Jam! (jam?)
May. 15th, 2006 08:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
celticdragonflyWhew. I have just gotten through my first experiment in canning. Quite possibly I have just made five jars of strawberry jam. (The recipe was supposed to be for 4 - but there was enough left to partially fill a 5th jar. Not sure what's going to happen with it having too much headspace - but hey, we can always just put it right into the fridge if it doesn't seal properly.)
I have spent the whole day messing around with this stuff. I'm sure an experienced canner would have done several batches in that time. Sigh.
The jars have now been removed from the canner and set onto a towel-covered cutting board in a draft-free (I think) corner. Now I have to wait 12-24 hours and then check the seals. (EDIT: There was an encouraging "pop" sound after taking the jars out of the water that I *think* is a Good Sign.)
It was intimidating and scary. Breadmaking, that I'm on solid ground with, I know how to do that. This? This was another thing entirely, and I felt awkward and unprepared. How the heck do people get the jars to stand up evenly in the canning rack, especially before you put it down? That was just awful. I did get slightly scalded getting the extra kettleful of boiling water in on top of the jars, but nothing bad.
I did manage to use the blender for the strawberries. I didn't think I would be able to at first, since an essential bit was missing, the part that goes in the center top of the lid and keeps it from all spraying out. After a few minutes with the potato masher, I went hunting harder for that bit and finally found it. The blended made quick work of things. MY, this recipe uses more sugar than anything else I've ever done. After all the strawberry de-stemming and chopping, I'm glad to say that I still have all my fingers.
I've been planning this for a while, and have been disappointed in myself that the canning pot and such was sitting unused after I'd finally gotten it. I want to be able to do canning for the family - to make jams that I know exactly what's in them, to do specialty stuff, etc. Especially with us having worries over Jamie's diet, I want to do more of our own stuff.
I suppose now I need to find out where I can locally buy more jars and pectin, and do more.
I have spent the whole day messing around with this stuff. I'm sure an experienced canner would have done several batches in that time. Sigh.
The jars have now been removed from the canner and set onto a towel-covered cutting board in a draft-free (I think) corner. Now I have to wait 12-24 hours and then check the seals. (EDIT: There was an encouraging "pop" sound after taking the jars out of the water that I *think* is a Good Sign.)
It was intimidating and scary. Breadmaking, that I'm on solid ground with, I know how to do that. This? This was another thing entirely, and I felt awkward and unprepared. How the heck do people get the jars to stand up evenly in the canning rack, especially before you put it down? That was just awful. I did get slightly scalded getting the extra kettleful of boiling water in on top of the jars, but nothing bad.
I did manage to use the blender for the strawberries. I didn't think I would be able to at first, since an essential bit was missing, the part that goes in the center top of the lid and keeps it from all spraying out. After a few minutes with the potato masher, I went hunting harder for that bit and finally found it. The blended made quick work of things. MY, this recipe uses more sugar than anything else I've ever done. After all the strawberry de-stemming and chopping, I'm glad to say that I still have all my fingers.
I've been planning this for a while, and have been disappointed in myself that the canning pot and such was sitting unused after I'd finally gotten it. I want to be able to do canning for the family - to make jams that I know exactly what's in them, to do specialty stuff, etc. Especially with us having worries over Jamie's diet, I want to do more of our own stuff.
I suppose now I need to find out where I can locally buy more jars and pectin, and do more.
