Visiting an Old-Fashioned Jam Kitchen on Cape Cod
Yummy Green Briar jams (photo by Eric) If you like jam to go with your sandwich, then head on over to the Thornton W. Burgess Society's Green Briar Jam Kitchen in Sandwich, Mass., on Cape Cod. This living museum offers visitors the chance to see how the process of cooking jams the old-fashioned way takes place, as well as jellies, relishes, pickles in a turn-of-the-century kitchen where local resident Ida Putnam began the Jam Kitchen in 1903. The sun-cooked preserves are cooked slowly in what is reported to be the oldest solar-cooking operation in the United States! A gift shop on the premises offers these homemade preserves. For those inspired by the cooking process, workshops are also available to learn this time-tested craft. There's also a prominent nature center here featuring water views, hiking trails, a wild flower garden and the Robert S. Swain Natural History Library with books on the natural history of the United States. All in all, the Center is really a b...