Quick Fig Preserves

Out of the three recipes I made with fresh figs last week, this one is my favorite.  This recipe only took about 10-15 minutes to make but is so very tasty. This will be one of the first recipes I turn to the next time I have access to fresh figs. They are quick preserves so you need to be ready to eat them rather quickly, but that won't be a problem.  This are so good you'll wish you had of doubled the recipe.

Thick, sweet, chunky preserves are the best and you can feel good about this recipe because it uses honey and sugar, not just a ton of regular sugar. Very rustic feel to this jam because of the nice big pieces of fig.  I love it, definitely a favorite.

Quick Fig Preserves
Recipe from honest cooking

Ingredients

• 15-20 small figs
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup honey

Cooking Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine all of the ingredients.
2. Cook over medium heat (add water if needed) and bring to a boil.
3. Let the mixture thicken over a constant boil, stirring often. After the preserves reach a thick consistency turn off the heat and let cool to room temperature.
4. Store in an airtight container for up to one week in the refrigerator.

Tomato Jam

When you make this think "gourmet ketchup" only way better.  It's sweet like a jam but the tomato flavor is concentrated and totally yummy.  I'm so glad I made this for two reasons.  I had a bunch of Roma tomatoes to use and I'm a huge condiment fan.  I usually put some sort of condiment on everything I eat.  I know, it's a problem.  Here's the other problem, I might never want to eat regular ketchup again after making this.  Seriously.  It's that good.

Dice up 1 1/2 pounds of tomatoes.  You can leave the skins on, just core them.

Add all of the ingredients into a medium saucepan.

The aftermath of my prep work.

Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about an hour or so.

After about an hour, it's almost done.

The finished product.  I am super excited about having this in my refrigerator.  I can't wait to try this on some different items like biscuits, hot dogs, burgers and even on sandwiches.  Let me know if you try it and what you think!


Tomato Jam
Recipe from The New York Times

1 1/2 pounds of ripe tomatoes.  I used Roma, cored and coarsely chopped.
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
1 Tbsp grated or minced ginger
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp salt
1 jalapeño or other pepper, seeded, stemmed and minced. You could also use red pepper flakes or cayenne to taste.  I used a jalapeño (the jarred kind).

Mix all the ingredients in a heavy bottomed sauce pan and cook over medium heat to a boil.  Stir consistently.

Turn the heat down to simmer and cook for about another 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the sauce is thick like a jam. Stir occasionally.  Mine was done after about an hour.

Makes about a pint, keep refrigerated and it will last at least a week.

Meyer Lemon and Blood Orange Marmalade

Someone please tell me to stop buying blood oranges and Meyer lemons.  I'm seriously addicted and every time I see them I buy them up like they're  never coming back!  I'm beginning to run out of ideas for these lovelies. 

You're going to need 3 Meyer Lemons and 1 Blood Orange.

Cut the ends off, then cut in half length wise and then slice thin.

Put the citrus into a pot of water. Boil. Add sugar. Boil. It's not very complicated, especially if you've never made jams before.

We loved this on whole wheat toast but I'd also love to try it on an English muffin or a bagel.

I love the color! Beautiful oranges and yellows.  I also love it when you bite into the peel and it's nice and soft and you get a burst of flavor.  So good!

Meyer Lemon and Blood Orange Marmalade

Recipe found at the "New York Times" here

3 medium Meyer lemons, ends trimmed

1 medium blood orange, ends trimmed
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups Demerara (raw) sugar.

Place about three plates or saucers in the freezer - you'll use them later to test the marmalade.

Wash the citrus well under warm water.  Cut the ends off each lemon and orange and then slice in half length wise.  Take each half and cut in thin slices.  Remove any excess membrane and seeds.

Measure your citrus now, you should have about 2 1/2 cups.  If for some reason you don't; use the same volume of water and sugar (equal parts) as you have in fruit.  So for instance if you only have 2 cups of fruit then use 2 cups of water and 2 cups of sugar.  Bring the water and fruit to a boil and cook for about 20 - 30 minutes until the peels are very soft.

Add the sugar and turn the heat up to bring the mixture to a boil.  Once boiling, lower the heat and simmer for about 30 more minutes or until the mixture is set. Start checking the mixture at about 15 minutes using the frozen plates.  Put a spoonful of the liquid on a frozen plate.  If the mixture looks like jam and not a runny syrup then it's ready.  Allow the mixture to cool and then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.



