Jams!

Next project: Buy a few green and gala apples and make a new jam!

 http://www.foodinjars.com/2010/01/honey-lemon-apple-jam-recipe/

I've been reaaaally into making jam lately. It started with marmalade, and then we found a very large patch of wild blackberries, and then we found a farm that sold pick-your-own strawberries...these were THE BEST blackberries and strawberries that I will ever eat. Store-bought fruit sucks, to put it lightly. Anyway, berry jams are gone and given, and I want to start experimenting with more! I saw a lavender jam that I want to make in a few months when back in California, and we eat apples all the time...

I'll do a quick explanation of how easy it is to make jam. Keep in mind that you can make it with frozen fruit as well.

Marmalade: Some people grate off just the zest, so the white pith (which is the bitter part) doesn't get in the jam, but I keep it in there because that's where the natural pectin comes from, and the sugar that you add either takes away the bitterness (longer cooking time) or you end up with a blast of bitter AND sweet in every bite (cooked less- less time to soak up the sugar throughout).
So, take the peels of about 4 oranges (save the peels after making juice, eating the fruit, etc. You can freeze the peels if you're not going to make them into marm. for a while, just thaw them a day ahead of time in the fridge), and slice them into the size that you want them to be in the final jam. They don't break down in size too much.
Put the peels in a pot, and pour enough water in to cover them. Important: measure the water that you use, and remember it for later. Then cook them like crazy, maybe for about an hour or so...they'll go through several transformative phases, but they'll eventually become very obvious mush, which means the rinds are soft enough to break apart effortlessly when you bite them, and the pith has broken down and released all it's goodness into the water. At this point, add the sugar/sweetener of your choice. I've used brown sugar before, and it was yummy. White sugar works well. Use organic/raw sugar if you can, because refined sugar is horrible for you. The amount of sugar is kind of scary on this one...the original recipe I found said to use equal amounts water and sugar (so if you pour 4 cups of water in the beginning, you're going to need 4 cups of sugar...that's way too much, in my opinion), but what I do is start with about 1/4 the amount of water. So with 4 cups of water used, start with a cup of sugar. If that turns out to be too bitter still, just gradually add more! But you might find that it doesn't need all that much sugar to be delicious.
After adding the sugar, make sure you keep an eye on it, turn the heat down to medium or lower, and DO NOT FORGET THAT YOU ARE MAKING MARMALADE. Probably seems obvious, but you have been cooking it for a while already, and it's easy to get distracted...It's not like I ruined my marmalade twice by doing this or anything...
As soon as you've added the sugar, you'll see it get much thicker and syrupy. This is what makes it very easy for it to burn to the bottom of the pot, now. So keep stirring, and allow about 30 minutes to go by with the cover on except for when you're stirring, so that the sugar really has time to infuse into the fruit.
Then, remove the cover, keep stirring, and cook it this way until enough of the water has evaporated out that it's a very thick syrup. Note that it will also thicken as it cools, too. And don't worry, if it's still too watery once it's cooled, just bring it back to a gentle boil and cook it (stirring all the while!) until it evaporates a bit more. You might have to do this a couple times before it's perfect, I still do.

And now, I just ladle the jam into jars without worrying about technically "canning" them by creating a seal, because I know that the amounts that I make will be eaten quickly enough that we don't have to worry about spoilage. But if you are interested in canning, it's really easy, and I've put a good resource for learning how over in the side bar, called Food in Jars.

As for making other jams, now that we know how to make marmalade? It's basically the same process:

1*Fruit, cover with water, boil until soft and breaking down.
2*Add sweetener, reduce heat, continue to boil until sugar absorbed by fruit, covered and stirring often
3*Remove cover, keep boiling and stirring until excess water evaporates and you have jam!

With ripe berries, you hardly need to add sugar, if any, because they're already so sweet. I don't add pectin, because again, we eat it quick enough that it doesn't need to be preserved, and I have found that I can achieve the right thickness just by adding sugar (just a tablespoon or two if you don't need it to sweeten the fruit) to create a syrupy consistency. Once you evaporate enough of the water, the syrup ends up creating a jam that has plenty of body to it. Plus, there's natural pectin in many fruits, like oranges and blackberries, and firm green apples, etc. Strawberries have a very low amount of natural pectin, so I add a bit more sugar when making strawberry jam, and it works out. But, if you're making jam to last long term, find other sources, like Food in Jars, that can get you more by-the-book jamming details.

I'll be sure to post about the apple jam, once I make it! And oh my gosh, I never posted about my spicy mango chutney....