DESPITE only making jam since retiring Peter Gill from Mourilyan, North Queensland has developed an enviable reputation across the far north for his unique home made jams.
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Just this week, Mr Gill won champion jam at the 2023 Innisfail Show, an award he has won for the last three years in a row.
This is despite him going up against home cooks who have been making jam for more than 50 years.
"I only started making jams in 2007 after I retired," he said.
"I had an abundance of fruit that was growing around the house that I needed to use, I grew a lot of strawberries so that was the first jam I made.
"I like to experiment with the different types of jams and fruit, I have a yellow mangosteen jam, araca-boi jam and also a kumquat jam ."
While most of his competitors at local shows have jam making in their blood, jam making wasn't something that was ever on Mr Gill's bucket list.
"I like the science behind making jam, it's a chemical reaction and I like experimenting," he said.
"The skill in making jam is getting three things right, the amount of fluid, sugar and pectin.
"I don't buy sugar with pectin in it, I make my own pectin."
For budding jam makers Mr Gill has some advice.
"A good jam is one that sets and the clearer it is the better," he said.
"Also when cutting citrus fruit, you have to cut the ride nice and thin.
"I think more people need to go back to making jams and preserves."
This year Mr Gill entered 10 different types of Jam at the Innisfail Show, most of them picking up an award, which gave Mr Gill his third champion jam of show award.
"This year I entered rosella, kumquat, araca-boi, yellow mangosteen, lemon, lemon and lime, lemon lime and ginger, melon lime and ginger and lemonade flavoured jam," he said.
"The jam that really makes me go wow is my lemon jam."
Mr Gill puts his success down to his experimentation and different fruits and flavours.
"I don't use recipes, I just like to experiment, I like playing with the chemical reactions to get it right," he said.
"I've toyed with the idea of getting a commercial kitchen so I can sell my jam, but then it would become a job and I wouldn't enjoy it as much."
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