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Ruby's Jars

First-class flavor, coach-class price.

Welcome aboard, sugar. Grab a jar.

I'm Ruby Jarrett, a retired flight attendant. For 35 years I talked my way into grandmothers' kitchens on my layovers. Now I'm grounded on a Tennessee farmhouse with 40 jars on the counter, and I can't stand what the store charges for things Grandma Opal made from salt, sugar, water and scraps.

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Where to begin

Free

The Boarding Pass

A free printable 7-day checklist that takes you from an empty jar to your first homemade ginger soda: one box a day, the one ratio you need, and Ruby's safety briefing.

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Featured

Ruby's Jar Pantry

Every jar I make that has a tested recipe: sauerkraut three ways, kimchi-style napa, dill pickles, preserved lemons, kombucha and sourdough, with safe-or-toss rules and the receipt for each.

$12.00

See inside the book

Start with the free Boarding Pass. The book is $12 until November 12, 2026, then $19.

Seven days to your first homemade soda

One cup water, two spoons ginger, two spoons sugar.

  • Day 1: start your bug

    1 cup water, 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger (skin on) and 2 tablespoons plain white sugar in a clean pint jar. Cover with a cloth, keep it warm, date it.

  • Days 2-4: feed it

    Once a day: 1 Tbsp grated ginger + 1 Tbsp sugar, a clean spoon, a look and a sniff. Bubbly means go. Fuzzy means goodbye.

  • Day 5: bottling day

    1 quart cooled sweet ginger tea + ¼ cup bubbly bug. Plain plastic bottles you can squeeze, one tester always.

  • Days 6-8: squeeze, chill, pour

    Firm tester? Into the fridge. After a full day chilling, open slowly over the sink, pointed away from your face.

Ruby Jarrett on her farmhouse porch at golden hour

Meet Ruby

Ruby Jarrett is 62 and spent 35 years as an international flight attendant with Silverwing Airways. On her layovers she charmed her way into the kitchens of grandmothers in Seoul, Kyiv, Bavaria, Marrakech and a dozen other cities. Now she's grounded on a little farmhouse in the hills of East Tennessee.

The world's grandmothers already solved this. I just took notes.

Ruby Jarrett is an AI-generated fictional character. Her stories are tall tales; the recipes are real.

More about Ruby

When in doubt, throw it out. A jar is cheap; you are not.

Ruby's Rule #5

Start your jar tonight.

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