812-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, December 21, 1991 If you always wanted to taste corn cob or red beet jellies, then John Dochter and his wife, Betty, are the people to see. The Oochters market unusual flavors under the name Unique Jelly and sell them at craft shows, tourist spots, and by mall. Unique Jelly This Fellow LOU ANN GOOD Lancaster Fanning Staff BROWNSTOWN (Lancaster Co.) John Dochter made 3,000 jars of jelly last year. If you ask him for strawberry jelly, he wrink les his nose and retorts, “Strawber ry —anybody can make that I like to make unique jellies.” So John makes jellies in flavors such as com cob, red beet, dande lion, alfalfa, sweet potato butter, pumpkin butter, and apple raisin chutney. Most of the pleasure that John derives from jelly making is watching others taste the jellies. He and his wife take the jellies to craft shows and market them under the name Unique Jelly. Pas scrbys may sample the jellies on crackers. Of course, some turn up their noses at the mere thought of tasting com cob jelly, but others are curi ous and slop to sample the flavors. About 25 percent of the passersby are thrilled with the unique Jelly flavors. It’s these people who purchase the gift-size jars for friends, neighbors, and them selves. John, who is 65 years old, started his jelly'busincss about six years ago. Before that, he bar becued pigs and chicken for festi vals and other large gatherings. At some festivals, he roasted four pigs at a time and served 3,000 pork sandwiches a day at places like the Bavarian Festival in Bamesville. But all that heavy lifting took its toll and when John had heart bypass surgery, he had to give up his barbecue business. Because he doesn’t ever plan to retire and because he had made many friends at shows and festivals while barbe cuing, John thought of a way to active without heavy lifting, -clly making does require the long hours and heavy work that roasting pigs require, he said. His Unique Jelly can be made in his home kitchen, packed in his van and transported to the many shows around the state. The only drawback is that John’s restricted diet doesn’t allow jelly. That doesn’t mean that John doesn’t cheat occasionally espe cially when he is experimenting with a new flavor. On a sunny spring day, John can often be found in a field of dande lions at such spots as a cloverleaf where he picks about 200 pounds of dandelion. During the fall, he wants his com cobs fresh, so he follows the com picker to pick up 400 to 500 pounds of discarded com cobs. “The nice thing about my job is that I can freeze the com cobs and dandelion until I’m ready to make the jelly,” John said. In his years of cooking jelly, John-has developed many secrets that he isn’t about to share. He knows what to do to keep dande lions from developing a bitter fla vor during cooking. For jed beet jelly, John has one particular brand of canned red beets that he buys to make his jelly. Other brands give it an entirely dif ferent texture and flavor he said. Where does John get his ideas for new flavors? “I think about it a lot,” he answers. “For instance, I always thought alfalfa tea tastes pretty good so I thought why can’t I make alfalfa jelly." He did. And now alfalfa is his favorite jelly. He said that dandelion jelly is the most popular with urban peo ple while com cob seems to be the choice of rural people. Sometimes people suggest ideas for jellies. Although John is will ing to try any flavor, he said he Retirement Workshop Offered CREAMERY (Montgomery Co.) If you are retired, are about to retire, or are just begin ning to consider what retirement might be like farther down the road, a'two-part workshop called “Retirement: A New Life, A Dif ferent Life” can help you to make retirement a positive and produc tive lime. The workshop, developed by Penn Slate Extension Faculty Bar bara Davis and Marilyn Furry, offers advice on finances and addresses other concerns about retiring, such as planning effec tively, taking care of your health, finding the best place to live, maintaining relationships and staying actively involved in life. In addition to discussion and activities, the workshop includes a video in which people who are actively planning their retirement share their thoughts and concerns as well as their plans for the future. Others, who are already retired, talk about their new Keeps Busy needs to lake into consideration the availability of the supply. Some one suggested violet jelly, but John doesn’t think he would be able to gather the amount of violets required. Apple raisin chutney is often used as a flavor enhancer for meats and is excellent on bagels, English muffins, turkey and ham. Next year, John plans to add a few no-sugar jellies. According to John, no-sugar jellies are difficult because they must pass a lot of government restrictions. Jelly must be 51 percent natural or added sugar; otherwise it must be called a spread. Butters must be 43 percent solids. A commercial printer designed labels and brochures that John uses in promoting Unique Jelly. “My dreams are unlimited. The business depends on how far I’m willing to lake it,” John said. He ships his jellies all over the U.S. The jelly is packed in 8-ounce jars or in three-jar gift packages. He even offers a Jelly of the Month Club, where members receive an unusual jelly every month. Price: 1 jar for $2.30; three jars for $7.50 plus shipping and handling charges. Send orders to John Dochter, Box 191, Brownstown, PA 17508. experiences. If you are interested in partici pating in “Retirement: A New Life, A Different Life, workshops are being held on January 8 and 15, free of charge. For more infor mation contact Nancy Stevens at the Montgomery County office of Penn State Cooperative Exten sion. gaya