Things that make you go "hmmm ..."

Marlene, put away your potato salad …

… because this morning, I found MOULD in my strawberry jam.

Fortunately, I realized what it was before it touched the toast.

But still …

This little jar of organic strawberry spread couldn’t have been open more than a month and a half, and kept in the refrigerator almost religiously when not in use (although I did accidentally leave it out one day when I rushed off to work).

But honestly, I have a jar of raspberry jam that’s been opened and sitting in my fridge for over two years and there isn’t a speck of mould in it. I know. I did a quick check this morning. I could probably have left it out on the counter for a week and there would still be no sign of mould.

Hmmm …

I’ve returned to thinking about this situation a few times throughout the day today.

And rather than feeling swindled by the maker my expensive mould-prone organic fruit spread, I’ve started to wonder: why won’t the raspberry jam grow mould??? I mean, it’s made of a natural food substance, right? Right??? It’s got tons of sugar that would make the nastiest spore of mould one happy fungus. So what the heck did they put in this concoction to keep it from going mouldy for OVER TWO YEARS???? Formaldehyde or something???

You know, since I was going to throw the suspiciously mould-free raspberry jam out after the mouldy organic strawberry spread, I think I'll experiment and leave the raspberry jam out on my counter and see how long it takes to grow mould. Any wagers on when that'll be??? :)