Archive for December, 2008
So Silly
Wednesday, December 31st, 2008
Posted by msabicer
Tags: birthday, Craig, Moving Art, Trent
Posted in Moving Art | 1 Comment »
DIY:Holiday Edition, the jam band.
Friday, December 19th, 2008
Posted by msabicer
So for Christmas I wanted to do something with the copious amount of dumpster fruit we’ve been getting and something that was not a generic purchased present. I’m sorry if you got one of my jams and feeling gypped because it came from um, “creative resources”, but if it makes you feel any better, I’m an infectious disease nurse and it doesn’t worry me one bit. After all, I boiled this stuff for close to 45 min with a ton of sugar (which has a higher boiling point). Then I canned it in sterile jars (I boiled the lids an jars for 20 min each) and then boiled the whole thing for another 15 min. If some kind of bacteria or virus can survive that much heat then I doubt it would matter where the food came from. Anyway, this is the first installment of DIY: Holiday Edition.
I started with organic apples and strawberries that I have been saving up over the last few months of dumpster diving. I really think that fresh fruit is the best for canning, but because the season didn’t permit it the frozen goods will do just fine.
After peeling 5.5 lbs of apples, I then used the food processor to finely chop the apples down and then transferred them to the crock pot. (P.S. I love crock pots. They are ridiculously useful in my opinion and are one of the best ways to cook large meals). I also hulled the strawberries, which is basically pulling off the green part and cutting out the white part with a paring knife. I suggest you google search “hulling strawberries” for some images if you’ve never done it before.
Next, I added the sugar and spices to the recipes and started the cooking. The crock pot pretty much takes care of itself if you just stir the apple butter ever so often. The strawberry jam however, requires a little more attention. At this point I also put three small plates in the freezer to get them ready for jam testing. Fruit naturally contains pectin, which means that after a certain point, the boiled contents will naturally start to jell. You can also add pectin to the mix if you want the jam base to be more firm, but trust me, it’s a bitch to find pectin in the city. Either way, after about 5 minutes of hard boil (AKA a rolling, bubbling, stirring constantly, and hot as hell boil ) you can test the jam by putting a small dab on a frozen plate. Once the hot jam cools it will look like it’s final consistency.
Run your finger through the jam to check if you like its texture. Too runny? Boil it longer. Set firm? You’re ready to can. Most folks say that if once you run your finger through and the jam stays separated it’s done, however, I like things a bit chunkier.
This is my jam during the final hard boil. Some people like to skim off the foam, but I think it’s more of an aesthetic choice than anything. I left it in. So what, it’s a little frothy?
This was the apple butter during the final hours. If your not from the Midwest, it may look a bit strange. The dark brown is a normal color. I had to ask Craig and Trent for help figuring out the right taste.
Next was the actual canning. It’s important to have a pot that’s deep enough to cover full jars with at least an inch of water . While the jam was cooking I sterilized my jars and lids in separate pots by boiling them in water for at least 10 min. Using some BBQ tongs I plucked my jars from the boiling water and set them on a cloth on the counter. I used a fancy funnel to put the jam into the jars, but you can do this with a ladle. (Be sure to leave 1/4 to 1/2 inch of free space between the jam and the lid for a good seal.) Then I carefully used tongs to take my lids out of their boiling water and placed them on top of the jars. After wiping the jar threads clean with a towel, I put the jar ring on to secure the lids, and then plopped them back into a boiling pot for another 15 min. This heats up the air under the lid and creates a vacuum once the jar cools.
Viola!!! Home canned jam. You should test the seal once the jars cool by pressing the pop top. If it pops when pressed, the seal is no good, but you can still eat the delicious jam. This inevitbly happens with a coupple jars in a batch because the seals don’t set. Don’t worry. Just stick them in the fridge for immediate use or in the freezer to keep the jam longer.
Here’s the recipies if your so inclined. I love allrecipies.com for pretty much everything. These are their users posts.
All Day Apple Butter
SUBMITTED BY: Betty Ruenholl From Syracuse, Nebraska, Betty Ruenholl writes, ‘I make several batches of this simple and delicious apple butter to freeze in jars. Depending on the sweetness of the apples used, you can adjust the sugar to taste.’”
INGREDIENTS
- 5 1/2 pounds apples – peeled, cored and finely chopped
- 4 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
DIRECTIONS
- Place apples in a slow cooker. Combine sugar, cinnamon, cloves and salt; pour over apples and mix well. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook for 9-11 hours or until thickened and dark brown, stirring occasionally (stir more frequently as it thickens to prevent sticking). Uncover and cook on low 1 hour longer. If desired, stir with a wire whisk until smooth. Spoon into freezer containers, leaving 1/2-in. headspace. Cover and refrigerate or freeze
Strawberry jam
SUBMITTED BY: Katharine
INGREDIENTS
- 2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled
- 1 1/2 tbsp fresh grated ginger
- 4 cups white sugar
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
DIRECTIONS
- In a wide bowl, crush strawberries in batches until you have 4 cups of mashed berry. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, mix together the strawberries, ginger, sugar, and lemon juice. Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to high, and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil, stirring often, until the mixture reaches 220 degrees F (105 degrees C). Transfer to hot sterile jars, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch headspace, and seal. Process any unsealed jars in a water bath. If the jam is going to be eaten right away, don’t bother with processing, and just refrigerate.
FOOTNOTES
-
To test for jelling
-
Place three plates in a freezer… after about 10 minutes of boiling place a tsp of the liquid of the jam onto the cold plate. Return to freezer for a minute. Run your finger through the jam on the plate… if it doesn’t try to run back together (if you can make a line through it with your finger) it’s ready to be canned!
Cranana Jam
- 3 cups cranberries
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 2 cups mashed bananas
- 7 cups white sugar
- 1/2 (6 fluid ounce) container liquid pectin
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
DIRECTIONS
- In a large saucepan over medium heat combine cranberries and water; simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in mashed banana and sugar. Increase heat to medium-high; boil 1 minute. Stir in pectin and lemon juice.
- Seal in hot, sterilized jars.
Tags: apples, cranberry, DIY, strawberry, The Kitchen
Posted in Projects, The Kitchen | 86 Comments »
