JAM IN JULY

 This weekend I tried my hand at making small batches of jam. Instead of stirring a hot pot of bubbling fruit and sugar for EVER and filling 8 jars of the same kind and you will really never eat 8 jars not to mention how expensive that all just was.

So I wanted to try small 1 jar batches. And I loved it. It was so much more enjoyable and at the end of the jamming process I had 6 different flavors.

I made strawberry, strawberry apricot (of which we've already eaten almost all), strawberry blackberry, strawberry plum, strawberry plum blackberry, and plum blackberry.

If you want to try this I'll share my recipe. Even if you just want one jar of jam RIGHT NOW, this is the perfect easy recipe.

1 Jar Jam

1 cup mashed up fruit
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp pectin
zest of 1/2 lemon

Put the mashed up fruit, the pectin and 1 tablespoon of the sugar, and the lemon juice in a small pan over high heat. Stir until it boils and doesn't slow down while you stir. You know how something will boil but when you stir, it takes a breath for a minute. You want it full on raging boil. Then add the rest of the sugar, return to rage boil and stir constantly for 1 minute.

Have a mason jar prepared (cleaned and you poured boiling water in it while you made your jam, then dump out the water). If you want smooth jam like Husband did, press the hot jam through a seive over a funnel in the mason jar. It will just about reach the top of the jar but with a 1/2 inch or so space.

If you want to eat it now and not worry about storing it, put the mason jar lid on it and let it sit at room temperature for 24 hours. Then you can eat it and refrigerate it and love it.

IF you want to store it for up to a year, have a canning bath ready and process for 10 minutes in the boiling water. This really does depend on altitude, so check the little chart that came in your box of pectin.

I love jam. I especially love jam with homemade bread and some Irish butter. I made a super crispy loaf of bread yesterday for our ratatouille dinner ("A steamed pile of vegetables?" -Husband. NO, Husband! A fancy French dinner!). This bread was so crispy that I definitely cut the roof of my mouth on it this morning...

Happy July!