Nothing tastes sweeter than homemade jam. Luckily, you don't need to be a canning pro to whip up a batch for the fridge.
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| Dripping berry jam. Photo: Michel Filion/Flickr |
Berry season is well under way, making it the perfect time to preserve batches for future use. And we mean that in the most literal way: Preserves, conserves, jams and jelly are wonderful concoctions that give us sweet flavor all year long. Many cooks shy away from this summer perk, wary of water baths and the precision needed for canning. Luckily, that's not necessary for a straight-to-the-fridge toast-topper.
Bread machines with a jam setting will cut out most of the fuss by taking care of all of the stirring and cooking. These recipes
range from
sugar-laden delicacies to more
fruit-centric batches.
It's not, however, much more work to do it by hand, since jam is just a pleasant mixture of fruit, sugar and sometimes a bit of lemon juice or pectin (the last of which helps to gel up the mixture). Just grab those
strawberries,
raspberries and
blackberries and get to work!
7-01-2009 @3:38PM Tia said... Canning doesn't require tons of precision if you're talking about fruit jams, nor does it require any special equipment. I can mine in a stockpot with the jars set on a cake rack. Having homemade strawberry jam in January is well worth the extra time it takes to can the stuff. I actually find making the jam and transfering it to the jars is the hardest part.
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