Peach Jam

Peach jam, tis the season ya know.  Peaches are at their best right now and we're lucky enough to live in some great peach country.  In an effort to try not to miss out on all their yumminess, my friend Amanda and I decided it was peach jam time. 

Another friend of mine asked me not long ago to make my next jam post geared toward someone who has never tried to make jam before and who might be intimidated by it.  I have to admit, I was intimidated by it the first time too.  There are a lot of steps to follow, its very helpful to have the specialized tools to make it easier and a friend to help you.  I hope that this post will make you feel better about giving it a try.  There's nothing better than eating your own homemade jam.

Here we go, I'm going to start with some of the basics that you will need to start with. These items are helpful to have but not necessary.  You can certainly beg, steal, or borrow some items if you don't have any sitting around that would work. 

One thing you'll want to do before you even begin making the jam is run your jars through an empty dishwasher with the heat cycle on.  You want your jars to be HOT and sterile.

First: go get some peaches! We used the recipe in the "Ball Pectin" box.  This required 4 cups of finely chopped peaches.  That's about 7-9 medium peaches and it yields about 6 - half pint jars.

Second: You'll need a very large pot of boiling water - large enough to hold your 6 - half pint jars and cover the tops with water.

Third: You'll need enough rings and lids for the amount of jars you're planning to fill.  These can be purchased along with the jars, or they can be bought separately if you've already got jars at home that you are using. They'll need to go in a pot of hot water so they are both sterile and hot when your jars are filled and ready for tops.

 Fourth: This canning kit is pretty inexpensive and can be purchased at your local Wal-Mart. This is not a requirement, but it's sure handy.

• Here are the tools inside.  The item on the left is for lifting the filled jars in and out of the hot water that you'll use to "process" the jars.
• The item second to the left has a little magnet on the end, this is to get the hot lids and rings out of the hot water when you're ready for them.
• The middle item is obvious and you can use for any purpose you need.  I generally don't need this item much.
• The item second from the right is for tightening the lids to make sure they're sealed before dunking them in the hot water bath.
• The item on the far right is for filling the jars with hot jam.  Makes clean up A LOT easier.

To begin, peel and finely chop 4 cups of peaches.  You can even chop them finer than pictured above.  We made three batches and the second one we made we chopped the peaches even smaller.

Put the chopped peaches into a large pot, much larger than you think is needed as this will boil up and take up a lot of space in your pot.

Next, add the lemon juice - this recipe called for 2 Tablespoons.

I didn't take a picture of me adding the pectin - sorry.  It's in there, trust me. Bring this up to a boil, when it's boiling so much that even stirring it won't cease the boiling, add the next ingredient.

Sugar!!  5 cups in this recipe.  Jam is not for the faint of heart, or diabetics.  That being said, Amanda and I made three total batches of jam and one of them was a sugar free variety that used fruit juice instead of sugar. I didn't take any pictures....I'm sorry.  I'll provide more details about that recipe at the end.

Now that the sugar has been added, you want to bring the mixture up to a full boil.  A full boil is when every part of the mixture is bubbling and can't be stirred down.  The picture above is NOT a full boil, but it's getting there.

Well this picture really doesn't show it very well, but you can see bubbles in the middle and you'll have to trust me that they weren't going away when I stirred them.  Now set a timer for 1 minute and let it boil hard.

Now you're ready to pour the hot jam, into the hot jars from your dishwasher.  Use a funnel to make this not as messy.  Fill the jars almost all the way to the top, leaving only about 1/4 inch.

Put one of the hot lids from the pot you've (hopefully) got simmering away, on top and then add the ring and tighten.

Now tighten the ring on very tight and after you've gotten all of them filled...

Put them in the hot tub and set your timer for 10 minutes. You'll want this water boiling for this part.

After 10 minutes remove the jars....

and place them upside-down on a towel somewhere where they can be left alone for 24 hours.

That's it!  These last for a long time, they're good as gold for at least 6 months and after that you'll want to watch them for any discolorations.  If they stay true to color they're fine, if they start to change color you'll want to dump them - but keep the jars and the rings.  The lids can't be used again.

Here is the Ball recipe we used for the sugar version:
4 cups of finely chopped fresh peaches
5 cups of sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 pkg pectin

Begin by sterilizing your jars (in an empty dishwasher or a boiling pot of water), just keep them hot until ready to use.

Get a very large pot of boiling water ready to process the jars once filled.

Put your lids and rings in another pot of boiling water, then simmer to keep hot.

Peel, remove the pit and finely chop 4 cups of peaches.

