Plum Cardamom Jam

I had some plums in my freezer so I thought I would try a new recipe from my new canning book I picked up. The book is CANNING for a New Generation by Liana Krisoff. I like this book because it has beautiful pictures, interesting flavor combinations, and recipes for using your canned foods.

Here we are in the early stages cooking the plums in sugar

This recipe does not call for pectin so it takes a lot of stirring and cooking to get it thick

Here is a picture of my jars sterilizing in the water bath canner and my lids sterilizing in a pot of hot water

Here we are filling the jars. The color is beautiful. I cannot say enough about how important a wide-mouth funnel is for making jam.

And now, for the recipe:

Plum Cardamom Jam

4 lbs ripe black plums, pitted and diced

2 cups sugar

3 T strained fresh lemon juice

1 T freshly ground cardamom seeds (or a little more if using pre-ground)

Prepare your water bath canner and sterilize jars and lids

Put the plums and sugar in a wide, 6-8 quart pot. Bring to a simmer, stirring frequently, then continue to cook for 5 minutes. Pour into a colander set over a large bowl and stir the plums gently to drain off the juice. Return the juice to the pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil, stirring occasionally, until the syrup is reduced and thick, about 10 minutes.

Return the plums and any accumulated juice to the pan, along with the lime juice and cardamom, and bring to a simmer. Simmer, stirring frequently, until a small dab of the jam spooned onto the cold plate and set in the freezer for a minute becomes some-what firm (it will not gel), about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Ladle the hot jam into the jars, leaving 1/4" headspace at the top. Use a damp paper towel to wipe the rims of the jars, then put a flat lid and ring on each jar, adjusting the ring so that it's just finger tight. Return the jars to the water bath canner making sure there is an inch of water over the jars. Process in boiling water for 5 minutes.

Jamboree!!

Here's a great party idea. Have a jamboree! I know it sounds like something boy scouts do, but it can also be a group of friends getting together to make jam. A week ago, three of my friends, who knew how to make jam, got together to teach people who have never made jam before how to make it. I planned to take lots of pictures, but when I pulled out my camera, the battery was dead. Too bad because it was a lot of fun and a wide variety of jams. We made three types. We made a traditional fruit jam with pectin (blueberry lime), a savory jam (onion balsamic jam), and a jam without pectin (pear ginger jam). I hope these recipes will inspire you to have your own jamboree. Call me if you would like some help teaching a class.

Below are the recipes:

Blueberry Lime Jam
4 1/2 C blueberries
1 T grated lime peel
1 pkg powdered pectin
1/3 C lime juice
5 C sugar Crush berries one layer at a time.

Combine crushed blueberries and pectin in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil stirring frequently. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Stir in grated lime peel and lime juice. Bring to a rolling boil. Boil hard for one minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot jam into sterilized hot 1/2 pint jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Clean jar rims and put lids and bands on. Process in a water bath canner for 15 minutes.

Balsamic Onion Jam
Dan Craven

4 lbs onions (sliced thin)
6 shallots (sliced thinly)
3 slices bacon or pancetta
6 sprigs fresh thymediv
2 cups sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 cups red wine
1 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp kosher salt
2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 pkgs liquid pectin

Place a large non-reactive pan over medium-low heat. Add the bacon and render the fat. Once the bacon has crisped, remove.
Turn up the heat to high, add the onions, salt, thyme and olive oil. Stir to make sure the onions are coated with the oil and bacon fat.
Cook on high, covered with a tight lid, for about 20 minutes. Remove thyme stems. Continue to cook stirring every 5 to 10 minutes until the onions begin to turn golden brown. Add the sugar, brown sugar, red wine, and balsamic vinegar. Cook over medium heat until viscous.
To test if it's the right consistency, dribble a bit of the reduction on a plate and it is still liquid, but slowly slips down the plate after it cools briefly.
I also look for doneness by dragging a spoon against the bottom of the pot. If it leaves a long valley, then it is done.

WARNING: Do not walk away from this once it begins to get close. There is enough sugar in this that it can burn and create sugar concrete on the bottom of your pan.

Remove from heat and stir in liquid pectin. Return to heat and boil for one minute. Ladle into prepared glass jars and water bath process for 20 minutes.

