- Making preserves in Pasadena. Inspiring — I want directions with the photos though! [image from Eye Level Pasadena]
- Your “Bong Hits 4 Jesus” banner can get you in trouble at school, supreme court rules.
- Sign up for Flexcar without paying the $35 first year membership fee by using the code ffep7FLEX under “Personal” Plans.
Thanks! :) Erin and Superspark are both food bloggers and both include directions on their posts:
http://erinskitchen.blogspot.com/2007/06/canning-california-apricot-plum-and.html
http://superspark.wordpress.com/2007/06/25/apricot-and-plum-jams/
Comment by Jill — June 26, 2007 @ 3:17 pm
There’s nothing terribly difficult about preserves (or jam, or jelly). Any box of pectin (Certo, Sure-Jell, etc.) will have recipes.
You dump sugar (lots and lots of sugar) and fruit (and perhaps some lemon juice, depending on the type of fruit) in a very big pot, and bring it to a boil. Then you add pectin and bring it back up to a boil. After a minute or two, it starts thickening
If it’s a small batch which you’re planning to eat within a few months, you can just stick it in your refrigerator. If you want to give it away, or make a big batch to last all year, then you need to go through the canning process.
Canning is a bit more complicated, and you’ll want some equipment:
* mason jars, with lids and bands
* a large enough pot to hold a few jars and keep them underwater while boiling them. This is _in addition_ to the big pot which you use for preserves. (Your life will be easier if you use a pot designed specifically for this purpose, as it will have an insert which holds the jars and allows you to easily pull them out when they’re done.)
* some sort of ladle to get the preserves/jam/jelly into the jars (having a jar funnel also makes this easier to do w/o spilling .. you can usually get one in a canning kit with some other useful stuff such as tongs for pulling stuff out of boiling water)
1. Wash your jars well, with soap and hot water. Rinse them well. If you’re paranoid, you’ll boil them.
2. Put the lids in boiling water to sterilize them. Leave them in water until you need them.
3. Fill your processing pot with water and bring it to a boil.
4. Make your preserves
5. When you’re done making preserves, pour it into the jars, filling them to about 1cm below the top. (just below the threads)
6. Put a clean lid on each jar.
7. Screw a ring onto each jar, to hold the lids in place.
8. Immerse the jars in the boiling water, being sure that they are completely covered by boiling water.
9. After 15 minutes, take the jars out of the water. (This is easier if you use a pot designed for this task, which will come with a metal basket which lifts out easily.)
10. Let the jars cool. You’ll hear a popping noise from each one as the little safety bump thing in the middle of the lid is pulled downwards by the partial vacuum in the jar.
11. After they cool, test each one to make sure the lid popped down. If it didn’t, then you don’t have an airtight seal and that jar should go into the fridge, to be used soon.
I made strawberry jam with strawberries from the Pasadena farmer’s market a few weeks ago. :-)
Comment by Tim Buchheim — June 26, 2007 @ 3:57 pm