Low-Sugar Strawberry Fig Jam

Deja vu!

O-M-G! She's keeping her word *again!* QT is posting yet another Jam Recipe!!! (Or has she gone completely mad, I wonder?) (That's a rhetorical question!!!)

Anyway... As I'd mentioned yesterday, I encountered a young man selling flats of Strawberries on the street corner. I also ran over to the Farm-Stand and procured two baskets of fresh figs. I figured I'd spend my Day-Off accomplishing all sorts of Good Deeds and, well, I *did* at least manage to put-up a batch of jam.

Although note to self: When one procures fresh strawberries from strangers on a street corner, one *really* should plan on utilizing them on the day of purchase. Reason being: I believe the reason that they are offered at road-side is because they are EXTREMELY ripe. Not over-ripe - but just a little *too* ripe for shipping to the grocery stores (Meaning: By the time they made it from the truck, to the store, then out to the produce section, they'd no longer be sellable). They really are Super-Sweet and delicious - they've just got a really short shelf-life :::sigh:::

Nevertheless, I did start the jam this morning. I ended up dumping about half of the flat, but that was fine (RolyPig, the composter, will be happy!). I had thought I'd use the excess strawberries for a batch of freezer jam - but "Oh, well!"

Anyhooooo... First off: Props to pickyourown.org for posting this recipe - along with detailed instructions. I didn't follow the recipe exactly - for starters, I didn't have enough figs to make a 50/50 mix - but what I ended up with is *quite* delicious!

QT's Low-Sugar Strawberry Fig Jam

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of freshly mashed Strawberries
• 2 cups of coarsely-chopped, mostly skinned, fresh figs
• 1/8 cup Lemon Juice (again, I just used the bottled stuff from the store)
• 3/4 cup granulated Sugar
• 1 cup Splenda
• 1 package (1.75 oz) Sure-Jell No-Sugar Needed Pectin

Fruit Prep:

First, rinse all the fruit. Then drizzle about half of the Lemon Juice in a bowl. Then cut the tops off the figs and attempt to peel them. The original recipe said it wasn't necessary (and I wasn't super "anal" about getting *all* of the skins off), but I think it just looks better with the skins removed. Coarsely chop the figs into the bowl with the lemon juice. Drizzle the lemon juice over the fig chunks as you go 'til you've added the entire 1/8 cup...

End up with this:

A bowl of chopped, mostly-de-skinned figs

Then hack the tops off the strawberries and start slicing them into a separate bowl. Sprinkle with sugar, as you go. The sugar helps the strawberries start to "sweat." I've found that you really do need just a *bit* of Sugar because Splenda doesn't facilitate the "sweating" process nearly as well...

So, chop-chop-chop, sprinkle-sprinkle-sprinkle 'til you've run out of strawberries and sugar. End up with this:

Sparkly, sprinkly, sweaty strawberries

Then grab a masher and start mashing the strawberries. Like thus:

I mushed 'em 'til they were all glorpy and goozy, but still had some recognizable chunks. My bowl has little measuring lines on the inside, so I ended up adding a few more strawberries 'til I was sure I had 4 cups of gooze:

Mushy Gushy!

Then, dump the strawberry gooze into the bowl of figs and stir it up:

It's, like, interracial! Yes, we Embrace Diversity here!

Cooking:

Then dump the whole mess into a pot and start to heat it up. While the pot was heating, I dumped the package of Pectin into a bowl with the 1 cup of Splenda, mixed it up dry, then dumped that into the pot with the fruit.

Cook, stirring constantly, on medium-high heat 'til you've got a good, rolling, blorping boil going. Rolling boil means it doesn't stop blorping when you stir. Once it's rockin' and rollin' - cook it for a full minute (yep, I even used a timer!). Once one minute is up, remove that bad-boy from the stove and check for "set."

Once again, the dogs were crestfallen!

We be DONE!

