of choices and an abundance of fruit to work with. Strawberry and gooseberry jam is suggested first, as one of the easiest jams to make.
Throughout the book are little Jammy Tips to help, all presented alongside a splatter of jam. Sellings' writing is friendly and conversational, just as if she was standing beside you at the counter sharing stories from her own experiences.
