Jam!
I promised an entry on making jam. Then stuff happened and the entry did not.
But now it shall!
I enjoy making jam. I am thrilled when I don't have to buy jam at the store. For a whole year! If I keep making my own jam, I will never have to buy store jam (unless I try that Asian recipe for my slow cooker that uses marmalade).
I first made jam two years ago. I went berry picking twice that year, and made strawberry and blueberry jam. Picking the blueberries was very restful - they were highbush blueberries, and I never needed to bend over to get one. If I got tired of looking at blueberries, there was a lovely view of the valley below me. I learned that I don't really like strawberry jam (I knew I loved blueberry jam).
Last year I moved to Maine in the summer, and was too busy with unpacking and settling in to go berry picking or to make jam. I have been buying jam since then, and found I prefer to have my own.
This year I made blueberry jam first. Normally, I can't do that, as blueberry season is later than strawberry season. But my mother found a food supplier which sells frozen blueberries by the pound for a really good price. So I went down to her house, and we made jam. She also had Ball No Sugar Pectin, which can have 0-3 cups of sugar added. The Low Sugar Pectin I had used previously needed 4 cups (the full sugar version uses around 8 cups and makes about 8 jars, and is tooth decay with berry flavor). We used 1.5 cups of sugar, and made a very nice blueberry jam. We only got 4.5 jars of it, so I knew I needed to make more.
Due to the zany weather we are having, strawberry season and raspberry season overlapped this year. I thought that I could improve the taste of strawberry jam with raspberries. So on the 5th of July (I was off work that Monday), I drove to a local strawberry place and picked (which is always dreadfully uncomfortable due to squatting) and then drove to a local raspberry place and picked. Picking raspberries, like blueberries, does not require bending over or squatting. And I really did not notice the thorns.
That same day, I made strawberry-raspberry jam. I strained the pulped raspberries, so I would not have seeds in my jam. Because I used all my strawberries and added raspberry juice, I ended up with FAR more jam this time. In fact, I had more liquid than the recipe said I would, and I was very worried that since I only had one packet of pectin the jam would not set up and I would have berry soup. Thankfully it does set, just a very soft set and it does separate a bit after you spoon some out of the jar (I just stir it up again later). It is tart and delicious.
Making jam is not hard, though it is time consuming and very warm (heating the fruit, boiling the jars to sterilize, then boiling the jars full of jam to seal them). But it's worth it!
Behold, all the jam I made!
If you cannot see the image, let me know. There are some security settings on my scrapbook I may need to fiddle with.
But now it shall!
I enjoy making jam. I am thrilled when I don't have to buy jam at the store. For a whole year! If I keep making my own jam, I will never have to buy store jam (unless I try that Asian recipe for my slow cooker that uses marmalade).
I first made jam two years ago. I went berry picking twice that year, and made strawberry and blueberry jam. Picking the blueberries was very restful - they were highbush blueberries, and I never needed to bend over to get one. If I got tired of looking at blueberries, there was a lovely view of the valley below me. I learned that I don't really like strawberry jam (I knew I loved blueberry jam).
Last year I moved to Maine in the summer, and was too busy with unpacking and settling in to go berry picking or to make jam. I have been buying jam since then, and found I prefer to have my own.
This year I made blueberry jam first. Normally, I can't do that, as blueberry season is later than strawberry season. But my mother found a food supplier which sells frozen blueberries by the pound for a really good price. So I went down to her house, and we made jam. She also had Ball No Sugar Pectin, which can have 0-3 cups of sugar added. The Low Sugar Pectin I had used previously needed 4 cups (the full sugar version uses around 8 cups and makes about 8 jars, and is tooth decay with berry flavor). We used 1.5 cups of sugar, and made a very nice blueberry jam. We only got 4.5 jars of it, so I knew I needed to make more.
Due to the zany weather we are having, strawberry season and raspberry season overlapped this year. I thought that I could improve the taste of strawberry jam with raspberries. So on the 5th of July (I was off work that Monday), I drove to a local strawberry place and picked (which is always dreadfully uncomfortable due to squatting) and then drove to a local raspberry place and picked. Picking raspberries, like blueberries, does not require bending over or squatting. And I really did not notice the thorns.
That same day, I made strawberry-raspberry jam. I strained the pulped raspberries, so I would not have seeds in my jam. Because I used all my strawberries and added raspberry juice, I ended up with FAR more jam this time. In fact, I had more liquid than the recipe said I would, and I was very worried that since I only had one packet of pectin the jam would not set up and I would have berry soup. Thankfully it does set, just a very soft set and it does separate a bit after you spoon some out of the jar (I just stir it up again later). It is tart and delicious.
Making jam is not hard, though it is time consuming and very warm (heating the fruit, boiling the jars to sterilize, then boiling the jars full of jam to seal them). But it's worth it!
Behold, all the jam I made!
If you cannot see the image, let me know. There are some security settings on my scrapbook I may need to fiddle with.