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This weekend I made jam
Aug. 5th, 2018 10:34 amI've been trying to interact with the natural world a little more recently - although as a machine I don't always feel like I have a place in it, I want that connection, and I also want to connect with my ancestors and my family. My family has begun some very minor homesteading, fruit trees and pepper and tomato plants, and most notably for this entry a currant bush.
The currant bush is ripe with fruit right now, which is a real treat as you can't buy currants in stores - even the easier to pick varieties, and ours is, ummm, not one of those. (I couldn't tell you what it is, but it has the shorter strands common in more ornamental plants - the longer strands are easier to pick). Every time I go out to care for any of the other plants or to mow, I stop by the currant bush and steal a few. Unfortunately, you only get currants for so long, and then you have to wait until next year to have any. So I decided to make some jam. I posted some photos of the process on Mastodon, @mdmarron@weirder.earth if anyone wants to see, but here's a text-based entry about the whole thing:
We started by boiling a couple of cups of berries we harvested to make a very small batch (about 12oz) in just enough water to cover them up. It took probably 20 minutes for them to soften up, and we mashed them up a little with a spoon, although we still left them whole instead of puree or straining (because I like jam better than jelly). We also sanitized the jars by boiling them (and the rims) this whole time.
Then we added a little more than a cup of sugar, and mixed them until we reached the jell point (220 degrees). A little bit before, we took the sanitizing pot off heat and put in the lids, then when the jam was ready we used tongs to retrieve the sanitized bits and bobs, filled them up, closed them, and returned them to the hot water and cooked for 10 minutes to ensure safety. Once that was done, we cooled them down, put them in the fridge - and bam, jam!
I always thought it was much more difficult, but it was so easy, and the only thing we had to buy was canning jar lids (since we already had canning jars). We didn't even need pectin - there's enough in the fruit on its own! It's amazing how easy it was. I can't wait for the plums to come in!
The currant bush is ripe with fruit right now, which is a real treat as you can't buy currants in stores - even the easier to pick varieties, and ours is, ummm, not one of those. (I couldn't tell you what it is, but it has the shorter strands common in more ornamental plants - the longer strands are easier to pick). Every time I go out to care for any of the other plants or to mow, I stop by the currant bush and steal a few. Unfortunately, you only get currants for so long, and then you have to wait until next year to have any. So I decided to make some jam. I posted some photos of the process on Mastodon, @mdmarron@weirder.earth if anyone wants to see, but here's a text-based entry about the whole thing:
We started by boiling a couple of cups of berries we harvested to make a very small batch (about 12oz) in just enough water to cover them up. It took probably 20 minutes for them to soften up, and we mashed them up a little with a spoon, although we still left them whole instead of puree or straining (because I like jam better than jelly). We also sanitized the jars by boiling them (and the rims) this whole time.
Then we added a little more than a cup of sugar, and mixed them until we reached the jell point (220 degrees). A little bit before, we took the sanitizing pot off heat and put in the lids, then when the jam was ready we used tongs to retrieve the sanitized bits and bobs, filled them up, closed them, and returned them to the hot water and cooked for 10 minutes to ensure safety. Once that was done, we cooled them down, put them in the fridge - and bam, jam!
I always thought it was much more difficult, but it was so easy, and the only thing we had to buy was canning jar lids (since we already had canning jars). We didn't even need pectin - there's enough in the fruit on its own! It's amazing how easy it was. I can't wait for the plums to come in!
