One For the Road

Well, it's been drizzly all week and I roasted my first pumpkin of the year so I think it's safe to say that fall is here. I'm just the tiniest bit sad to see summer go, but I am far more excited to see what this season of change has in store. So, here's the last of my summery photos and one last (ok two) recipe(s) for the road. Yes, I know, it's probably too late to make blackberry jam this year, but maybe bookmark these recipes for next summer? I'll be back soon with something a bit more autumnal.

Classic Blackberry Jam
yield about 6, half pints
This jam is simple and unadorned, just blackberries, sugar and lemon and it tastes like a Northwest summer. I will cherish every bite of every jar.

3 1/2 pounds fresh blackberries, rinsed
1 3/4 pounds sugar
3 ounces lemon juice

1. Add the blackberries, sugar, and lemon juice to a large, wide, non-reactive pot. Use a potato masher to gently mash the fruit.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. As the jam comes to a boil, skim the foam that rises to the top of the pot and discard.
3. Raise the heat to high and boil for 10-20 minutes or until set, being careful not to let the bottom scorch. Begin checking for doneness at 10 minutes. I generally use the wrinkle test to check for doneness with this type of jam. If you prefer seedless jam, quickly transfer the cooked mixture to a mesh strainer and force as much as the jam through as possible, discard the seeds and proceed with canning.
4. Pour the jam into sterilized jars, then process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Blackberry Fig Jam with Lime
yield 6-8 half pints
Green figs can be very sweet and tart blackberries temper their flavor nicely in this jam.

2 1/2 pounds fresh blackberries, rinsed
1 1/2 pounds green figs, stem ends removed and chopped coarsely
1 1/2 pounds sugar
4 ounces lime juice
1t lime zest

1. Add the blackberries, chopped figs, sugar, and lime juice to a large, wide, non-reactive pot. Use a potato masher to gently mash the fruit.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. As the jam comes to a boil, skim the foam that rises to the top of the pot and discard.
3. Raise the heat to high and boil for 15-25 minutes or until set, being careful not to let the bottom scorch. Begin checking for doneness at 15 minutes. I generally use the wrinkle test to check for doneness with this type of jam.
4. Stir in the lime zest, pour the jam into sterilized jars, then process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Raspberry Currant Jam

A trip upstate a few weekends ago to help some friends build a clay oven (more about this exciting development later!) quickly turned into a raspberry picking spree after we saw a sign on the side of the road advertising U-Pick berries. I don't think I've even seen raspberries sold in anything larger then a half pint since I moved to the East Coast so as soon as we pulled over I grabbed a basket and booked it out to the fields with my pals. 

We walked up and down the raspberry rows and picked and picked until our arms were scratched from the brambles and our fingers stained from the fruit. It was a glorious summer day and I couldn't help but smile to myself and dream up all of the ways I was going to use the pounds and pounds of raspberries I was picking. Growing up, a corner of my parent's garden was always dedicated to the raspberry bushes that my dad grew from sad little twigs and the smell of raspberry jam boiling away on the stove (a few times per summer) is a smell I haven't experienced in years. When I got home, I knew that a batch of jam was my first order of business.



My mom always made a simple jam with raspberries, sugar and pectin. She never bothered to strain the seeds out so I don't either, but I have adapted the recipe so it no longer requires pectin. I also threw about a pint of tart red currants to add a bit of zing to the jam but by all means, if you can't find currants where you live, you can certainly just use raspberries. If you'd like to make your batch of jam a bit more refined feel free to strain the seeds and be warned that you'll end up with a smaller yield, maybe six half pints instead of seven. 



Raspberry Currant Jam
yield, roughly 7 half pints jam

8 ounces red currants (or raspberries if you can't find currants)
40 ounces raspberries
32 ounces sugar
juice of 2 lemons

1. Add the raspberries, currants, sugar, and lemon juice to a large, wide, non-reactive pot.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. As the jam comes to a boil, skim the foam that rises to the top of the pot and discard.
3. Raise the heat to high and boil for 10-20 minutes or until set, being careful not to let the bottom scorch. Begin checking for doneness at 10 minutes. I generally use the wrinkle test to check for doneness with this type of jam, but if you like numbers you can cook it to 220ºF. If you prefer seedless jam, quickly transfer the cooked mixture to a mesh strainer and force as much as the jam through as possible, discard the seeds and proceed with canning.
4. Pour the jam into sterilized jars, then process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Mixed Citrus Marmalade

Last year I added some booze to my marmalade which was a fun, easy way to step up a classic preserve, but in the process of consuming those jars I learned something important about myself. I am a bit of a marmalade wimp. I can't handle the thick cut rind found in most marmalade and I found myself picking around it. This year I played it safe, turning back to my favorite (and first) marmalade recipe from Marisa at Food in Jars. This style of marmalade only uses the zest of the fruit sliced in very thin strips which give the marmalade great texture and cuts back on some of the bitterness of the thick cut varieties. It takes a bit of time to prepare the fruit, but I can't think of a nicer way to spend a dark winter afternoon than to dive into a big pile of sunny citrus.

