Taking Stock: Sweeteners, update on fruits & veggies

Other fruits & veggies in Greg's freezer:

• 6 pints jack'o'lantern (not the best flavor, but still edible -- primarily for pumpkin bread)
• 5 pints fruit juice (red currant and gooseberry) -- this is the home-made equivalent of fruit juice concentrate; it's intended for use as a beverage, once amply sweetened
• 1 1/2 pounds autumn olive (from a bush with unusually large berries)
• 3 1/2 pounds strawberries
• 5 1/2 pounds blueberries (this was a windfall; I've been skimping b/c I thought we were running low)
• 3 1/2 pounds raspberries
• 1/2 pound black caps
• 1 1/2 pounds tart cherries

Time to make a cherry pie; the tart cherries are getting old...which brings us to:

 

Sweeteners

Going through the fruit made me realize how dependent we are this time of year on sweeteners. A lot of our winter fruit dishes are sweetened, but I deliberately don't stock up on most sweeteners for health reasons (running out regularly keeps us from over-consuming.) So I guess I better pay attention to the supply...

• Maple syrup -- We use 5 quarts a year of maple syrup. I do an annual bulk buy of Grade B from the farmer's market, in April. I like this for several reasons: 1) Grade B is cheaper and more flavorful, 2) there's  less packaging waste, 3) I get the per-gallon bulk price instead of the per-decorative-container price. The down side is that in March we're almost out. Right now I have about a pint left. I guess I could buy a couple extra quarts one year, so the amount I have stored varies from 1/2 to 1 1/2 years' supply instead of 0 to 1 year. But this is a seasonal product, and if it's not available in the spring I'm going to run out anyway. I suppose the few extra months might give me more time to secure an alternative.
• Sugar -- 1 pint at my place, unknown at Greg's
• Sucanat -- 1 pint at my place, probably another pint at Greg's
• Honey -- 1 pint fresh, plus about a cup that's gone to sugar.
• Molasses -- most of a pint

We use honey for jellies & jams, maple syrup on flapjacks & waffles, sucanat to sprinkle on oatmeal, and all of the above for cooking. Looking at this list of supplies, I don't *think* I'm going to run out -- having a small amount of each of a variety of products adds up to a substantial amount overall -- but I do need to pay attention. In other words, it's probably not the best time to go on a jelly-making spree...