Jarring/Processing/Etc:

Fill your hot, sterilized jars, yada-yada... And TODAY I learned something *new!* (Too late for this batch, unfortunately!). After you've filled your jars, but before you slap the caps on, let the jam "rest" for 5 minutes and give it a good stir - *then* clean your rims and slap the tops and rings on. Reason being: If you don't stir the jam this second time, the fruit will tend to rise to the top (especially true with Splenda and/or No-Sugar jams). It doesn't affect the flavor, but it does look kinda weird. (My Peach Jam did the floaty thing - but I just stirred it after I opened it and put it in the fridge).

Anyway.... Process the jars in your canner for 10 minutes. Let 'em rest for 24 hours. Make sure the lids are sealed, then call it DONE!

Done!

Today I got 4 @ 12 oz. jars of jam

There was a teensy bit leftover, which I schlorped into an 8 oz jar and just tossed it straight in the fridge...

I gotta tellya - this stuff is WONDERFUL! It is sweet, and thick, and it has a teensy bit of "tang" to it. Absolutely delicious!

So there it is!

Peaches are still ripening like crazy (I think I will make a pie tomorrow). 'Maters seem to be slowing down - a bit (temps have been close to 90*'s lately), but I suspect I'll be smashing some more sauce very soon...

Up Next...

Fresh, but not home-grown, Strawberries and Figs

Ever since I bought that Steam Canner, I think I have gone completely freaking INSANE with jamming! (But it is soooooo easy now!!!).

My first attempt at making Plum Jam - a few years ago - was a complete disaster.

I'd found a recipe for "Easy Plum Jam" on the 'net. And yes, the actual jam-making part *was* pretty easy. But the Plum Prep was extraordinarily challenging (they don't like to peel easily - even after blanching) (and they aren't freestone - so de-pitting was quite laborious, as well) (and, to add insult-to-injury, the whole peeling/pitting process made a helluva mess in the kitchen!). Then I figured I could use my Mammoth Stock Pot/Deep Fryer to do the whole Water-Bath thing...

Well, after Gawd-only-knows-how-long, I determined that my ceramic cooktop could not generate enough heat to boil the quantity of water needed for water-bath canning (I swear - it took me HOURS to figure that out!).

Basically, I burned the better part of a Saturday on that project and, afterwards, I swore "Never Again!!!"

So fast-forward a couple of years (long enough for me to *almost* forget the SHEER AGONY of my Plum Jam Debacle)... P tells me about her Steam Canner, and how it didn't take nearly as long, nor require nearly as much heat to properly can and seal her jams. I priced 'em out (appx $35.00) and figured, what-the-hay, right? So I bought one!

Then I later discovered that Steam Canners aren't really considered "proper" canning. :::sigh:::

Well, ya know what?! I'm just gonna go ahead and do it anyway - 'cuz it's all I've got! And I figure if I stick with a 6-month expiration date... Well... Hopefully it'll be okay! (Fingers crossed that I never have to title a post: "Don't use Steam-Canners!!!")

Anyhoooooo... While I was out-and-about today, I spotted a Migrant Farm Worker standing on the street corner, surrounded by flats of various fruits including - Yummmm!!! - Watsonville Strawberries! So I pulled over, asked how much, and bought a flat!

These are SUPER-FRESH strawberries (waaaaaaaaayyyyy better than what you'll find in the grocery store!). Strawberry Jam is probably *the* easiest jam to make. Strawberry Freezer Jam is super-duper easy (and super-duper fresh-tasting), so I'll probably make a small batch of that (minimal cooking required - hence, the super-fresh flavor). I know Strawberry "plays well" with Splenda and - even though you can buy Splenda-Sweetened Strawberry Jam at the store, I figure home-made has *got* to be better!

Yet - at the same time - I think I want to stick with my "do something a little different" theme, so I found a recipe for Strawberry-Fig Jam here. The flat of strawberries was $10.00. I ran over to the local farm-stand and picked up two baskets of figs (which were almost as much $$). It definitely won't be a 50/50 mix of strawberries/figs. Maybe 60/40. We'll see...

So, I've got to burn another Vacation Day tomorrow (I keep maxing out my PTO balances at work - Poor me!). I think I'll putter around in the kitchen and crank out another batch or two of jam... Then, maybe, spend the afternoon splooging some clay in my (no, I haven't forgotten about it!) studio.

