‘The Jammer’ donates homemade jams
Jill “The Jammer” Werner has been canning and sharing fruit jams, jellies and butters with family and friends for more than 40 years, using high-quality ingredients and fresh, local produce.
When her craft outgrew her cupboards, and those of her loved ones, she chose to use the opportunity to provide a complimentary jar of jam for each $5 donation made to the Bella Vista Historical Museum.
As an active volunteer and board member of the museum and a lifelong jammer with a specialty in historic cuisine of the area, the evolution was natural.
In 2019, Werner distributed 225 jars of jam at two of Bella Vista’s annual events — the BVHM Open House and the POA Christmas Bazaar, providing a “significant boost to the bottom line.”
Werner grew up watching her mother make jams and, as she reached adulthood, she canned with her first husband and friends often.
No matter where Werner canned or with whom, she always sought out native produce grown in local soil. Strawberries, peaches, pears, apples, crabapples, bush cherries, blueberries and pawpaws are among the local produce Werner has picked and prepared in jams, jellies and butters.
“Whatever I can get my hands on, that’s what I work with,” she said.
Over time, Werner has expanded her catalog to include more unique and personalized recipes.
“After 40 years of doing jams, I thought, ‘Let’s have fun with this.’ I experimented with new flavors and got a little crazy.”
These flavors include mango pawpaw and blueberry pawpaw, peach and blackberry, blackberry and blueberry, blueberry cardamom, caramel spiced pear, and strawberry swirled with liqueurs, extracts or fruit flavorings alongside the staple flavors of strawberry, strawberry vanilla and strawberry rhubarb.
If she gets a request for a refill on a certain flavor, then she knows it’s worth repeating.
Werner uses fresh fruit and the best extracts with cane sugar and quality pectin to reduce any overpowering sweet taste.
“This highlights the fruit without drowning the natural flavor in sugar,” she said.
Since moving to Bella Vista from Kansas, Werner has grown particularly fond of the local selection of farm produce.
“This is a great place for this. There are pick-yourown fruit farms all around.”
Werner also receives calls from area residents with surplus canning supplies or fruit growing wild on their properties.
One of her favorite honey holes is a pear tree in the Metfield area that is more than 100 years old. She says it was originally planted by Wilson Brown prior to Bella Vista’s establishment. For the last two years, Werner has answered the call and picked more pears “than a person knows what to do with.” These pears help bring a fan favorite to fruition — caramel spiced pear butter.
After the fruit is picked,
Werner processes the produce by washing, coring and removing any leaves from the crop. Her harvest is then frozen for later preparation or reduced to a slurry, canned, labeled and stored for future use.
The Bella Vista Historical Museum’s current, temporary closure hasn’t stopped Werner from stockpiling her sweet jam for sharing. She says that, if the museum isn’t operational in time for the regular events, she may set up a stand in front of the museum and offer her jams from an appropriate social distance.
Those interested in keeping up with Werner’s endeavors in canning or hoping to get their hands on a jar can follow her blog, The Jammer — Jill Werner — Bella Vista, AR on Facebook. The page is a regularly-updated hub of information.
Werner encourages curious minds to pick a fruit of their choice, buy a package of pectin and canning jars and give jamming a try.
“And if it doesn’t jam up? You’ll have a sweet ice cream topping!”