New Jam recipe
I made it up myself. :)
Recently I found out that I still had 3 gallon bags of blackberries in the freezer. They really needed to be used up… so I took them out to thaw on Friday.
Yesterday I got out my new food mill and washed all the bits. It puts together a little differently than the one I borrowed from my mother, but it’s basically the same. The screen is better made, though.
I put the thawed berries through it without cooking… they were completely thawed so I knew it would be okay. Lot of squirting going on, I was happy that I’d put newspaper down all around, including the floor. Dang good thing, actually… the food mill started dripping from the handle! Right onto my feet and the newspaper underneath.
After I’d run the berries through, I got the waste… and ran that through again. I like to squeeze out every bit of pulp and juice. Then I stirred the bowl to redistribute the pulp and ladled it into some freezer containers. 12 cups of juice/pulp, but there was still some in the bowl.
So, I’m all done processing the berries and I think… all those apples that I know we aren’t going to eat… I should cook those up and mill those, too. So I did. Squeezed out applesauce right into the last couple cups of blackberry juice. Between the last bit of juice and the apples, I had a bit over 6 cups, too much for most jam recipes.
Well, I’m not going to let that stop me. Apples set up really well without adding pectin… most apple jelly recipes from fresh apples use a lot more juice than another fruit recipe would. Twice as much, actually. I figured it would be fine. Looking at the recipes I decided that 2 cups more sugar than fruit would work just fine, too.
So, I sprinkled the powdered pectin into the fruit mix and started cooking. Sugar gets measured out into a separate container. Didn’t add any lemon juice or anything… it wouldn’t need it with all those apples.
After I boiled, added sugar and boiled again, I started filling jars. I wash em in the dishwasher and leave em in there until I need them. That’s the way I learned to do it, and it works for me. First I filled a quart jar. Then three pint jars and finally poured the last bit into a clean half pint jar that was handy. Didn’t fill that last jar all the way, so that one just got a plastic cap and went into the fridge.
They tell you these days to process jam and jelly in a boiling water bath. I don’t. I pour boiling jam into hot jars, wipe and cap them… and turn them upside down. Boiling sugar is freaking hot, there aren’t going to be any germs left in there. I let them sit upside down for 5 min, then turn them right side up. I’ve never had a seal failure, and that’s good enough for me. Heck, they also tell you to use up jars once opened within 3 weeks. That’s not happening around here, and the jam in the fridge doesn’t go bad, either. That only applies to jam made with sugar, though. The stuff made with sugar substitute WILL get moldy in the fridge. Gross.
Anyhow. Blackberry Apple Jam tastes faintly of apples and a lot like blackberries. The applesauce really enhanced the blackberry flavor in my opinion. Ron hasn’t tasted it yet… we’ll have to see if he likes it.
The big quart jar is earmarked for a friend of my son. Amos raved about my jam, but said the little jars didn’t last very long. I figure he’ll love getting a whole quart jar, lol!
Oh, also… I got new jars at Walmart on Friday. Better Homes and Gardens brand, they were on clearance for $5 a case. They are a completely different shape than most jars, but the lids seem to be standard. I got 3 cases of them… you can never have too many jars in my opinion. :) Of course as soon as I get them home Ron tells me that there are probably =hundreds= of canning jars in the shed at his Mom’s place. Oh well…
…and this is all for now….
hugs,
Vyx
I don’t bother with a bath for jams and jellies either, never have had a problem.
I have a lot of jars in the attic. My most recent canning project was the dried fruit I used to make a mixed dried fruit wine. You make jam with the fruit after you’ve got the flavor from it for the wine. It’s a mix of mango, raisins, blueberries, cherries, etc. As the fruit was chopped I didn’t chop it when I made the jam. A few pieces are too big for my liking. Next time I may run it through a food processor. Tastes great, though.
I want a jar, too! Sounds yummy!
i love blackberries so might have to try it in the applesauce recipe. thanks