Pressure's on: We're planning to visit my friend, D, who retired early and Ex-Patted to Mexico. We're gonna go see her in November and I promised her some hand-crafted doo-dads. I have *got* to get my butt out there and start cranking out more "stuff!" Plus, it's August! Time to start thinking about making Holiday Ornaments for my colleagues @ work...

So yeah, I'll spend the morning Jammin' in the Kitchen (recipe and pics to follow, I'm sure), then the afternoon in the studio...

Then, tomorrow evening, the Kitchen/Bath Guy is coming to re-review the job and get his contract signed (and collect a deposit, I'm sure!), so we can get the Bathroom Renovation Project started...

Busy times are comin'!

I Abso-Freaking-Lutely LOVE my Garden!!!

Here is a veritable Rainbow of 'Maters from my garden:

Clockwise from top: Carbon (dark pink w/green shoulders), Kellogg's Breakfast (Orange Beefsteak Variety), Black Zebra (dark red w/green stripes), Stupice, No clue what the yellow one is (it's either a Yellow Brandywine, or else an unripe Kellogg's), and I think the red beefsteak is another type of Brandywine...

I thought I'd planted some purple tomatoes, as well, but they either haven't ripened yet, or else they ended up dying in the Straw-Bale Bed :-(

Anyway, it is sooooo cool to get such a nice variety of tomatoes (all Heirlooms, no less! I have *never* been able to grow heirlooms successfully!). Yep. Very gratifying, indeed!

Peach Spice Jam Recipe

Well, I am just a Jammin' Fool!!!

Remember how I was whining about "What the hell am I gonna do with all these @#$% peaches?!" Well, I'm sure I'll continue to whine about that, but anyway...

I got a fairly decent harvest over the last couple of days. There seems to be a really narrow window of opportunity with these bad boys - what with them being sprawled all over hell-and-creation (it's a super-wiiiiiiiiide tree), and lots of them plopping onto the ground before I can find the "ripe" ones, and the birds and bugs helping themselves to HALF of the ripe, tasty fruits (Meaning: they find the tastiest, ripest ones and eat HALF of the fruit, rendering the other half utterly inedible - Grrr!!!), and when I DO manage to get out there and pick some fruit, it turns out that the bottom half is still semi-green (and I don't think peaches like to ripen/sweeten properly once they've been picked :::sigh:::).

I'm pretty sure that the ACTUAL Window-of Opportunity for optimal harvesting lasts all of about 45 seconds. And I am never out there when that optimal moment occurs!

Annnnnnywaaaaaayyy... I did manage to salvage appx 4# of fruit over the past couple of days and I made some Super-Tasty Low-Sugar Peach-Spice Jam today!

I can't really claim this recipe as my own, this time around, because I pretty-closely followed someone else's recipe here. And here is another good site that I go to - a lot - when I'm trying to figure out what I'm gonna can. Gotta give credit where credit is due, right?

So enough yammering, post the recipe already!

Okay, okay, okay!!! I started with 18 fresh-picked peaches (appx 4#). Some were big, most were medium to small. Some were *really* ripe, others were slightly green...

Basically, I ended up with just over 10 cups of chopped, fresh peach chunks. According to what-all I read (all over the 'net). this was supposed to yield appx 6 cups of cooked fruit.

Yet, somehow or other, I ended up with 12 jars of jam!!! (I ain't complainin'! ;-)

Pictures below...

Peach Spice Jam

Ingredients:

• 8-10 cups fresh chopped peaches (which is supposed to yield 6-8 cups of cooked fruit!)
• 2 cups Splenda
• 2 cups Sugar
• 1/4 cup Lemon Juice to prevent browning (I just used the bottled stuff from the grocery store)
• 12 Tbs Pectin (I used Ball brand, No/Low-Sugar needed. It came in a "bulk" jar. I have no idea how many boxes of pectin this equates to)
• 2 sticks of Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp Allspice
• 1/4 tsp Ground Cloves (I used whole cloves which I mashed with my mortar and pestle, then picked out the chunky pieces!)