Mixed Citrus Marmalade
adapted from Food in Jars
yield about 24oz of finished marmalade

40oz (2.5lbs) mixed citrus fruit, I used 1 grapefruit, 2 tangelos, 1 tangerine and 2 meyer lemons (It was a real clean out the fruit bowl affair)
3c sugar
2c zest poaching liquid (you will make this in Step 1)
clean, sterilized canning jars and lids

1. Remove the peels from your citrus using a vegetable peeler, careful not to get any of the white pith. Cut the peels into thin strips with a sharp knife. The peels wil not reduce in size after you cook them so make sure to cut them very fine, 1/8''-1/4'' depending on your preference. I like to cut them as fine as possible. Combine your zest strips with about 4 cups of cold water in a medium sized saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook the zest strips until they are very soft, about 30min.
2. While the zest is boiling away, get to supreming. Cut away the tops and bottoms of the fruit, then with a very sharp knife, cut the white pith away from the outside of the fruit and discard it. Over a bowl, carefully cut the wedges of fruit away from the membrane letting the fruit and juices fall into the bowl. Save the membrane and seeds and place them in a cheesecloth bundle. You will use this bundle to add some natural pectin while cooking the marmalade.
3. When the zest is finished, strain it over a large bowl, making sure to reserve 2c of the poaching liquid.
4. Grab your (non reactive) canning pot and dump in the fruit segments and juice, poached zest, poaching liquid, sugar, and the cheesecloth bag. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook the hell out of it until it reaches 220º and passes the wrinkle test. You may have to cook the jam for a few minutes after it reaches 220º, it all depends on the mixture of fruit you use. I ended up cooking my marmalade for about 50min, but I would start checking it for doneness at about 30min. When the marmalade is finished, give the cheesecloth bag a good squeeze and discard it.
5. Ladle into clean, sterilized jars and process in a boiling water bath for 5 minutes.

Notes:
- Some folks say that the wrinkle test is unreliable for marmalade, so if you are concerned I suggest you cook the mixture until it reaches 220º then ladle it into jars without testing.
- This recipe can easily be doubled
- If you'd like to add any flavorings to the marmalade, like some booze or vanilla, add it in the last five minutes of cooking.

Cranberry Quince Preserves

I don't know about you guys but come Thanksgiving Day I am all about the sides. I usually skip the turkey all together, opting to pile my plate high with stuffing, potatoes and veggies while making sure to save lots of room for pie and ice cream. Cranberry sauce tends to be an overlooked and generally unliked part of turkey day dinner, but for me, no holiday spread is complete without a big bowl of the vibrant red stuff. This year I can't wait to crack open a jar of this sweet, spicy, tart preserve and slather it on some parker house rolls and I am going to send my family in Seattle a jar so they can do the same. What is your favorite part of Thanksgiving?

Cranberry Quince Preserves
yield, about 4 pints

3/4lb fresh or frozen cranberries
1 1/2lbs peeled, cored, and diced quince (1/2'' sized pieces)
4c sugar
3c water (ed 11/12)
2 oz peeled and grated fresh ginger, about a 3'' long piece, less if you would prefer a less spicy preserve
Zest and juice of one lemon
Zest and juice of one orange
cleaned and sterilized jars and lids

1. In a large pot over medium high heat dissolve the sugar into the water, then add the chopped quince, grated ginger, lemon zest and juice, and the orange zest and juice. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the quince is soft. About 15 min.
2. When the quince has softened, add in the cranberries and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until the cranberries have popped and the mixture has thickened slightly, about 15-20min.
3. Ladle the hot preserves into prepared jars, wipe the rims with a clean towel and process in a hot water bath for 10min.

Spiced Plum Jam with Vanilla Bean

This was my first go-around with plum jam so I turned to an expert to see how it's done. I used Marisa from Food in Jars method and ratio here, just switching up the spices to use what I had on hand, cinnamon and cardamom, then threw in a vanilla bean from my stash. I bought a pound of vanilla beans a few months ago and I love being able to fancy up desserts and preserves with them. I guess I didn't have very high hopes for this simple jam because I was totally blown away by how much I loved it's sweet, tart and spiced notes. Slap some on toast or a scone and it tastes just like a delicious plum cobbler.

