John Sayers
Special to The Lake Report

To a bird enthusiast, a rare bird is (in Latin) a rara avis.

To a Niagara-on-the-Lake food lover, a rare bird is either of the two features of the Saturday, Aug. 10 special Peach Festival Sale at Grace United Church.

Rare bird #1 is Saskatoon berry jam. Last year, an experimental patch of 100 Saskatoon berry bushes, planted several years ago, was discovered on an area farm.

The bushes had thrived, but the berries were little known. Something of a cross between a blackcurrant and a blueberry, these berries have a flavour all their own.

Made into jam, they provide a refreshing change of taste for breakfast on one of those mornings when you are, well, bored with your normal fare and want a special treat.

Picked by hand in limited quantity, the berries morph into a handmade jam in the busy kitchen at Grace United. Quantity is, by definition, very limited.

The second rare culinary bird, standing out among a plethora of choices of jams and sauces, is the famous Colonial Sauce, created from a recipe reportedly handed down locally from the Empire Loyalist era.

If you have driven past the Field House on the Niagara River Parkway, you have passed the genesis of the Colonial Sauce recipe.

Unlike Saskatoon berry jam, the ingredients of Colonial Sauce are a closely guarded family secret.

It is made lovingly by only one person in the Grace United kitchen and spectators are definitely not invited. Each of the few years he has laboured to make more and each year the entire production of the sauce has sold out quickly.

This year, the sale also honours the Peach Festival with peach jam and peach chutney. That’s logical because the sale takes place during the annual Peach Festival, but it’s also a reminder that you can get peach and a whole range of other flavours and styles of jams and sauces at the handmade jam “action central” location in town.

The sale offers not only two rare birds but also several of their spreadable nestlings.

So, if you want to attain the apex of homemade goodness, check in to Grace United Church on Saturday between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. to catch some rare food to spread on your breakfast toast or dinner treat.