Strawberry Jam

I did something Saturday I truly enjoyed but have never done before. I made jam! My friend and coworker brought me a half a flat of strawberries earlier in the week from a farm stand near her home. My family enjoyed the fresh strawberries, but we were not eating them fast enough, and I didn't want them to go to waste. So, I stopped at a local hardware store for some canning supplies and Ball’s Blue Book of Preserving. I flipped through the book, and noticed the strawberry jam, but I also noticed the recipe for strawberry rhubarb jam. You know how much I like strawberries and rhubarb, so I picked up some rhubarb at the grocery store too.

Saturday afternoon, after my son’s baseball game, I got started making jam. I don’t really know why, but I loved the process. All of the pots of water on the stove keeping the lids and glass jars hot, and the pot of fruit bubbling away. I was in heaven. I ended the day with 6 half-pints of strawberry rhubarb jam, and 8 half-pints of strawberry jam. I have already given some away, and I am looking forward to making my next batch of jam. My Grandma Nellie made a delicious plum butter I would like to recreate, so I may have my next project.

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
From Ball’s Blue Book of Preserving
2 cups of crushed strawberries
2 cups of chopped rhubarb (about 4 stalks)
1 package powdered pectin
¼ cup lemon juice
5 ½ cups sugar

Combine strawberries, rhubarb, pectin and lemon juice in a large saucepan. Bring the fruit mixture to a boil over high heat. Add the sugar, and stir until it dissolves. Return the mixture to a boil, and boil hard for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, and skim foam if necessary. Ladle the hot jam into hot jars leaving ¼ inch space at the top of the jar. Clean the jar, and place the two-piece cap on the jar. Process 10 minutes in boiling water. Yields 6 half-pints.

Strawberry Jam
From Ball’s Blue Book of Preserving
8 cups of strawberries, crushed
1 package powdered pectin
¼ cup lemon juice
7 cups of sugar

Combine strawberries, pectin and lemon juice in a large saucepan. Bring the fruit mixture to a boil over high heat. Add the sugar, and stir until it dissolves. Return the mixture to a boil, and boil hard for 1 minute. Remove from the heat, and skim foam if necessary. Ladle the hot jam into hot jars leaving ¼ inch space at the top of the jar. Clean the jar, and place the two-piece cap on the jar. Process 10 minutes in boiling water. Yields 8 half-pints.



Yogurt Biscuits
From How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman
2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 scant teaspoon of salt
3 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 to 5 Tablespoons of cold butter (I used 4 Tablespoons)
¾ cup plus 2 Tablespoons of yogurt

Preheat the over to 450°F. Mix the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Add the butter, and pulse until combined. Make sure the butter is thoroughly blended into the flour mixture. Add the yogurt and pulse until the mixture forms a ball. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it 10 times. Press the dough into a ¾-inch rectangle, and use a glass or a 2-inch round cutter to cut rounds out of the dough. Put the rounds on an ungreased baking sheet, and bake 7 to 9 minutes or until the biscuits a golden brown. Serve within 15 minutes. Makes 10 biscuits.