Spiced Plum Jam with Vanilla Bean
yield 3-4 half pints

5c chopped Italian plums
1 1/3c sugar
2t cinnamon
seeds from 6 cracked cardamom pods in a cheesecloth sack or tea strainer (you want to be able to remove the seeds before canning the jam)
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
3-4 sterilized half pint jars and lids

1. In a large bowl combine the plums, sugar, spices, vanilla bean seeds and pod and let sit for at least an hour, the plums will release their juices and the mixture will become very syrupy
2. When you are ready to cook, add the mixture to a large non reactive pot and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Boil the jam for 15-20 min, or until it passes the wrinkle test or if you like numbers you can cook it to 220º. Remove the vanilla bean pod and the cheesecloth or tea strainer with the cardamom seeds. Rinse off the vanilla bean and save it for another use like vanilla sugar or salt.
3. Pour the finished jam into clean sterilized jars and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.

Notes

If you don't have the dollar bills to buy a whole pound of vanilla beans, split it with a few friends and you'll still have a ton of beans at your disposal. Depending on the variety, a pound is usually around 100 beans.

Summer's End Jam

As summer draws to close I am left thinking about all of the things that I haven't yet checked off of my summer to-do list. There was not nearly enough barbecuing on friend's rooftops, I haven't made it to Governor's Island or watched an outdoor movie and I still have that bag of tart cherries in the freezer, just waiting to be made into pie. Usually, this would send me into a bit of a panic, but instead of feeling like I am fighting the clock, I am just going to enjoy these last few weeks of summer. My best pal from Seattle is in town and we are going to take advantage of these last warm days and nights together walking around and eating ice cream and I am going to do my best to preserve all of my favorite summer flavors before the pumpkins roll in.

Summer's End Jam
yield, 4-6 half pints of finished jam
2 1/2 lbs (40oz) mixed berries (I used 24oz blueberries, 8oz blackberries, and 8oz raspberries)
1 1/4 lbs (20oz) sugar
juice of 2 large lemons
4-6 sterilized half pint canning jars and lids

1. In a large bowl, use a potato masher to mash the berries to a pulp, leaving a few larger pieces for texture. Add the pulp to a canning pot, along with the sugar.
2. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. As the jam comes to a boil, skim the foam that rises to the top of the pot and discard.
3. Boil the jam over medium high heat, stirring often and being careful not to let the bottom scorch until set, 25-30min, remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. I generally use the wrinkle test to check for doneness with this type of jam, but if you like numbers you can cook it to 220ºF.
4. Pour the jam into sterilized jars, then process in a boiling water bath for 10min.

Apricot Jam with Saffron and Rose

You know how some people hide money in their mattresses, I'm pretty sure my Dad does that with saffron. There is a running joke in my family that he has a secret bounty worth millions stashed away. He won't tell anyone where it is or how much he has, but whenever we are running low he always seems to have more. I know it is a big time luxury to have a seemingly endless supply of the world's most expensive spice so I try to only use my stash on special occasions and this jam is totally worth it. I usually gravitate towards simple jams, just fruit, sugar, lemon juice and maybe a bit of Pomona's if I am making jelly, but I am trying to step up my jamming this season so I pulled out the big guns. Saffron and rose are a common paring in Middle Eastern desserts so to honor my Pops and his generous, spicy spirit I put them together with some rosy cheeked apricots and made some fancy jam.

Apricot Jam with Saffron and Rose
Inspired by The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook
yield, roughly 2 pints jam

2lbs apricots (weight after removing the pits)
14oz sugar ( I used vanilla sugar, but it's not necessary)
juice of 1 lemon
pinch of saffron threads
1/4t-1t rose water, depending on your taste

1. Dump the pitted apricots and sugar into your canning pot and mash with a potato masher or fork, or your clean hands if you feel like it. Don't worry about making the pieces uniform in size, just mash them well.

2. In a small mortar and pestle combine the saffron threads with a pinch of sugar and grind. The abrasive quality of the sugar will help to break up the saffron. Set this to the side and get jamming.

3. Over medium high heat, bring the apricots and sugar to a boil. The jam will cook very quickly, so stir constantly with a rubber spatula to avoid scorching the bottom. If any foam appears on the surface of your jam just skim it off, I didn't have to do this.

4. After about 10 minutes, check the jam for doneness. It should be thick and will spatter like hot lava, so watch your hands!

5. When done, take the pan off of the heat and stir in the saffron sugar mixture, rose water and lemon juice. Pour into sterilized jars and process in a hot water bath for 10 min.

