One of the wonderful things about living on the West Coast this time of year is all fresh local food that is available. I've been shopping at one of several dozen farm markets in the area for most of my fruits and veggies for the past several weeks. It's been great. There is a certain satisfaction that comes from eating local ingredients.
My latest kitchen adventure started when my sister showed up at my door on Saturday night with a flat full of fresh raspberries and a couple buckets of fresh strawberries. She spent much of her Saturday at a local farm picking all these lovely berries. Luckily, she gave me a whole bunch. Thus, the adventure began.
I had a ton of fresh berries and wanted to do something with them. Something new and interesting. Something that would make them last into the fall.
I made JAM!
Since raspberry jam is my favorite, I opted to start with the raspberries. After a little research online, I found out that making jam really isn't that hard. In fact it's so easy, I'm surprised more people don't do it.
I used 5 cups of fresh, crushed raspberries, an ungodly amount of sugar and a box of pectin. That's it. Simple and incredible. Once the jars are processed, they will last a year in the pantry.
The exact recipe you use, really depends on the pectin you buy (the pectin is a natural fruit sugar that helps to thicken and set the jam.) Each box has the recipes inside. Since it's kind of a science, I would suggest buying the pectin, peaking at the recipe, then making sure you have the correct amounts of ingredients. You also need some glass jars (which I got for under $10 for a box of 12 at the grocery store.)
We patiently waited overnight until the jam set and we were very excited to try the first bite this morning. I made some fresh biscuits so we could sample the jam in all its glory. It was a complete success! It's awesome.
I have a recipe for strawberry rhubarb jam too. I think I might make that this week as well.
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