Jamming...

So, since the ShadowSpouse is doing the deadline tango (go buy ELDRITCH!, I thought I'd spend yesterday making stuff. The stuff I made was Strawberry-Lime-Vanilla marmalade (it's a marmalade because there is citrus rind in it), and an Onion Apple Ale relish.

The process was not particularly difficult. For both the jam and the relish, you chopped the ingredients, and let them sit - in sugar for the berries, and in salt for the onions. In the case of the fruit, this made an amazing, rich, vanilla scented syrup, and it would've been delicious on it's own. For the onions, my house smelled a bit like a hot dog stand, and the onions released a lot of their water (osmosis - it works, bitches!).

Then there was cooking. And more cooking. It seemed to take forever for the jam to reach temp. I realized, as I was panicking, that what needed to happen was for the syrup to reduce enough to actually get higher than the boiling point of the water. Again, science works, bitches, so just let it be...no need to freak. The jars for the jam needed to be sterilized. I let them boil away happily for ten minutes in the pot I would later use to process. Being cheap and a punk, I made a rack out of tinfoil. Worked a treat, although next time I may invest in a cake rack and a jarlifter, to avoid the splashing. Then I filled hot jars with hot fruit, popped on warm lids, screwed on the bands, and popped them into the pot to process - 5 minutes from rolling boil. These instructions came from the USDA food safety folks, so I'm pretty convinced I won't get mold. I know I won't get botulism, because it doesn't like the acid in the fruit.

Relish was much the same. I think I chopped the apples a little large. Smaller next time. I sterilized the jars, just because, but I didn't need to because the processing time was over 10 minutes. All my jars sealed, and they look lovely on my counter. I have yet to taste the deliciousness, though...

I will totally can again. I enjoyed the process, I enjoyed the results, and I love the idea of being able to share what I've made with people. It's why I cook....