Eseme's Den

I promised an entry on making jam. Then stuff happened and the entry did not.

But now it shall!

I enjoy making jam. I am thrilled when I don't have to buy jam at the store. For a whole year! If I keep making my own jam, I will never have to buy store jam (unless I try that Asian recipe for my slow cooker that uses marmalade).

I first made jam two years ago. I went berry picking twice that year, and made strawberry and blueberry jam. Picking the blueberries was very restful - they were highbush blueberries, and I never needed to bend over to get one. If I got tired of looking at blueberries, there was a lovely view of the valley below me. I learned that I don't really like strawberry jam (I knew I loved blueberry jam).

Last year I moved to Maine in the summer, and was too busy with unpacking and settling in to go berry picking or to make jam. I have been buying jam since then, and found I prefer to have my own.

This year I made blueberry jam first. Normally, I can't do that, as blueberry season is later than strawberry season. But my mother found a food supplier which sells frozen blueberries by the pound for a really good price. So I went down to her house, and we made jam. She also had Ball No Sugar Pectin, which can have 0-3 cups of sugar added. The Low Sugar Pectin I had used previously needed 4 cups (the full sugar version uses around 8 cups and makes about 8 jars, and is tooth decay with berry flavor). We used 1.5 cups of sugar, and made a very nice blueberry jam. We only got 4.5 jars of it, so I knew I needed to make more.

Due to the zany weather we are having, strawberry season and raspberry season overlapped this year. I thought that I could improve the taste of strawberry jam with raspberries. So on the 5th of July (I was off work that Monday), I drove to a local strawberry place and picked (which is always dreadfully uncomfortable due to squatting) and then drove to a local raspberry place and picked. Picking raspberries, like blueberries, does not require bending over or squatting. And I really did not notice the thorns.

That same day, I made strawberry-raspberry jam. I strained the pulped raspberries, so I would not have seeds in my jam. Because I used all my strawberries and added raspberry juice, I ended up with FAR more jam this time. In fact, I had more liquid than the recipe said I would, and I was very worried that since I only had one packet of pectin the jam would not set up and I would have berry soup. Thankfully it does set, just a very soft set and it does separate a bit after you spoon some out of the jar (I just stir it up again later). It is tart and delicious.

Making jam is not hard, though it is time consuming and very warm (heating the fruit, boiling the jars to sterilize, then boiling the jars full of jam to seal them). But it's worth it!

Behold, all the jam I made!




If you cannot see the image, let me know. There are some security settings on my scrapbook I may need to fiddle with.

Emboldened by the fact that I had not killed any of the houseplants that made their way to my apartment from Maine, I have spent a lot of time this spring and summer expanding my gardens, both indoors and out.

This is part of why there have not been many (okay, *any*) updates to my LJ in months. I've been spending a lot of my time on various hobbies and on trying to clean and organize my apartment. And that job that takes much of my time...

( Blathering about gardening and canning )

The first of many, I hope.

lissa_dora came to visit yesterday, and left this afternoon. The time between really flew by (we kept looking at clocks and being surprised). My pasta sauce turned out well, and I was fortunate enough to find my favorite secret ingredient at the local kitchen shop (the owner thought she was out, but was able to find a jar in the back room). Food was yummy, and there was much celebrating. And talking- we chatted and ate or chatted and crafted (she can knit lying down!) nearly the entire visit (with a quick field trip to the library today to check out the display of the local fiber arts guild's work). Pancakes for breakfast, with jam and syrup and goodness. Middle-eastern style lunch. And speaking of jam, I now have three open jars of yummy gourmet jam (not the on peanut butter sandwiches type but the good on English muffins type).

I have a lovely new potholder/dishrag in shades of purple. It will totally match either my two purple and blue waffle-weave dishtowels or the two with cats on them. I quite like the pattern- I should be able to knit one in oatmeal and light green to match the current dishtowel rotation. Also a lovely hand towel for the bathroom (though it is very nice and would make a lovely runner on my dresser where it would get less mussed-up). And soap and tea and cookies and an art tile and more Celtic knot earrings (this makes three pair!). Oh, and chcolate. My house has been warmed! Thanks lissa_dora!

I've just spent the last three hours trying to get my crochet to behave and be roughly the same size as the other bag panel I have already made. It's been annoying, but I think I have managed to get close the the gauge of the part I worked on in Maine.

And I have had some very happy moments unpacking. Last week I managed to find the Celtic knot earrings I bought in Scotland and was beginning to fear were lost for good. I had looked everywhere, and then this little Asian-style pouch turned up. I've very pleased. I also opened a box marked "Fragile, 9/05" and found that I own a small version of the red dragon I bought moriden for his birthday. Neat! The same box has my little amethyst and wire tree, a glass dragon Apl bought me at one of the Disney parks, a pewter leaf ornament M gave me, and all sorts of assorted little things I haven't seen in years. I nearly opened the box while lissa_dora was here, when I needed a break from crochet. It is a happy box.