Put the peaches, pectin, and lemon juice in a large pot and bring to a boil. Once the mixture is boiling to the point where you cannot stir the boil down, add the sugar and bring back up to a hard boil.  Once at a hard boil, set your timer for 1 minute.

Fill your hot prepared jars and top with the hot lids and rings.  Make sure they are on good and tight, and place them in the boiling water for 10 minutes.

After the 10 minutes are up, move the jars to a towel or heat proof surface  - place them upside down where they can stay for 24 hours undisturbed. 

Here is the Ball recipe we used for the no-sugar version:
3 cups peeled, pitted and finely chopped peaches. About 7 medium.
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 3/4 cup unsweetened apple juice
1 pkg no-sugar pectin

The process is pretty much the same as the process above.  The only differences are, the Pectin, apple juice, and lemon juice are all added at one time before you even begin to boil the mixture.  Once it's at a hard boil, you time it for 1 minute.  I noticed that after I had put this mixture in the jars and completed the processing in hot water the mixture didn't look like it was going to "set up".  It appeared very liquidy.  After sitting for 24 hours however, it was completely set.

Blueberry Jam

Jam is just one of those things we take for granted I think. I mean, you can easily go to the supermarket and pick some up anytime you want right? Have you ever thought about making your own? I remember my gramma making other canned goods like applesauce, cherries, tomatoes and so on. But I don't think I ever actually watched her do it....

So, recently a couple of friends and I decided to try to do it ourselves. We thought they'd make great gifts and if nothing else; at least we'd know what our kids were eating. We try to buy local products so that makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside too.

When making jam, you'll need to do some prep work before getting started. You will need:

• A big huge pot (they make them specifically for canning) but if you don't have one specifically for this purpose, just get one big enough to submerge your jars with an additional 1-2 inches of water over the top.
• large sauce pot to boil the lids and flats.
• Large stockpot for boiling the jam, make sure it's large enough to accommodate for the amount of bubble up this mixture will do, I'd say an additional 3 inches or so more than the actual mixture before it boils.
• Canning tools really make things easier - you can buy a set pretty much anywhere online like Amazon.com or EBay. If you don't have a set and have no plans to buy one then you can use tongs, some towels, ladle and a funnel.
• Clean glass preserving jars - I put them in an empty dishwasher right before I begin making jam so they're still nice and hot/warm.
• Measuring cups

I went to our local farmers market and got these beautiful blueberries. Wash them, and check for stems or bad berries and discard those.


This is when the fun begins, you get to take your frustrations out on the berries by smashing them to juicy pulp. You can do this either with a potato masher or a food processor which is what I used. If you choose to use a food processor, just make sure not to pulverize them. Three or four pluses usually does it. It's OK if some of them are whole because they'll pop and break up while cooking.

Measure out the amount needed depending on the recipe you are using. After you have the correct amount, mix in the lemon juice and then the pectin. If you're not using the pectin recipe then just add the berries and sugar to the stockpot. For the pectin recipe, don't add the sugar yet.

With pectin: bring the berries to a boil that you can't stir down, now add the sugar and bring to a full boil. Once at a full boil, set your timer for 1 minute and stir constantly. Remove from the heat and skim foam if needed.

Without pectin: Slowly bring berries and sugar to a boil, cook rapidly to the gelling point. Keep checking on it and when it begins to thicken you can remove from the heat. This takes awhile...go get something to drink, read a book perhaps.

Let the fun begin, ladle the hot mixture into your prepared jars and top leaving about 1/4 inch on top, then put on the the hot lid flats and rings. Tighten and add to your huge canning pot of water. Sorry I didn't take a picture of this part, things are moving pretty quickly at this point. I'm sure you can figure out how to do this though, I have faith in you. For the non-pectin recipe you'll want to boil the jars in the hot water for 15 minutes. The pectin recipe needs to boil for about 10 minutes or a little more depending on your altitude. These instructions are included in the box of pectin and we've found that the instructions are very precise.

Once boiled, place upside-down on a table for 24 hours. Now enjoy it, you've earned it.

As a side note, Amanda and I prefer the pectin method best. The non-pectin method took too long and the jam didn't look as good as the pectin method. I also plan to experiment with no sugar methods that use fruit juice instead. I'll be sure to post about it when I do.

Pectin Method:

4 C. crushed blueberries

(about 2 1/2 pounds or 6 6-0z containers

2 Tbsp lemon juice

4 C. sugar

Non-Pectin Method:

9 C. crushed blueberries

6 C. sugar