Looking forward to seeing your new kitchen toys, Brad! And especially all those jellies you're going to make!

I'm also looking forward to seeing your new toys and what you make with them.

So what's first? Strawberry jam? I know how you love strawberries.

Annie

Thank you, Bumblebeez and Annie!

I will try and get pictures up tomorrow. My best friend was over for the day. I usually only get to see him once a month but I lucked out and got to see him twice this month. We always have salmon cakes and french fries (store bought frozen) for supper when he's here.

The canning rack, book, and strainer arrived in the mail today :). I haven't looked at the book too much but some of the recipes in it sound pretty neat.

Annie, I WILL be making strawberry jam, but not until around Christmas as gifts to some friends and family. Maybe I can try and talk mom into making a batch of another jam before then. We'll see :).

This is slightly OT, but my garden is finally winding down for the year. We pulled out the tomatoes, cukes, and dill some time ago as they finally got tired of this heat we've been battling all summer. My moonflower vines finally bloomed a few days ago, only one blossom per night and there's none tonight. Anyways, I wanted to say that I gave my garden a nickname. I'll give you a hint: It's the same name as a song sung by and a movie starring the fabulous Ms. Olivia Newton John.

Brad AKA Moonwolf

Here are the new items from Kitchen Krafts. Very happy with it all :). I will have to order from them again in the future.

Brad AKA Moonwolf

Brad, that's a very nice rack, you'll find it so much easier to do your canning with good equipment.

If there are any really good jam recipes, be sure to post them, I'm always looking for something new!

Annie

Nice haul Brad! I like that pretty red strainer scoop. It will come in handy for scooping out tomatoes after you blanch them to get the skin loose. Be great for taking gnocchi out of the pot too. Bet you get lots of use out of it. A good canning rack is going to last you forever. Good buys! Have fun reading that book and trying some things.

Annie, I totally love my new canning rack! I can't wait until I get to use it :-). All of the jams, jellies, and preserves in the book don't use any commercial packaged pectin. I read in your canning thread that you like marmalade. There's 8 different recipes for marmalade in the book: apple and black currant, apple and cranberry, Seville orange, lemon and fig, lime, peach, peach and vanilla, and finally, quince and orange.

Some of the jams sound very delicious: strawberry vanilla, peach and raspberry, pumpkin and vanilla, tutti frutti (strawberries, raspberries, and black and red currants), and dumpsideary jam (spiced mixed fruit jam; the book notes that this jam without the spices is known as mixty maxty).

It doesn't give processing times in the recipes. All it says is to "follow the manufacturers' instructions for processing and sealing."

Coconut-nj, it's mostly mom who uses that strainer, but I will have to use it for canning one of these days. There are lots of neat sounding recipes. The canning rack is stainless steel and it wasn't cheap lol, but they say those do not rust :-).

Besides the jams, jellies, marmalades, and pickles, there are also recipes for nectars, curds, chutneys and fruits in syrup.

I should note that there are some savory foods in this book, like green tomato jam, onion marmalade, pumpkin chutney, and red tomato and garlic chutney. Just a few ideas :D.

Brad AKA Moonwolf

Wow, what a great choice of recipes, Brad. I do love marmalade and don't use commercial pectin except when I make Habanero Gold. The apple and cranberry marmalade sounds like fall!

Annie

Oh wow. I'll have to keep that tip in mind if I ever make marmalade. Most of the marmalade recipes I saw in the Ball Blue Book don't use pectin either. Here's the Apple and Cranberry Marmalade.

Apple And Cranberry Marmalade (Makes about 4 cups)

1 1/2 pints cranberries
1 pound apples, cut into large chunks
Warmed sugar (you do this in a bowl in the oven for 20 minutes on the lowest setting before adding it to your fruit, as it helps dissolve the fruit quicker).

Prepare fruit; place all the fruit together in a pan with 3 Tablespoons water (just enough to keep the fruit from catching on the bottom of the pan). Simmer gently until the fruit is soft, the juices flow, and the apples are fluffy. Remove from the heat and leave until cool enough to handle. Press the fruit mixture through the fine disk of a food mill, or a sieve, into a bowl. Measure the puree, then pour it into a preserving pan and add an equal volume of warmed sugar (the book says, "the minimum amount recommended for 1 pound of bulky fruit or about 3 1/2 cups of bush fruits is 1 1/3 cups. Ideally, use 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 cups for a softer set jam and 2 cups for a traditionally prepared jam."). Stir over a low heat until all the sugar has dissolved, then turn up the heat and boil rapidly to reach the setting point. Skim if necessary. Pour the marmalade into hot, sterilized jars and seal.

The book also says "you can combine whatever fruits you have a plentiful supply of, using them half and half with apples, cook, and process to a puree, then match the volume in sugar. Make this marmalade using crab apples or a variety of cooking apple with a sharp flavor and offset them with another tangy fruit."

This recipe is a variation of the Apple and Black Currant Marmalade. Whew! They are right, canning is a lot of work! LOL

Brad AKA Moonwolf

Thanks, Brad, I appreciate that recipe!

Yes, canning is a lot of work, but it's so worth it.

Annie

I have a strainer scoop. It sat in the cupboard until time for canning. Then it was so useful to scoop tomatoes from boiling water.

I want the recipe for dumpsidary jam....sounds very interesting!
Linda C

You're welcome, Annie! :-)

Barnmom, hmm, maybe I'll use it when I can any fruits or the like in the future.

Linda C, here you go!

Dumpsideary Jam

1 pound cooking apples, roughly chopped
1 pound pears, roughly chopped
1 pound plums, halved
1 1/4 cups water
Grated zest and juice of 1 small lemon
Piece of gingerroot, approx 3/4" x 2 1/2 inches, bruised
2 cloves
5 cups sugar

Place all the fruits and the plum stones in a preserving pan along with the 1 1/4 cups water and simmer gently until soft. Remove the plum stones, then press all the fruit through the fine disk of a food mill or a sieve. Place the resulting fruit puree in a preserving pan and add the lemon zest and juice. Tie the spices in a piece of muslin and add this to the pan along with the sugar. Heat the mixture slowly, stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved. Turn up the heat and boil rapidly to reach setting point. Skim if necessary. Remove the spices. Pour jam into hot, sterilized jars and seal.

Brad AKA Moonwolf