Jenn's Jamming

I am back jamming...I had a small stash of raspberries that I had grown in the summer which I couldn't process at the time.  So in celebration of LOVE month, I have made a few jams..." A Cardinal Sin" Raspberry Sambuca Preserve and Dangerous Curves is a mixture of berries from my garden, it's a chunky preserve so you have texture and taste.  I also made a surprising espresso and chocolate jelly...and a lovely mandarin orange marmalade.


What is jam?
Jam comes in a small pot, it's a labour of love, a delicious spoon of summer on a cold winter morning, a sparkling jewel on the breakfast table, feeling the warm morning sun on your face, a pot of bubbling sweet stuff, bare feet on a polished wooden floor, smell of dirt, sounds of chirping birds,  buzz of bees, the sting of the thorns as you reach into the raspberry bushes...the Blood Curdling Scream as I come across the extremely gigantic toad hiding under the strawberry leaves...there is more to jam than one can imagine.


Jam starts with the selection of sweet fruits or berries in the height of there growing season.  You want to pick the fruit that is slightly firm, you want to be able to smell the skin and say apricot or peach and the same goes for berries.  I can smell my raspberries as they ripen in my garden.  Next you want to create a recipe to enhance the already delicious fruit or berries, no cover it up.  You should source your recipes from a reputable canning guide.  The guide will tell you the amount of fruit, sugar, lemon and pectin needed to have the perfect texture.  Once you have a basic recipe it's time for your imagination to kick in.  Imagination the thing your parents told you get out of the clouds when you were a kid....laughing.


I myself have a few dozen jam making books and over thousand source recipes that I use for inspiration.  I have spent years developing a flavour palate, it takes time and a passion for that perfect taste!!!  I know when I have hit the golden taste, it's when I wake up in the middle of the night and it calls me to the fridge.  It becomes a addiction...Hello my name is Jennifer and I am a jamaholic. 


Grow, Harvest, Cook, Eat....and make JAM!!!


Jenn