Doing it at Home

[Pedal_On55]

Okay, so i got a chance to make my very own jam for the first time a couple
of weeks ago, and i was surprised how easy it was...and tasty too :D

Does anyone else enjoy making their own homemade jam or jelly's?

[divingbiker]

Does anyone else enjoy making their own homemade jam or jelly's?

Yes, I've made hot pepper jelly, crabapple jelly, strawberry jam, and peach jam. Made a huge batch of strawberry this year, and am hoping to get peach jam made in a couple of weeks. I love to give jars of jam as gifts.

(But I'm a very messy jam maker, so I'm always glad when it's over.)

[Zen]

I've never made "canned" jam but I think I could handle freezing.
hey, bring me summa that strawberry jam:D

[TahoeDirtGirl]

I want to make grape jam or jelly once all these concord grapes come into season and I can fill up them there baskets on my bike as I ride to work. Where is a good recipe on the net or book that I can get to guide me away from killing myself with some spore that might grow if I did it the wrong way?

[Zen]

I don't think you need to be concerned about the recipe, any illness would be more due to improper canning procedures.

But then again, a spore will pretty much survive anything whether you do it right or not :o

How's that for no help at all?

[MomOnBike]

Worry not about the safety of jams & jellys - at least the traditional ones. I make no claims on the low-sugar jams & jellys, though. The amount of sugar in traditional jellys, along with the acid in the fruit is enough to kill anything that could cause problems.

Low-acid things, like green beans & meat, however. . . (and yes, I have canned both jelly and meats and lived to tell about eating them.)

My personal philosophy is to just go to the store for grape or strawberry jams. The stuff to make is gooseberry, chokecherrry, hot pepper/fruit, or anything I can't more easily (and cheaply) buy. But that's just me.

I make a mean habanero-mango jam, BTW, that really is worth the time and effort. My great-grandmother's orange marmalde recipe is unsurpassed, too.

[Blueberry]

I need to get my Grandmother to teach me to make her "pear honey." Can't buy anything like that in the store:o

CA

[Zen]

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pear-Honey/Detail.aspx

Sounds tasty.
Too bad I gave away all my canning stuff.

[Pedal_On55]

Where is a good recipe on the net or book that I can get to guide me away from
killing myself with some spore that might grow if I did it the wrong way?

You can always check out the SureJell site, they even have tips to help with making jam
You know divingbiker i like to give them as gifts too!
my family eats it all up!


I've never heard of pear honey before
any good???

[bmccasland]

I have some blackberries and blueberries in my freezer waiting for it to cool down enough to make jam ("preserves"). How come when the fruit is ripe, it's too dang hot to cook?

Had rhubarb-strawberry-ginger on my toast this morning. Can't buy that in a store!

[Pedal_On55]

I totally agree bmccasland, my co-worker made this Strawberry jam recipe that she
got from the SureJell box, but she added some lemon juice to the mix, and it tasted
just like Strawberry lemonade....soooo tasty!

[uk elephant]

Had rhubarb-strawberry-ginger on my toast this morning. Can't buy that in a store!

I just polished off a jar of rhubarb-ginger this morning that I got from the farmers market. Mmm....delicious! The guy selling jam makes all kinds interesting combinations and they all taste good. Also bought some very yummy marmalade the last few times i've been, made from a variety of citrus fruits.

I do make lots of jam myself. Made a batch of strawberry sauce (jam that didn't quite set) earlier in the summer and it is delicious, especially stirred into some vanilla yogurt! Last fall I made lots of apple butter which I gave away as christmas presents. People seemed to like it. Also made some blackcurrant jam last year that turned out a little on the tart side, but tasted delicious on toast along with some very sweet Norwegian brown cheese. Plan on picking more black currants this year if I can only find the time. And I'll be making blackberry jam once the berries ripen. Not quite jam, but once the damsons and sloes ripen we'll be making some fruity gins too this year (at least that's the plan).