Kitchen Jam

I make jams, pickles and salsas all year ’round, but I admit that when the first berries come to the farmer’s market in early June until the autumn’s killing frost is my pantry-making busy season. My fresh herbs are protected, so I’ll save drying them for last. It’s almost time to cut the herbs to dry, but before that will be pears, plums and apples to can, more zucchine to pickle, peppers to roast and can.

Unfortunately, high harvest is also my last chance to get in some camping weekends. When I can’t be in the kitchen playing with my own recipes, I’m sifting through everyone else’s summer of putting food by, marking which recipes I want to try.

My first posts on this blog were about the cookbooks on my canning bookshelf and my favorite online preserving resources. Some of my other favorite preserving and jamming resources are in the sidebar — linked in my blogroll.

Canning Across America: Canvolution (CAA) describes itself as “an ad-hoc collective of cooks, gardeners and food lovers committed to the revival of the lost art of “putting by” food.” I first discovered the Canvolution on Twitter, where several food bloggers including @SeattleTallPopp were talking about a Can-a-Rama. Before I knew it I was sharing recipes, and planning my own personal can-a-rama on the weekend of August 28 (in between making state fair entries!) The CAA site has recipes contributed by participating chefs and food lovers, an extensive list of sources and how-to’s on its resources page,  and keeps a calendar of upcoming events focused on canning, jamming and preserving.

A Crafty Lass, written by Erin McCleary, isn’t all about jam — but her Minnesota State Fair blue-ribbon jam recipes are all on my must-try list (especially one of her most recent: Peach Ginger Conserve.) Erin’s beautiful photos draw me into each recipe.

Charmian Christie writes Christie’s Corner, another blog that cooks more than jam and preserves. However, those recipes come with a sense of humor that always makes me smile (Real food. Real life. It ain’t always pretty. — what a tagline!) I found her first when her recipe for Butterscotch Peach Jam was suggested in my reader, and I was hooked. Christie is about to move her blog to WordPress (Oct. 1) and when that happens, I’ll be updating my blogroll link.

Cake and Commerce author Linsey includes many preserving recipes, including Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Jam (I’ll be trying that one as soon as I’m back from my fall camping trips!) You’ll also find recipes at C&C for pickles and fermented foods, and other whole and organic, locally-produced food ideas.

These are just a selection of the food writers, resources and recipes which keep me intrigued and inspired. I hope you’ll check them out while I’m busy checking out some nature in my outdoor kitchen!

What is the most inspired canning or preserving recipe you’ve stumbled upon in the past few months? Please share!

It’s happened again. Every summer — hot, cold, rainy, dry — those green thumb masters begin showing up at work and at my door with arms full of the garden equivalent of a computer virus: zucchini

Zucchini is relentless. You think you’re on top of your crop and then o.m.g., you discover anarchy in the left corner of the patch. You realize that you have stumbled on the vegetable equivalent of a Louisville Slugger, the baseball bat of the garden, zucchini gone wild.

There are several solutions — shred it and freeze it for winter muffins, make soup, cut it into chunks and make bread and butter pickles. When my neighbor gifted me with six zucchini, all over 10 inches long, I thought about all of those options. But then this recipe showed up in one of my search feeds, and it was such a crazy idea that I couldn’t resist.

The boiled zest and juice are cooling in the refrigerator for lime marmalade and lime curd and that will take a day. Meanwhile, here’s a slightly crazy-sounding solution for over-achieving zucchini that comes together very quickly. The gelatin in the recipe helps it set up quickly, and gives the beautiful jars of jam a jewel-like glow. I did find one recipe that suggested this jam could be processed in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes, but most treat it as a freezer jam. Since I was using peach jam and wanted more savory fruit-chipotle spread, I added a teaspoon of pureed chiptole to the recipe, with great results.

Hang onto your hats, jammers; this freezer jam doesn’t follow any of the rules!

Zucchini (Peach*) Jam (with Chipotle)

(adapted from a recipe at The Family Homestead)
3 cups peeled, shredded zucchini
3 cups sugar
1 (12 oz. ) can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, pureed (optional)
1 (3 oz) box peach* gelatin

• Peel zucchini, remove any seeds and shred. Add the shredded zucchini to a large stockpot.
• Cook on low heat until zucchini comes to a boil; stirring often (about 20 minutes.)
• Once zucchini comes to a boil, continue boiling and stirring over low heat for about 10 minutes.
• Add the lemon juice, sugar, pineapple and juice, and chipotle if using the hot pepper. Cook over medium heat; stirring constantly for 10 minutes more.
• Remove pan from heat. Add the box of gelatin; stir for 1 minute.
• Ladle jam into sterilized containers. If freezing, leave 1/2 inch headspace.
• If processing, use jars and rings suitable for boiling-water baths. Boil half pint jars for 5 minutes and pint jars for 10 minutes.
• Yield: Makes 5 cups (five 8-0z. jars) of jam.

* other gelatin flavors also work: apricot, any berry, cherry, lemon, orange or lime. Use regular flavored gelatin, NOT sugar-free or artificially sweetened. The sugar in the jam helps with the gelling.

I collect cookbooks — at garage sales and in thrift shops and flea markets. Cookbooks from the 50s, 60s, and 70s, cookbooks that celebrate the tastes I grew up with and the recipes I learned to cook from are favorites. I enjoy most the way they’re written — the recipes tell stories; they are informative and fun to read. Here are some favorite cooking references from my preserving bookshelf, and (when they’re available) links to them at Amazon.

Every jamming kitchen bookshelf should have a copy of the standard preserving reference – the Ball Blue Book, which I discussed here. It’s inexpensive, available and only as far away as your nearest supermarket’s display of canning supplies:

Ball Blue Book – The Guide to Home Canning and Preserving, © Ball Corporation (various annual editions; I own three.)

When you’re ready to move beyond the big blue book, expand your bookshelf with these resources:

The Home Canning and Preserving Book, Ann Seranne, © 1975 Barnes & Noble Books (originally published by Doubleday, 1955, as The Complete Book of Home Preserving

Farm Journal’s Country Cookbook, Revised Enlarged edition, ed. by Nell B. Nichols, Farm Journal, © 1959, 1972 Doubleday & Co.

Putting Food By, Janet Greene & Ruth Hertzberg, 4th. Edition © 1988 The Stephen Greene Press

Jams, Jellies and More, Carol W. Costenbader (Storey Country Wisdom Bulletin a-282) © 2003 Storey Books

Trying to figure out which book to own, or just experimenting with your very first batch of jam? Kraft Foods, manufacturers of Certo (TM) and Sure-Jell (TM) pectin, include a jam-making pamphlet in every box or package or pectin. Since the 70s, I’ve saved various KF pamphlets on jam and jelly making. Each pamphlet includes at least two dozen recipes, suggestions (beyond toast and jam) to use your jam creations, and all of the basic jam-making information you’ll need to get started.

Can’t find one of the resources listed above at Amazon? Ebay booksellers often carry older editions of cookbooks, as well as the newest version – and on Ebay, you’ll only pay a fraction of the original price for a used edition. Happy bookshelf stocking!