This one’s a ‘tweener. Not really a jelly, since I’m too lazy to strain it a second time. And not really a jam, since I’m too lazy to pinch the skins off each berry so they don’t get filtered out with the pips when cranked through the food mill. Why’s that? Because I’m also too…
Tag: jam
Blackberry-Fig Preserves
Besides mosquitos and morning glories, about the only thing thriving in my garden this hot, sticky summer is my fig tree. The cherries got 95% wiped out by ill-timed, early-June torrential rain and whipping winds; July’s grapes were all lost to the birds; and this month’s near-daily drenchings have left most of the tomatoes that…
Goosecherry Jam
This post, started one year ago today, was supposed to be a victory lap. The cherry-and-gooseberry jam I’d made after last year’s epic harvest had been my favorite jar in years, and I was looking forward to creating—and documenting—a second batch. Alas, in 2018 Mother Nature had other ideas. An extended verycoldsnap in March had delayed…
Small-Batch Fig Jam
That seems redundant, doesn’t it? Because if you find figs at the farmstand, they’re often upwards of $12-a-quart—or even a buck apiece for big ones. And if you grow them yourself, you likely eat as many as you can straight off the tree (or, say, with a little honey and yogurt . . . or…
Strawberry-Maple Jam
Time to rotate the berries. With a pint in yesterday’s LFFC sharebox, plus about a pint pulled from my own garden, plus a scruffy partial-quart leftover from the farmers market Sunday, I suddenly had a critical mass of berries, some of which were in that critical do-something-with-me-today stage. I hung onto most of my home-growns…
Alli-yum
I wasn’t keeping count until a croquet-ball-sized one landed on my little toe this morning when I opened the pantry door, but as of a couple hours ago, we had way too many onions on hand. And then I made this sweet onion marmalade. And now Sheila’s asking me to swap for more onions next week….
Blubarb Jam: A Sweet and Slippery Slope
If you’re new to making fruit preserves, blueberries are the perfect gateway. Widely available, rich in their own pectin, and relatively inexpensive, blues are a small-batch-friendly fruit. And with no hulling and no pitting, your prep is pretty much limited to a quick rinse and a scan for stray stems and bum berries. Lovely when sugared…
Great Scot: Ginger-Cantaloupe Jam
It’s late one evening in March 2001, and we’re finishing up dinner our first night in Campbeltown, Scotland. Joyce Gardiner, my dear friend Judith’s mum, places a sterling shaker on the table alongside our post-entrée cantaloupe. Pepper, I assume. Hmmm. Maybe my dad’s side of the family, who sprinkled salt and pepper on all kinds…
Blackberry-Bourbon Jam
Vanilla beans and lemon zest make their way into most of my berry-based preserves. But last season’s final batch of blackberry jam had to settle for a tablespoon of vanilla extract; I was out of beans and didn’t want to head to the store just for that one item. It was, however, homemade extract that…
Supersmall-Batch Strawberry-Fig Jam
With strawberry season winding down and my fig tree still 6-8 weeks away from ripe, Marisa’s post yesterday seemed like a big tease. But on a dash through Whole Foods last night for bread and milk, I spied the huge (and ripe!) Black Mission figs you see above, so I decided to grab a handful,…
Boxing Day 