Hot tip from Food in Jars: just pull the apricots in half with your fingers to remove the pits. Easy!!
Be careful with the rose water, it is VERY strong. No one wants jam that tastes like perfume.

I entered this jam in the Can You Can It? contest over at Garden of Eating, you guys should enter something too!

Tart Cherry Jam

It's not very nice of me to post a tart cherry recipe seeing as their cruelly short season is pretty much over, but I just love tart cherries so much. So much that I blew a good chunk of my grocery budget on tart cherries a few weeks ago. Some girls like shoes but me, I like expensive produce, sue me. Their bright tart flavor makes them the perfect fruit for jamming and baking. This year I made this batch of jam which I will carefully ration until next year (wishful thinking) and I froze a few quarts so I can bake up a cherry pie the next time someone invites me over to dinner. Maybe I'll bring some homemade ice cream too, any takers?

Tart Cherry Jam
Adapted from David Lebovitz and The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook
yield, about 5 half pint jars

4lbs pitted tart cherries, pits reserved
2 1/4 lbs sugar
1/3c freshly squeezed lemon juice

1. Place the cherry pits on a hard surface (like the floor) in between two old towels and gently tap them with a hammer until they crack. I used a paper grocery bag for this step and it got a little messy, lesson learned. Remove the tiny kernel from the cherry pits until you have about 1 1/2T, coarsely chop them. If you have no idea what I am talking about, the kernels look like this and they lend a subtle bitter almond flavor to the finished jam. Place the kernels in a tea infuser or a tightly tied cheesecloth bag.

2. Combine 3lbs of the cherries with 1 3/4lbs of the sugar in a large heatproof bowl. I use my hands for this step, squishing the cherries between my fingers to "chop" them a little bit.

3. Put the remaining cherries, sugar, and 2oz of water into a non-reactive jamming pot. Slowly bring the mixture to a boil stirring often, then boil the mixture until the cherries have shriveled and the liquid is thick and syrupy, about 7 minutes. Immediately strain this mixture over the reserved cherries in the bowl, pressing firmly to extract as much cherry goodness as possible. Discard the cooked cherries.

4. Add the cherry mixture, along with half of the lemon juice and your reserved pits back into the jam pot. Bring the mixture to a rapid boil, stirring often and cook for 10-15 minutes being careful to not let the jam scorch. Remove the pot from the heat and let the mixture rest for a minute or two. Skim the foam off of the top of the jam and discard. Stir in the remaining lemon juice.

5. Return the pot to the heat and bring to a boil. Cook the mixture for 5 more minutes, then test for doneness. If necessary, cook for a few more minutes. I ended up cooking my jam for about 5 more minutes. Remove the cherry kernels, then pour the jam into clean, sterilized jars. Store in the fridge or process in a boiling water bath for 10min to make the jam shelf stable.

Notes:
- A friend of mine bought tart cherries at the Union Square Greenmarket yesterday, so NY'ers will probably still be able to get tart cherries until the end of the week. Run, Quick!
- Before ladling my jam into jars I usually sneak a few spoonfuls of the cherry syrup from the pot and save it for cocktails and soda. I don't know if this is proper jam etiquette, but I do it anyway, and it is good.
- Following Autumn's lead, I spiced up one of my jars by stirring in a few crushed red pepper flakes and a 1'' piece of vanilla bean before sealing the lid. I am pretty excited serve it with my next cheese plate.
- If you can't find tart cherries, feel free to use this recipe with sweet cherries. The finished jam won't have the characteristic pucker that tart cherry jam does, but it will be delicious none the less.
- This jam has a fairly soft "set" which makes it great for topping things like ice cream and yogurt and less good for eating in a sandwich. It's too precious to mix with peanut butter anyway.

Rhubarb Cherry Jam

I know, I know, more rhubarb. More rhubarb! I promise this will be my last barb-centric post of the season, but I will not apologize for being crazy for the stuff. I am slowly trying to ease myself into summer now that it is officially here, but I can't say that I am too excited about it. Summer is not exactly my favorite season in NYC. I will never get used to the humidity that makes everything feel sticky, the sweaty walks to and from the grocery store, and let's not even talk about going to the laundromat. It may get ugly. So, I've been trying to remind myself of all of the great things that the summer brings: farmer's markets, flowers, cold brewed iced coffee, long days where the sun sets at 9, day trips upstate to cool off at a friends cabin, ice pops. To celebrate summer and say a fond farewell to spring I made this jam. It combines my favorite veggie disguised as a fruit and one of the best treats that summer offers, fresh sweet cherries. The inspiration came from the Blue Chair Jam Cookbook which I get lost in every time I crack it open and the best part is, no cherry pitting required. Now excuse me while I go eat an ice pop for breakfast.

