Reader Discussion: Jams? Jellies? Marmalades? Preserves? I want the good stuff!
" You are the teacher of my pupil? This isn't art class, this is heaven"
- SpongeBob SquarePants
- SpongeBob SquarePants
I've had this desire to learn how to make my own jams, jellies, marmalade's and preserves for as long as I can remember. Maybe it's the old school gal in me but mostly, it is because I want something natural from my own hands. I want the good stuff, you know minus the artificial everything. I've never made any of these before and I'm reaching out to you the experts for some advice and recipes.
Blue Mason Jar & Lifter – LittleYellowDoor
Vintage Food Mill – ArtsFarm
Vintage Food Mill – ArtsFarm
One Pint Queen Fruit Jar – VintageHomeRecycled
Canning Funnel – Marianneclare
Do you have any recipes you could share? Do you have memories of making
jams and jellies as a child? I'd love to hear! Feel free to post them
below or leave a link to your own blog post with them. My belly will thank you for it! xoxo Gabreial
jams and jellies as a child? I'd love to hear! Feel free to post them
below or leave a link to your own blog post with them. My belly will thank you for it! xoxo Gabreial
I am literally sitting here eating home-made toast with raspberry jam I made last night 🙂 Between bites, I’ll tell ya, I’ve been doing this for years and it’s the best feeling. There’s something about having the mental know-how to be self-reliant.
Here’s my strategy: I always look for the recipes that use the least “stuff”… go for the low-sugar recipes with the pectin, the lightest syrups, the less salt. I have found that it’s not only better for you, but you come away with something that actually tastes like fruit.
Also, those jars you pictured are cute, but you probably don’t want to can with them 🙂 There’s a much higher risk that they’ll break if they are that old and an explosion while you’re pressure cooking something or even steam canning would be no fun! Email me if you have any questions as you go on your quest!
Hi Courtney,
Thanks so much for your post. Your breakfast sounds yummy! I wouldn’t dare using my vintage ball jars, especially the blue ones!
Did you pick your own fruit or do you purchase from the market?
Gabreial
A few weeks ago, I picked raspberries and blackberries from a local orchard and made my own jam with both of them. I went the easy route with freezer jam. It was so easy – no cooking involved! You just mix the mashed fruit with sugar, the fruit pectin and a little lemon juice, let it sit for a bit and pour it into the jars. The jam keeps in the freezer until you’re ready to use it. I’d love to learn how to make jam the old-fashioned way, too. And I would really like to learn to do some canning this season to have things on-hand for the winter.
I blogged a little about my berry-picking and jam-making experience here: http://inhabityourlife.blogspot.com/2009/06/on-farm.html
Hi there,
Thanks for posting. I’ve never heard of freezer jam before! Canning is also on my list! Baby steps:o)
Honestly, the best book I’ve found for jelly recipes was a $2.99 book from Walgreens (not sure where you could find something like it overseas). Carrot jelly is pretty good, as is wine jelly.
There is a Walgreens just about every corner here in Kentucky. I may have to check it out. Carrot Jelly? Sounds interesting!
Hi Gab.
Look for this book. I don’t know if it’s still in print. ‘Canning and Preserving Without Sugar’ by Norma M. MacRae,R.D. There are recipes for low sugar, no sugar, sugar alternatives.
My jar sterilization tip: I run them through the dishwasher and put them in the oven on what would be the equivalent of boiling water (212 F), so it’s a little under 225 F on the oven dial. It’s a lot easier than boiling the jars in a huge pot of water to sterilize (which is how I learned to do it a long time ago).
If you have any canning/freezing questions, convo me on Etsy. 🙂
Hi Katie,
Great tip with the oven. How long do you leave them in there?
I’ll see if my library has that book. Any favorite recipes from there that I should try?
Gabreial
Oh I hate it when this happens but there is a perfect book that I recommend to anyone that wants to start making things. It’s by two very funny ladies mother and daughter and they had a TV show.
What I loved about it most, that the recipes were not huge volumes. I mean when my mother made pickles and preserves she’d do 15 quarts of one thing – dill pickles or sweet pickles etc. I couldn’t even begin to work out her recipe since it was a little bit of this and that and only part of it written down on an old recipe card that I found in her appartment when we cleaned out all her stuff after she died. I didn’t ask my brother, but I’d bet her pantry closet was full of pickles and such.
I’ll keep trying to remember the book name
It just came to me
http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Put-Lid-Small-Batch-Preserving-Ellie-Topp/9780771574528-item.html
If the link doesn’t work the book is called “Put a Lid On It” small batch preserving. It looks like there are a lot of books by the same name but you will be able to tell by the cover.
Good morning,
Happy Saturday to you, thank you for the link!
Gabreial
I use the Ball Blue Book (ISBN 0972753702) it’s the classic because it gives meticulous instructions and the recipes are excellent. It’s what my grandmother and her sisters used and what my mom used and lots and lots of other peoples mothers and grandmothers used for jam and jelly recipes too.
I love making jam! All of the posts above have great suggestions. You’ll have to post some photos once you’ve made a batch or two. It’s addicting! 🙂
One of my most favorite books is Mes Confitures by Christine Ferber. She shares incredibly creative recipes sorted by season. If you start preserving often, it’s a must-have.
This is a great resource, I’ve found bits and pieces of it online.
Thank you!
Good morning Lisa,
Thanks so much for your suggestion. I plan to look this one up today before our trip to the library.
Have a great day!
Gabreial