Blanch/Peel/Pit/Chop the Peaches:

Slice "X's" in the bottoms of each peach (makes 'em easier to peel). Fill a medium- to large sized pot with water and fill it with enough water to cover 3-4 peaches. Bring it to a gentle boil. Set-up a separate bowl with ice water (equivalent in size to the boiling pot). And a third bowl to "hold" the peaches after they've been blanched.

Plop the peaches, 3-4 at a time, in the boiling pot. Leave 'em there for appx 30-60 seconds. Then plop them into the ice water (to stop them from cooking) and start another 3-4 peaches boiling... Repeat until all peaches have been blanched.

Peel the peaches, starting at the "X" on the bottom. The skins should slide right off. If not, use a paring knife to help it along (the riper the peach, the easier it is to peel).

Slice the peaches in half, remove the pit (thank Gawd, ours are freestone!). Then coarsely chop the peaches into a bowl (or large pot - whatever!). Drizzle Lemon Juice on them, as you go (to prevent them from browning).

When it's all said and done, you should end up with appx 8-10 cups of chopped, fresh peaches.

Makin' the Jam:

Put the peach-pot on the stove, add 2 sticks of cinnamon, 1/4 tsp each of Allspice and Ground Cloves, and start heating them on low- to medium heat. Stir just enough to keep it from burning...

Mix the powdered Pectin with your Sugar/Splenda Mixture while it's dry. I was anticipating 6-8 jars of jam, and I like my jam pretty thick, so I went wth 12 TBS of Pectin (which is probably more than recommended - but I'm glad I did it!).

Dump appx half of your Sugar/Splenda/Pectin mixture into the pot while the peaches are heating up and increase heat to Medium-High. Once everything begins to bubble, add the rest of the S/S/P mix. Now things should really be cooking. Stir constantly til it reaches a full boil (meaning it doesn't stop blorping while you're stirring). Cook it for one minute at this point, then remove it from the heat - so you don't end up with peach mush! (Lesson learned from my Plum Jam a few weeks ago!).

This is where you can try to test the "set-ness" of the jam. I grabbed a tablespoon-full, stuck it on a plate, and put the plate in the fridge for a minute or two. Held the spoon vertically and the jam didn't glorp off (much to the dogs' dismay!!!). I think it's done!!!


Jar and Process the Jam:

Remove the cinnamon sticks, then fill the hot jars, leaving appx 1/4" headspace (again I used the Sterilize/Heated Dry cycle on my dishwasher and everything was steaming hot while I was doing this). You may, or may not want to have a separate saucepan full of hot water to keep the lids heated/sterilized while you're doing this.

Then process the jars in the canner for 10 minutes. Again, the usual disclaimer applies: I am using a Steam Canner which is not an "Approved" method of canning. Water-bath would be better!

I'll check 'em tomorrow and make sure they're properly sealed (but as I'm typing this, I hear the lids popping so I think everything is working properly!).

Pictures:

Appx 4# of peaches...

Blanched for 30-60 seconds in boiling water

Then (Brrrr!) Plunged into an Ice Bath!

Appx 10 cups of chopped, fresh peaches

Spicyyyyyy!!!!

Tossed the fruit into the pot with the spices and started cookin'...

Mixing the Splenda, Sugar and Pectin, dry...

Added the Splenda/Sugar/Pectin to the heating-up pot...

Starting to boil! Smells deeeeee-lish!

Testing for "set."

The dogs were hopeful... But the jam didn't blorp off onto the floor!

Into the canner...

A dozen jars of jam!

Yummmmm!!!

Much as I hate to admit it ('cuz I am NO Domestic Goddess! Not by a long-shot!), I'm rather enjoying the fact that I am preserving much of our harvest this year! That is WAY better than watching 'em rot on the ground (or letting the dogs gorge themselves!!!)

Banana Passion Fruit Jam Follow-up

Just a Quickie Post (no pics, even!), but I did want to "follow-up" the the Jammin' Post from yesterday.

I removed the rings from the jars today and pressed down on the lids. They didn't pop!

