Day 5 - Preserves

I'm so excited, 125 hits!! Hello to my international friends who are viewing in the US and Europe, I'm so humbled. When I started this it was just a challenge to myself. I didn't realise this many people would follow along with me. Well I hope everyone is enjoying themselves as much as I am, so let's get today's challenge going.

Home made jams are amazing, you can adjust them to be sweet or sour, and use pretty much any fruit you want. My favourite is blueberry, which I am sure you will come to see a lot. Depending on what kind you make will decide how long you spend at the stove. Now I don't do the recipes where you use the thickening agents you buy in stores, those make more of a jelly. I prefer an actual jam that is a little thinner because its all natural.

Now I did a mix up tonight, I did a blueberry jam and a strawberry jam, I just can't make it easy and do 1 kind. You can do a mixed berry, raspberry, apricot, etc. That is the best thing about jam, you can make your favourite. People may start freaking when they see the frozen berries, but these are hand picked berried that were than frozen. However, you can use frozen or fresh berries for these recipes.

Blueberry Jam

4 cups of blueberries

½ cup sugar

¼ cup water

A little cornstarch, to thicken

Put blueberries, sugar and water in a pot, cover and boil gently until there is plenty of juice. Slightly boil until it has reduced by half and thickens. About 45-60 minutes.

Strawberry Jam

2 quarts strawberries, hulled (8 cups)

6 cups sugar (more or less, depending on sweetness)

Place berries in a pot over heat, Crush as they heat. When berries boil, add sugar and cook quickly until thick, no longer than 20 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Pour into clean hot jars and seal. Makes 2 quarts.

Tip:  1 cup strawberries to 3/4 cup sugar. However adjust to taste.

Whether they are frozen or fresh, make sure they are nice looking berries

For the blueberries, put everything in the pot at once. Remember you can add more sugar during cooking if needed.

As soon as the berries start to cook the colours become beautiful

The strawberry jam will start to foam and thicken when it is almost done.

Here are the finished product. Home made jam.

Tip:

Just remember every batch is different so adjust your sugar. I usually start with half of whats called for and taste it before adding more. Some berries are sweeter or sourer than others.

My nephew got his walking shoes today. I know they aren't heels but I thought these would be perfect for my shoe of the day.

So these jams are great to make. Remember to stir to ensure nothing burns, but other than that it isn't difficult. I made birthday cupcakes while making these jams, so you can multi-task at the same time.

I just want to thank everyone again for taking time to look at my blog. It was truly a surprising seeing the number of hits and from where people are viewing. I may need to start translating my blog....that may take awhile and not work at all. Oh well..

Happy Baking!

Sey