Adding the Sweetness Back In

Yesterday as I was preparing to make jam from a batch of peaches we got, I posted about it on Facebook when a friend mentioned Peach Pit Jelly.  Taking the skins and pits that would normally be discarded and brewing it into a juice to transform into jelly. I had never heard of it, and was ecstatic to find out that I could extend the fruit into something even more.

As I skinned the peaches and pulled the pits I noticed a lot of "bad" spots on the fruit.  Places where the softness and just turning color would normally ruin the look of the jam, but still completely edible (and extremely sweet!) The recipe I found mentioned that these spots were also good to throw into the pile for the jelly , as they'd add flavor and sweetness.  

The line from the movie "Sweet Home Alabama" kept going through my head while I was peeling and pruning away the impurities. As Melanie & her mother are prepping the fruit, her mother says "Some people might call them 'spoiled'... but I think that, um, these almost-ruined ones sometimes make the sweetest jam."  I love this line and it was made that much more poignant- both figuratively and literally- as I stood there in front of my divided peaches.

Sometimes life isn't pretty.  We're scarred. We have nicks and dings. Soft bruised spots, vulnerable of spoilage from life.  It's how we take the not so great and find our niche with it all. Simmer all of it into the pot, strain it out and then finally discard and let go of the bad, reminding ourselves that without all those imperfections we wouldn't be who we are, just as that jelly wouldn't be what it was.

The jelly turned out tasting delicious and looking absolutely beautiful in the jars. Just as my life- dents, dings and all.  I'm surrounded by the love of my family and friends with a home I love filled with the beauty of memories made and the promise of more to come.  It will never be perfect and I'm positive there will be more bad to come with the good. If I just remember to keep that bowl handy, to trim it away and save it aside, there will be a chance to strain it out and add the sweetness back in.