In fact, I decided to try the jam, today. We went sailing this morning/early-afternoon and I needed a sammich for lunch.

Peanut Butter and Banana Passion Fruit Jam - Yummmm!!!!

Opening the jar was *quite* the ordeal, so I think the Steam Canner did a mighty fine job of sealing 'em up! So yes, I will be using it again (and I hope I never manage to kill myself or my friends!). I did put a 6 month expiration date on the jars - just to play it safe. And, obviously, once the jar is opened, it needs to be refrigerated...

Anyway, the jam was quite thick (almost like Apple-Butter in consistency, actually) - and that's fine. It is *definitely* tasty! It is on the "sweet side" - but I don't think I'd cut back the sugar content (I think it's mostly that I am *not* accustomed to eating sugar - period!).

I think I'd add more cinnamon next time. I used 1/4 tsp - but I think 1/2 tsp would be better. I really couldn't taste the cinnamon - at all (although I think it needs to be super-subtle. But at 1/4 tsp it was pretty-much non-existent!). I think the vanilla was "right on the money." You couldn't really taste it, specifically, but I think something would have been "lacking" if I hadn't put it in...

So there's my report on the Banana Passion Fruit Jam. Abso-freaking-lutely delicious w/Peanut Butter (c'mon - just TRY and tell me you never liked Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches!!!).

I'm gonna call this a "QT Success!!"

Banana Passion Fruit Jam Recipe

Hey, if I title the post appropriately, maybe Google will find it!!

Well lookie here... QT is making good on her word and posting a recipe for Banana Passion Fruit Jam!

You may (or may not have) read my ramblings a couple-days ago about my neighbor's Passionflower Vine, and how I attempted to pick enough fruit to make jam-making worthwhile.

I did end-up gathering a big bowl-full, but - as I suspected - they didn't yield much in the way of "usable" fruit. So I figured I'd stick with the Banana Passion Fruit Jam idea.

As I'd mentioned previously, I really couldn't find ANYTHING recipe-wise for Passion-Fruit Jam. And even the Banana Jam Recipes I found were kinda lacking. So yes, I "winged-it!" Scary territory for me since I really don't "invent" recipes as a rule.

I basically started with reading/adapting several different Banana Jam Recipes; Stuck with the 5:1 Ratio of Bananas to Passion Fruits (from the ml/gm recipe site I found earlier); Determined that Bananas have lots of pectin (so I didn't need to add any); Decided that the "blandness" of the passion fruits really *did* require add'l sugar; And figured that the whole thing was probably pretty "low-acid" (and would have required Pressure-Canning - something I *can't* do); so I added Key Lime Juice to acidify it.

And, since I'm attempting "Traditional Jamming" (as opposed to Freezer Jam), I figured I'd stick with (:::GASP:::) Real Sugar!

:::Deep Breath::: Here goes!!!

QT's Banana Passion Fruit Jam

Yields appx 7 x 1/2 pint jars of jam (and a whole lot of dirty dishes!)

• 1 cup Passion Fruit guts
• 5 cups Mashed Bananas (neither green, nor overripe - but "just right") (I think it took 10-11 bananas to make 5 cups mashed)
• 1/2 cup Key Lime Juice (I used Nellie and Joe's bottled - from the grocery store)
• 2-1/2 cups Sugar
• 1/2 cup Water
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract (the "real stuff" - not "vanilla flavoring" - ICK!!)
• 1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon (I think you could easily double that)

Slice open the passion fruits and scoop out the innards with a spoon. Each fruit seems to yield appx 1 tsp of innards.

Peel and slice the bananas. Put 'em in a bowl and mash 'em up with Lime Juice (prevents them from browning and acidifies the mixture). I started out by pouring appx 1/4 cup of Lime Juice in the bowl, then slicing some of the bananas, mashing it up, added more bananas, mashed some more, then kept drizzling Lime Juice as I was adding the bananas...

Add the passion fruit innards to the mashed banana/lime juice mix and stir it up.

