Comments on: Welcome to the Cannery

By: Laura

Laura — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 18:53:41 +0000

If you can get it, it’s worth using “jam sugar” - sugar with pectin already mixed in. As for your next jam adventure, I recommend rhubarb & vanilla.

By: Fermentation, the Home Game

Fermentation, the Home Game — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 21:01:52 +0000

[...] Okay, so we dropped all those packages off at the post office, and strollered on over to Goodwill to reward ourselves for all that philanthropical schlepping. I had a $10 credit in my pocket from accrued points on my Goodwill card, and the memory of a sweet little crock I’d seen the last time we were there and passed on by because it was $12 and I didn’t really need it. I was thinking I could use it to make sauerkraut. We love the stuff, but it’s kind of pricey if you consider the fact that it’s just cabbage, salt, water, and fermentation time. Heather (who never blogs anymore, which is a shame, because it means you’ve missed out on pics of her outrageous garlic harvest) made a batch at home a while ago and was raving about it, and so I thought, well…why not? And then Billy got all excited about the idea of adding in some juniper berries, and that settled it. We would be making sauerkraut. Yeah, I could probably use something we already had in the house to make it, but that crock was so sweet and would make nice, little batches of sauerkraut. (Or so I thought.) The crock was still there today, and I bought it and carted it home. The kiddo fell asleep on the walk home (something else I’ll miss when he gives up the stroller), and I sat down to do some sauerkraut research. You know–the research I should have done BEFORE blowing my $10 credit + 2 bucks. (Sensing a pattern?) [...]

By: adam

adam — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:09:20 +0000

My jar arrived this morning, just in time for the best breakfast PBJ ever. Thanks, Cari!

By: Annie

Annie — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 15:47:10 +0000

Hey Cari–the best canning/preserving info source I’ve found is the University of Georgia (http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/). They’ve saved my ass a few times. And with the green apple thing–I’ve also had good luck saving apple cores (sans seeds) in the freezer and using those in a mesh bag during jam/jelly making. And congrats on the low spending last week–does that mean you get to put that money aside for something fun?

By: cari

cari — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:49:18 +0000

Thanks for the tips, Chrystie. I’ll check that book out. Hopefully we’ll be better prepared when blueberry season rolls around.

By: Chrystie

Chrystie — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:45:14 +0000

I learned how to make jam 2 years ago from library books. I suggest the Ball’s Blue Book of Canning as a great beginner book, and it has a troubleshooting section for things like jam not setting (that happened to me too). You can reset it up to a week later I think.

And one thing I’ve learned is to do canning in small batches over a couple of days. That way if things go wrong, you have more of a chance to figure it out while wasting less time. But canning can be fun, and quite rewarding when you’re eating canned fruit in the winter that is long out of season. Good luck with the future canning experiments!

By: cari

cari — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:47:56 +0000

Green apples! That makes sense. I’ll try that next time. Thanks, Jan! One full apple per batch?

By: jan

jan — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:41:52 +0000

Green apples are loaded with natural pectin. Grate one into your next batch of jam if you want to be sure it sets up.

By: Sandra

Sandra — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:35:00 +0000

I will be jumping on the jam making train in the next week or so, once our Ontario berries are ready. Not 50 jas worth, mind you, but a dozen or so. Then there’s the peach jam (my fave) coming at the end of the summer…

By: Bad Hippie

Bad Hippie — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 13:28:10 +0000

I was considering the recipe with no pectin…but now it seems I better go the traditional route! My beef with pectin is a food allergy to corn…and pectin contains dextrose, I think. I can buy the liquid stuff without the dextrose, but it is pricier! We’ll see. I haven’t been able to pick enough for jam yet…the U-pick keeps selling out and I have to simply buy already picked quarts. I have two weeks left in the season, though, so I’m going to keep trying!