The recipe didn't call for pectin, but did require a lengthy boil. I was a little leery. I've never had much luck with soft set jams. Well, actually they set soft...too soft. They usually end up being sauce. Which is exactly what happened with the ginger peach. It'll be great over ice cream or on pork chops (or maybe even chicken) but it's not a firm enough set to be "jam" - at least in my book. (And can you believe? No pictures of the prep work! What is this blog coming to?)
On Sunday, Chad and I took Joseph to Carson's Berry Farm to pick blackberries (and get more Walla Walla onions). The pickings were scarce, but we were able to come up with a half flat. I'm going out there in two weeks when the center rows ripen. Joseph ate as many as he picked, which could be one reason why our baskets were a little light. After Joseph went to bed, I got started on blackberry jam. It turned out beautifully. One of my best. It tastes sweet but still retained a bit of cheeky tartness. I can't wait to make more. I'm thinking of trying at least one batch of blackberry mint or blackberry sage. Mmmmmm.
Side note: My name is Mandy and I'm a Jamaholic.
Monday was the artist's reception at the fair. (More on that later.) I met Jeri there and she gave me another bag of apricots. The result? Three batches of beautiful golden jam. I broke down and used my food processor. I was a little nervous. Everything that I'd read said that using one breaks down the natural pectin in fruit and can prevent a good gel set. But my common sense told me that as long as I kept it super chunky it couldn't be much different than my food chopper. I pulsed it three times and gave it a try. Perfect jam! Still had enough fruit for my now signature chunky style. (Read: I'm too lazy to mash it to smithereens.)
You'd think I'd be about down with the jamming, but no! Not yet! And I'll tell you why in another post. (How's that for a hook?)
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