Put 2-1/2 cups of sugar in a large pot with half a cup of water. Heat it up, stirring constantly, til it turns into syrup. Put a lid on the pot and let it cook for a couple of minutes (so any sugar stuck to the side of the pot will easily scrape into the syrup mix).

Add the Banana Passion Fruit mix to the Sugar Syrup in the pot. Cook on medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. I think I cooked it for appx 20 mins. It's "done" when you can scrape your spoon across the bottom of the pan and it leaves a "line" that doesn't fill back up immediately (you can see the bottom of the pot for, maybe, half a second. I attempted to photograph it below!)

Once it's nice and thick, remove it from the stove and start filling your (heated) jars with the mixture. Leave appx 1/4"-1/2" headspace in the jar.

I just ran my jars/lids through the "Sterilize/Heated Dry" Cycle in my dishwasher and filled 'em while they were still hot.

Put the jars in the canner and process for appx 25 minutes.

Okay, in my case, I used a Steam Canner - which is not an "Approved" method of canning - but I can't generate enough heat on my (ceramic cooktop) stove for a proper water bath (I've tried!!!), and I don't own a pressure canner. The 25 mins is "just a guess" since I couldn't really find any guidelines - anywhere - for how long to process Banana Jam! So here is where the requisite disclaimer kicks in: I am not responsible for you making yourself (or your friends/family) sick if you follow my instructions! I am not a chef, nor a professional cook, so if you choose to take my advice - you do so at your own risk!!!

If you do happen to have a water-bath canner, by all means use it! If you have a pressure canner - better still! And if you can find anything, anywhere, that tells how long to "process" Banana Jam - please let me know and I will gladly update my post!!!

Okay... Pictures!

Big Bowl o' Passion Fruits

Close-up of icky Passion-Fruit Guts

Appx 1 cup of Innards

Mashin' the Nanners!

Starting the Sugar Syrup

Mashed-up Nannas and Passion Fruits, starting to cook...

Starting to thicken!

It's done when you can drag your spoon across the bottom of the pot and leave a visible line behind...

Filling the sterilized jars

Jars going into the canner...

Processing the jam in the Steam Canner

The Steam-Canner has tiny holes on the sides of the lid (near the base of the lid). When you see an 8-10" plume of steam coming out, the jars are "processing" and you start timing at that point. I let 'er cook for 25 minutes from the point that it was really steaming...

The MOST important part of jam-making!

Sampling the leftover pan-scrapings.

Deeeeee-lish!

So the jars are cooling now. I'll let 'em set for 24 hours and I really-really hope that they sealed up properly (I'll take the rings off, tomorrow, and make sure the lids are solidly stuck-down). If not, I'll probably re-process them tomorrow - using the steam canner on my Cajun Cooker (propane cooker dealy-bobber)...

The Bestest Salad EVER!!!

"OMG! TWO posts in ONE day???"

(Yeah, Repent Sinners!!!)

So yeah, this is where I catch myself thinking "Ya know, you *really* should drag out the Good Camera from time-to-time..." Yet I don't do it!

Okay, so anyway, I'm still using the Droid ("Deal with it!") so the pics aren't *quite* as appetizing as they could be. But TRUST ME when I say this is THE BESTEST SALAD - EVER!!!

So I whined a few days ago about being anemic... And I confirmed, with my Good Friend Google, which foods (besides liver) were high in iron... Spinach and Cranberries were on the list.

Here is what I concocted:

Fresh, organic, baby spinach. Then I julienned some fresh, raw beets on top. Then I tossed in a handful of Craisins (dried, sweetened cranberries. I absolutely DO intend to make a Splenda version with my food dehydrator, later this year, when fresh cranberries show-up in the grocery store), and a small handful of Almond Accents Honey-Roasted almond slivers, and some crumbled Feta Cheese.

Tossed the whole thing together with Strawberry-Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing made by Maple Grove Farms of Vermont (I found it in the "gourmet" section of the regular Dressings/Condiment aisle of our grocery store). And no, I don't get any "kick-back" for recommending it. It is just TOO GOOD not to share!

It was freaking orgasmic!!!! I am officially addicted to these salads now!!!

Just wanted to share!