Blackberry Jam

Jam is beautiful to make. Usually I forget to take pictures of what I am making, but I actually want to document the process because I adore every stage of making jam. The berries or stone fruit are vibrantly colorful, the taste testing along the way is never terrible, and I know I am preserving the natural deliciousness of perfectly ripe fruit. 

Of course there is plenty of sugar in jam, but I eat it sparingly. I want to ensure I have enough to last me until the next season so as not to buy any from the store. Jam is too easy to make to have to purchase over and over. I’d rather buy fruit and have the option to eat them fresh or bake into a dessert and still have enough to make jam.

The process is simple and straightforward. Heat up fruit with sugar to your taste preference, and stir frequently so it doesn’t brown or burn. Make sure your canning supplies are CLEAN and also have the water bath heating up at the same time. Hot jam has to go into hot jars. Neither can be cooled down. Once the jam heated up, I took an immersion blender to it to make it all smooth. I keep the seeds in because I like them and it keeps the process simple.

I then processed in the water bath for 15 minutes. It’s so pretty and tasty!

I think I made enough for myself and my husband with a few extra for gifting.

Peace and love,

Kristan

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Apricot Jam: canned

Canning is a miracle. Today, it is seen as intimidating or cumbersome; however I cannot imagine my life without this scientific marvel. It truly is mainly basic skills and access to fresh ingredients and the right equipment. I’ll admit that my apricots sat around in my refrigerator for far too long, but they were still tasty and ready to jump into a pan and be turned into scrumptious jam.

I sliced the stone fruit into quarters with my new opinel knife and put them in my smallest pot because I didn’t have enough to make a large batch. Small batch jam is better, right? 😉

Sugar time! I have made different varieties of jam, some with honey instead of sugar, some with less sugar, and some with the full Ball-recommended amount of sugar ( which is a heart stopping load), all with what I deem as success. Now my jam philosophy is to add enough sweetener to taste; simple, enjoyable, exactly what my life needs.

I find myself reaching for the sugar sweetened types more often lately so I went with plain white sugar. I bought this in a giant paper bag which will get recycled. 

I did go through the entire canning process with a vat of boiling water and all the sterilization because I have precious little freezer space and I want to taste the sweet, tart freshness of apricot jam for a few months after they are no longer in season.

As you can see this made approximately 3.5 cups of jam. I didn’t have to buy more glass jars of jam, and I know exactly what’s in this: apricots and sugar. Pectin is not required because I left the skins on the fruit which provides enough natural pectin to gel. Now I’m going to go enjoy this on some freshly baked whole wheat sourdough sandwich bread.

Peace and love,

Kristan