I had grand plans for learning how to preserve food this summer. Had all my equipment ready, the Ball Blue Book to Preserving standing by, websites bookmarked… I was going to DO THIS THING! And then we decided to tear apart our kitchen:
wheeee, demolition
Oh.
Gamely, I made one batch of cherry jam with some cherries we’d picked from Detering Orchards. I think it came out quite well in the end, but without some handy counter space, it was more of a chore than I wanted to deal with for the rest of the summer however long this renovation takes.
traditionally processed cherry jam
Sad, but lazy, I decided to think more in the short-term and turned to freezer jam & refrigerated pickles.
Freezer jam is a simple process of washing/peeling/chopping your fruit and combining it with sugar and sometimes lemon juice, boiling the pectin for one minute, mixing it all together and filling your clean freezer jars. A food processor is great to have for fruit that needs chopping, like peaches. For berries, though, a potato masher works perfectly. I mash up a cup at a time, and most recipes only call for 3 cups or so. I leave the seeds in my berries, but you can strain some of your mixture through a mesh to get rid of some of the seeds if you prefer.
There are different types of pectin out there, so check the ingredient lists and instructions carefully for your preferences. There is one type of liquid pectin, and I think also one of the instant varieties, that contains preservatives, so I opt not to buy those. (I use sugar, so there’s no need for additional preservatives.) There is also a “no sugar needed” type, and I think most of them work with sugar substitutes.
The jam keeps in the freezer for a year, and in the fridge for about three weeks. The whole thing is so easy, I encourage everyone to do this and enjoy the summer’s fruits all year!
a few of my beautiful, frosty jams
So far I’ve made raspberry, boysenberry, peach, and blackberry. I missed out on blueberries and strawberries. Luckily, jam is good for trading, so I gave my friend a boysenberry in trade for one of her traditionally preserved strawberry jams! The peach jam is my favorite so far… amazing flavor. I picked the peaches at Grandpa’s Fresh Market in Albany.
Happy freezing!
