In a jam

I love jams and preserves and conserves. Especially when they are interesting combinations. My most unusual, so far, has been thinly sliced 'baingan' which left a slight sweet aftertaste (had in Roti, an erstwhile Narang chain in Mumbai) and a yumm mutton pickle had in coffee estates in Coorg.

So naturally walking down well lit and well stocked super markets, a new jam flavour always makes me curious. A month ago (or may be slightly more) I came across an interesting combination - strawberry and mint in conserves. I picked it up and got it home. The bottle at home was on its way out (orange marmalade, another favourite) so I thought this would replace it.

Once home I started trying to get the bottle to open. A lovely, squat bottle it was. Unlike regular jam bottles, this one was full of play of light with strawberries in them and deep, dark flecks. I could not wait to taste it, having tasted another in its series.

But alas! The bottle would not give in. The platform slab was gouged but the lid refused to budge. No sweat, I thought. My roomate, who is good at such handyman tasks, would ensure that it opened.

But the bottle and its sheer wilfullness even defeated her and by the end of the day, we were looking longingly at this lovely bottle of jam, which soon was coming to close being the unattainable for us.

Over the next few weeks, whoever came home was given a shot at the bottle. We even asked our household help twice, without realising it. A colleague took the bottle to the base of our staircase, determined to open it. I managed to rescue the bottle in time.

We were given suggestions galore from the ever practical 'put it in hot water for some time and then it will open' (it did not) to the bizzare 'take it back to the shop and get the shop keeper to open it'. Finally my need for the jam became greater than the need for the bottle.

My roomate and I approached the bottle and its lid with a pair of scissors and a knife and by the end the result was not very pretty. It lies covered with tissue, in an unobstrusive corner on the kitchen platform, with most of conserve within, finished.