Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Jam

Of course we came back from BC with fruit. How could we not?Apricots and blackberries to be exact. The blackberries were a little worse for wear after two days of plus 35 prior to getting home, but the apricots survived the trip perfectly.
So, seeing as the blackberries were going bad fast, they were my first order of business.
Blackberries + sugar + apples + boiling + cooking + boiling = black berry jam.
Not only that, but they sealed really well in the canner.
Then, apricots.
I divided them in two groups. The first group were made into apricot "butter" (Brent doesn't like this term as there is actually no butter in them).
Apricots + cinnamon + cloves + allspice + zest and juice of 1 lemon + white wine
+ boiling + mashing + baking + stirring + stirring
= apricot "butter"
And they canned well too.
Finally, batch two of the apricots:
Apricots + pectin + LOTS of sugar + boiling + blendering = yummy apricot jam.
And they canned well too, making 100% canning success.
I really like this jam-making business.