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first canning of the season: raspberry jam
August 4, 2007

I made raspberry jam this morning with the berries from last weekend’s harvest. I am pretty new to canning and I always feel like a mad woman when I drag out my jars and pots and lids and screw bands. By August, everything has left my brain from the previous growing season and I struggle to remember how long it all takes and what the hell I am supposed to do first.

So I started my jam and then started the jar sterilization and that was a huge mistake because my jam was finished in like five minutes and my jars hadn’t even reached a boil….but the great thing about canning? It almost always works out (except that time I put cups of salt in my pickled tomatoes thinking I could use the same ratio as that used for cucs….disaster. Those jars reside in the guest room closet with an inch of dust keeping the seal secure because I keep thinking I will come up with some creative recipe that calls for green tomatoes soaked in the Dead Sea. It has been years and I think I just decided to pitch all of that hard work. ouch.)

This is the jam recipe I used…my first time making jam without pectin. Cross your fingers.

4 cups raspberries
4 cups sugar

makes 4 half-pints or 2 pints
1 random jar with a lid*

1. Sterilize your jars by washing and then boiling like this. Save this water.
2. Rinse berries and remove stems etc. (duh)
3. Mash berries with a fork or potato masher (my fave) and add to large pot (you don’t want this goop boiling over. I have experience with this as well.) Add sugar too.

4. Bring to a boil. This takes like .7 seconds so be ready to stir stir stir. Boil and stir for about 2-4 minutes depending on how thick you like your jam.
5. Test for doneness by placing a small amount on a plate and sticking in the freezer. If it gels after a few minutes, voila!
6. Skim the foam off the surface of the jam and pitch in the sink or other area of disposal. I am not very good at this and often just keep whipping the foam back into the jam and it is just fine.
7. With reckless abandon, pour hot jam into hot jar leaving 1/4″ head space. (I love how recipes always say, “Carefully, pour scalding hot liquid into scalding hot jar…” Seriously, do we need that advice?)

8. Wipe rim of jar clean and add lid and screw cap. Then smile big and shake your booty. You have jam in a jar that you made! Repeat until all jam is in jars.
9. I may be the only one, but I always have some leftovers that don’t quite fill a jar. This is where the random jar comes in. Pour your rogue jam in this jar and put in the fridge for immediate, delectable gratification. If the amount adds up to a half-pint or pint over the course of making batches of jam, you can also reheat and reprocess.
10. Place jars of jam in boiling water canner for the recommended time. This is vague, eh? Here is a chart to help:

Recommended process time for Jams without Added Pectin in a boiling-water canner.
Process Time at Altitudes of
Style of Pack Jar Size 0 – 1,000 ft 1,001 – 6,000 ft Above 6,000 ft
Hot Half-pints or pints 5 min 10 15

11. Stand back in wonder that all of those raspberries you picked only made like three jars of jam. And listen to the satisfying pops as your jars successfully seal.

I did two batches of this recipe, yielding three pints and three half-pints. You cannot just double the recipe (or so they say) because it doesn’t cook the same. But I don’t get that.

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5 Comments


TRB Holt
August 5, 2007 at 9:26 PM

Burb,

It makes my heart swell to see you enjoy canning as much as I do! It is wonderful art….one I am sure you will introduce Bug to as well. I think one of the most rewarding visions is to stand back;look in your cupboard and see all those beautiful jars of jams, beets, pickles & fruits! I too have begun the season, I did 22 pints of onion-dilly pickles last week and just finished 34 quarts of dills.

I have such fond memories of sitting in the back yard with my dad scrubbing cucs and then helping my mom “put them up”. I could hardy wait for them to be ready. Not unlike your brother, the pickle freak”, he too loved to help me stuff the jars….then would then spend the next 6 weeks, (every day!), checking on out the jars and ask me daily, “are they ready yet”….he drove me crazy so I finally put a big X on the calendar when they would be ready….he counted down to the day and I think probably had them for breakfast that morning! He still loves pickles but has advanced his tastes,….when he was here last month he intoduced me to a pickle martini….I will stick to my G&Ts.

Happy Canning Sweetie!
xoxo, Mom



lera
August 6, 2007 at 2:30 AM

Mmmm. I love raspberries and you are making me drool!



whitelj24
August 6, 2007 at 2:36 PM

i made cherry jalapeno preserves but didn’t hear the cans popping…am i going to make people sick?!



dig this chick
August 6, 2007 at 4:16 PM

Mom,
I have such great memories of you washing yous cucs in the washing machine on pickle day. I love that.

Lera,
I am eating the jam right now and it is to die for! The recipe is the best I have ever had.

La petite blanchette,
probably not. To check, press down on the center of the jars to see that they don’t give. The lids should be sucked down. If they aren’t, refrigerate or reprocess the same way you did. Then, take the rings off and try to pull the lid off (firmly but not a lot of force). It shouldn’t budge.

Cherry Jalapeno. yum. Did you sign up for the canned goods swap? I hope so.



whitelj24
August 6, 2007 at 7:49 PM

well, i wanted to be in this swap, but the 10 lbs of cherries we picked from our tree only made 4 jars! 4 jars, i was floored. i’ll pick more next year as this was my first canning experience. btw, it is GOOD with brie and crackers.

prob not the best place for posting a recipe but for anyone out there that doesn’t want to wait as long as your mom made your poor brother…(also great for ppl like me who have about 5 ripe cukes a week and don’t know what to do with the tons of jalapenos in the garden):

Sweet and Spicy Fridge Pickles:
5 big cucumbers sliced to your liking
1 med red onion thinly sliced
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon celery seeds
2 jalapenos sliced (take out seeds if your scared of spice)
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves minced
Prep:
Place cucumber in a medium glass bowl; top with onion. Repeat making about 3 layers.
Combine vinegar and remaining ingredients in a small saucepan; stir well. Bring to a boil; cook 1 minute. Pour over cucumber mixture; let cool. Cover and chill at least 4 days (you must share with your bro, ha).

Note: Pickles may be stored in the refrigerator for up to ONE MONTH!



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