jamu

I'm... well... (I just can't resist saying it, I'm trying, but can't help myself)

I'm in a bit of a jam.

You see, half of the things in my fridge are jars of jam. None of which I actually bought for myself, I'm not really a jam eater, you see. There is the jar of delicious and presumably pricey top-end apricot jam that my professor was given a few weeks back. He gave it to me, insisting it was delicious jam and not even waiting to hear my response to the question "do you like jam?" There is a mini jar with about two servings of a much more processed apricot jam that was part of a birthday present. There is a cheap jar of blueberry jam that a friend bought for a brunch party she held at my house. The jam didn't even get opened (neither did the box of tea, the second bag of ground coffee, the two cakes, the two packs of eggs, the three bags of rice crackers, a package of shredded cheese, a package of cream cheese... yeah, she bought lots of extra food, I'm still eating my way through it!). There is a half-eaten jar of fig jam that another friend brought for a different party. There are also three jars of specialty jam (one "desert blueberry," one "desert raspberry," and one "cream cheese strawberry spread") given to me by another friend as a very belated birthday present.

Did I mention I'm not a regular jam eater?

My prof's apricot jam is delicious, however, and I've been happily putting it on pancakes and toast. I think the thing is that I like jam, I just don't like coloured jelly substances that have little relation to actual fruit. Jams like the yummy apricot one, or the delicious home-made jams I used to get from my aunt, are a different manner.

When I opened up the most recent jam gift (the giver was not present) I groaned as soon as I realized what it was. I rhetorically asked why it was that suddenly I was being showered in jam. My friend (who had brought the fig jam) said that people think I'm a jam eater. I've never been told this before (either in Japan or elsewhere), but I'm guessing it has something to do with a Japanese belief that foreigners (non-Asian foreigners, that is) don't like rice. Since I am not Asian my main staple is bread. So I need something nice for my bread. Thus jam is gifted to me. The problem is that I don't put syrup on my pancakes because I find it too sweet (I prefer just butter/margarine, but will put maple syrup on breakfast sausages) and was one of the only children I knew who didn't like the famed pb&j. I'm going to have to learn to like jam in a hurry, however, as it is rapidly taking over my fridge!

Oh, and if anybody has advice on how to tell my friends that I'm not a jam fan while managing not to give them the impression that I dislike the gifts they gave me, I'd greatly appreciate it!