Rhubarb Cherry Jam
adapted from the Blue Chair Jam Cookbook
yield, roughly 24oz finished jam
1 1/2 lbs rhubarb, chopped
1 lb sugar
juice of 1 large lemon
peel from one organic granny smith apple
1 lb sweet cherries

1. Put the rhubarb, sugar, and lemon juice into a large, wide, non reactive pot. I use my enameled dutch oven for jamming. Cook over medium heat until the rhubarb begins to soften and releases it's juices. Increase heat and boil the rhubarb gently until it softens, but still holds it's shape a bit.
2. Remove the pan from the heat, and using a slotted spoon, scoop the rhubarb pieces into a bowl leaving their juices behind.
3. Pour the cherries, pits and all, and the apple peel into the reserved rhubarb juice and put the pan over high heat. Cook, stirring frequently until the juices reach a full boil. Turn the heat down a little and boil the cherries until they are soft and shriveled, about 7 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
4. Place a metal strainer over the bowl full of reserved rhubarb pieces. Using a slotted spoon, fish the cherries and apple peel out of the pan and transfer them to the strainer. Press the cherries very firmly to extract as much juice as possible then discard the left over pits and skins.
5. Add the rhubarb pieces and cherry juice back into the pan and cook over high heat until the jam has thickened, the rhubarb has lost it's shape, and the jam reaches 220 degrees, about 15 minutes. If any white foam appears on the surface of the jam, skim and discard it.
6. Pour the jam into sterilized jars and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

Notes:
- With the batch that I made, I filled 2 6oz weck jars, 1 8oz wide mouth jar and had a little leftover, which I ate immediately. So Good.
- I included the apple peel with the thought that the pectin would help the jam achieve a firmer set. I'm not sure how much good it did, but I find the jam to be perfectly spreadable.
- I suggest you chop your rhubarb pieces a little smaller than the ones pictured above, the large pieces of rhubarb left the jam a bit stringy. Delicious, but a little stringy.

(Really) Small Batch Grape Jelly

Have you ever eaten a concord grape? I had never given them a second thought (aside from Welch's commercials) until I moved to New York four years ago and started reading fancy restaurant dessert menus for fun. As soon as fall rolled around, the concord grapes rolled in everywhere, as gelee served with foie gras, as sorbet served with peanut butter ice cream, in pie? Obviously, I had to have some for myself and let me tell you, concord grapes are serious business. Forget about those red and green things they sell in the grocery store, these are Grapes with a capital G. They are sweet, tart, musky, rich, and dare I say they taste a lot like "grape flavored" candy without that cloying artificial finish. They are awesome eaten as is if you don't mind seeds, their juice is incredible on it's own or in a cocktail, but I couldn't resist making jelly with mine.

I try not to use any pectin in my jam making, but sometimes you need just a bit to make sure it sets, especially when making jelly. I love using Pomona's Universal Pectin for projects like this, you can find it in health food stores. It is activated by calcium rather than sugar which means you can use as much or little sweetener as you like and you can even use alternatives like honey, agave, and maple syrup.

Grape Jelly, adapted from Pomona's Universal Pectin
yield 1 8oz jar

1 lb concord grapes, destemmed
2T water
2T lemon juice
3T honey or 1/4-3/4c sugar (or agave or any other sweetener you like)
1/2t Pomona's universal pectin powder
1/2t calcium water, prepared with package directions

1. In a heavy bottomed pot combine the grapes, water and lemon juice. Mash with a potato masher, I used a ladle, whatever works. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 min.
2. Pour into a jelly bag or cheesecloth lined strainer and let drip until the juice stops, about one cup. If you don't mind if your jelly isn't perfectly clear you can give the bag a gentle squeeze, but not too hard, you don't want any pulp to escape. At this point Pomona's suggests letting the juice sit overnight so any sediment settles to the bottom. I didn't do it and I didn't notice any crystallization in my jelly.
3. Add the juice and prepared amount of calcium water to a clean pot. Measure your sweetener into a separate bowl and mix in the pectin powder.
4. Bring juice to a boil, add sweetener and pectin and stir constantly until the pectin dissolves (1-2 minutes). Remove from heat.
5. Fill prepared jar to 1/4'' below the rim, wipe off rim, screw on the lid and process in a boiling water bath for 10 min. Store jar in a cool dry spot and refrigerate when opened.

This recipe makes a pretty small amount of jelly so if you find yourself with a surplus of grapes you can multiply as needed.

Best eaten on wheat toast with peanut butter. Or you can be totally wild and serve it on a cheese plate with a nice blue cheese and water crackers.