November is jam-making time at our house. My job Sunday was to crank the Victorio strainer, and as I cranked I watched through the kitchen window as a bright golden ball turned to a rosy glow that spread along the tops of the Minnesota bluffs.

Meanwhile, the darker reddish purple hue of the blackberry juice being squeezed through the strainer flowed languidly down the trough into a stainless steel bowl. Gretchen refilled the hopper and said, “Crank some more.”

So I cranked and, as the light from the window faded with the sunset, we turned on the lights. Then I cranked and chuckled as we discussed our new awareness that some of the light we now used for our task might be from electricity generated from old Russian nuclear bombs.

We had read an article in The New York Times a few days earlier that about 10 percent of electricity in the United States is from generating plants powered by nuclear fuel recycled from bomb-grade uranium, mostly from Russian nuclear warheads dismantled under post-Cold War treaties and agreements. The first shipments of bomb-grade highly enriched uranium converted in Russia to low enriched (fuel grade) arrived in the U.S in 1993.

For both of us, who as Cold War children were schooled in sitting under our desks with our arms over our heads to protect against a nuclear bomb explosion, this has been an astonishing turn of events. The nuke that might have lit our hair on fire is lighting our kitchen.

The program is called Megatons to Megawatts and is jointly administered by the United States Enrichment Corp. for the U.S. and Techsnabexport, acting for the Russian government. The program as of Sept. 23 had recycled 375 metric tons of bomb-grade uranium into 10,868 metric tons of low enriched uranium, equivalent to 15,000 nuclear warheads eliminated, according to the USEC Web site (http://www.usec.com/megatonstomegawatts.htm). The Web site gives a detailed description of the program.

But when we mentioned the Times story to friends recently, they were as surprised as we were.

The Times offered the following by way of explanation: “Utilities have been loath to publicize the Russian bomb supply line for fear of spooking consumers: the fuel from missiles that may have once been aimed at your home may now be lighting it.”

Continuing this supply of fuel may hinge on the success of President Barack Obama’s work to renew the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which expires Dec. 5. The Megatons to Megawatts program expires in 2013.

According to the USEC, “by 2013, when the program is completed, 500 metric tons of Russian highly enriched uranium, the equivalent of 20,000 warheads will have been recycled into LEU — enough material to produce fuel to power the entire United States for about two years.”

According to the Times, the two governments are negotiating to continue the program. Without the Russian supply, costs of nuclear power could rise, the story said.

After thinking about this for a few days, I can’t imagine why we would be “spooked” over the thought of using recycled nukes for our power. It’s one heck of a lot better proposition than the original intended use.

Since the juice we were working on under our (perhaps) Russian-origin light, was destined for jam to be sold in the Mississippi Valley Conservancy’s silent auction, I encouraged Gretchen to advertise it as “partly made using recycled nuclear material.”

She didn’t think that would add to the value. I suggest that it would have added to her glowing reputation as a jam maker. Ah well.