Pear Ginger Jam

1 3" stick cinnamon.
1 tsp whole cloves.
6 cups pears (cored, peeled, chopped)
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cups candied ginger, chopped.

Place the cinnamon and cloves in a cheesecloth bag. Bring the pears and lemon juice to a boil over medium heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often. Add the sugar, ginger and cheesecloth bag of cinnamon and cloves. Stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Cook for 20-25 minutes on medium heat, stirring often. Pour into sterilized jars, seal and process for 10 minutes.

Blueberry Peach Jam

Before I get into making jam, I just want to put a plug in for my favorite canning book of all time. It is called Blue Ribbon Preserves by Linda J. Amendt. At the beginning of the book she explains all about making jam. Several things that surprised me when I first looked at it. First off, you NEVER double a jam recipe. The reason is all about surface area. If you double a recipe, it will not be able to reduce enough and then your jam will never set up. Second, the way my mom sealed a jar by turning it upside down is no longer considered safe. All jams need to go through a water bath canning process to kill all traces of botulism (if any).

The book lists all the equipment you need and explains why it is important. Also, what I think is the best part of the book, you know all the recipes are good because they are all competition winners.

Okay, now for the fun part. This recipe started from a recipe from Blue Ribbon Preserves and then morphed as I discovered what ingredients I had (this is not always a good idea. My uncle was trying to make my grandpa's famous carrot cake once and he realized he didn't have flour so he exchanged it for sugar, he realized he didn't have cinnamon so he just used red pepper. Long story short, it didn't turn out).

Blackberry Peach Jam (adapted from Peach Melba Jam)
makes 7 half pint jars

3 cups peeled, pitted and crushed ripe peaches
3 Tablespoons strained fresh lemon juice
7 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup crushed and seeded blackberry pulp
1/2 tsp unsalted butter
1 (3-ounce) pouch liquid pectin

In an 8-quart pan, combine the peaches and lemon juice. Stir in about half of the sugar. Cover the pan and let stand for 20 minutes.

Remove the cover. Stir in the blackberry pulp, remaining sugar and the butter. Over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, heat the mixture until the sugar is completely dissolved. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Remove the pan from the heat and skim off the foam.

Return the pan to the heat and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Stir in the entire contents of the pectin pouch. Return the mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil stirring constantly for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat. Skim off any foam.

To prevent the jam from separating in the jars, allow the jam to cool 5 minutes before filling the jars. Gently stir the jam every minute or so to distribute the fruit. Ladle the hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the jar rims and threads with a clean, damp cloth. Cover with hot lids and apply screw rings. Process half-pint jars in a 200F water bath for 10 minutes, pint jars for 15 minutes.

I mentioned that I made changes. I only had 2 1/2 cups of crushed peaches, since I didn't have enough, I modified the amount of blackberries to make up for it so I used 1 1/2 cups blackberries. Also, I am lazy so I did not seed the blackberries. I like to think of my jam as rustic.

Changes at the Cannery

Recently I received an e-mail from the Stake Canning Specialist (a Stake is a group of 6-15 Mormon congregations). She informed me that the Seattle cannery as Mormons know it is no longer in existence (for those of you who are unfamiliar with the term "cannery" it was a place people could go purchase and can dry goods in #10 cans or mylar pouches to store in their home for food storage. Typical items that could be canned included red wheat, flour, sugar, pasta, rice, dry milk, oatmeal...you get the point).

Due to government regulations, food canning must be done in a closed room with an air ventilation system. Unfortunately, it is not cost effective to update the cannery in Seattle, Washington so things are changing.

You will still be able to purchase all your favorite canning foods from the cannery (you can a find a list of what is available at http://www.providentliving.org/ just click on the link for Family Home Storage, followed by Home Storage order form.

Times the Seattle Cannery are open include:
Tuesdays from 10:00am - 1:00pm
Wednesdays from 5:00pm - 7:00pm
Saturday from 10:00am - 1:00pm
The cannery will sell all bulk products, pre-packed foods, and canning items listed on the church order from (form found at http://www.providentliving.org/) Prepackaged items are sold by the individual can.

The cannery has updated their payment methods. They now accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover, American Express, check, and exact change.

The can sealers and pouch sealers are now available to church members for in-home individual and family canning on a first come, first serve basis. If you are intersted in this option, call (425) 315-1514 to reserve a sealer.