...and they will probably go horribly, horribly wrong. Much like the Great Tomato-Plant Murders of 2007. But I have to keep trying, right?
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3 comments:
Tessa - if you can write a dissertation, you can make jam!!!! If you need any help at all - email me! I'll be happy to help in any way - I have 210 jars of various and sundry jams and jellies in my pantry right now, and it is so much fun! Honestly!
Tessa: You can do this! Especially if you use a commercial pectin. The instructions are pretty straightforward. I make jam every year because it's just so darned good, and it also makes a great gift -- people are always impressed by homemade jam.
A few tips:
Cover your countertop with newspaper. You WILL have drips when filling jars.
Look in the thrift stores for a canning jar funnel; I see them there fairly often. (If you don't know what they look like, do an Internet search.) They make jar filling a LOT easier.
Don't double a recipe. Make one batch at a time.
Wear a shirt that matches the jam -- spatters happen!
If you don't want to process the jars in a hot-water bath to seal them, try the "inversion" method: After filling, turn the jars upside down for a little while. They may not appear sealed right away but will seal themselves eventually; you'll hear a little "ping" and the center will appear flat. (If they don't seal, then just refrigerate them and eat them sooner rather than next winter.)
In the future, watch for canning jars at thrift stores and yard sales. You may find lids there, too. Recently at a yard sale I bought a number of boxes of canning equipment for the $10 that the sale host suggested. When I got home I counted 110 half-pint and pint jars, 37 new lids and 78 screw bands. (Also two dead spiders.) If I'd bought just the jars at a thrift store, it would have cost $31.90 plus tax. At retail, a dozen half-pint jars cost $9.79, and 12 lids with screw bands go for $4.99.
Quite a score! And since blackberries are free for the picking just about everywhere in Seattle, and a neighbor is giving me free plums, I'm a happy woman.
Recently I bookmarked the USDA canning guide because I wanted to try making jam the old-fashioned way, without commercial pectin. Today I tried my first batch. I have to wait 24 hours to see if it's going to "set" the way the newfangled stuff does. Right now it looks a little softer than I would expect. We'll see tomorrow. I could always tell my recipients that it's "blackberry sundae topping" or that it's "soft blackberry preserves" to be poured over pound cake or stirred into plain yogurt.
The USDA canning guide can be found at http://foodsafety.psu.edu/canningguide.html. It's a great source of information and recipes.
I warn you, though: Jam-making is addictive. In the nicest possible way. I wrote about this syndrome for the Smart Spending blog; you can find the article at http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/smartspending/archive/2007/10/10/a-preservationist-viewpoint.aspx.
Good luck, and do post a follow-up to let readers know how you did.
Best regards,
Donna Freedman
Update: The next couple of batches of blackberry jam turned out beautifully, with a nice firm set. It may be because I had a more accurate thermometer (I borrowed my sister's candy thermometer). It may also have been because the fruit I used the first time was a little TOO ripe, which makes for a softer set.
It all tastes good, though. :-)
The first batch of plum jam, made last night, also set up a bit soft. I'm going to try a different plum jam recipe for the next batch.
I hope yours turns out well. Remember: Ice-cream topping...it's an ice-cream topping...Or stir it into plain yogurt.
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