For me it doesn’t feel wasteful because I rely on minimal external inputs. It’s time and effort and a little money for seeds, but I’m usually learning something and I’m at the worst case generating compost. A being of some kind will eat it!

When making jam, I still buy local fruit so it’s as close to homegeown as possible. I will typically make strawberry, blueberry and raspberry. I am skipping strawberry this year as I need to buy a new hose for the propane burned I use for water bath canning (outside, of course). I’ve done peach in the past too. That’s not locally grown, but I still buy the ones grown in my province and they are wonderful. I also make apple butter. I guess if I was going to say what makes a fruit it worth it is if I can get the fruit at the peak of ripeness. Compound berries take the least prep, but blanching peaches is still worth it because I love the flavor so much and frozen peaches don’t hit the spot.