Guest Essay

Savoring Summer With Strawberries

Photo by Lelonopo/from Flickr

A fresh strawberry is one of life’s great delights. Icons of summer, these luscious red jewels of nature inspire our senses with their perfumed and sweet flavor.

Canning lets us capture the bounty of this delicate and perishable fruit so we can enjoy it all year long. Strawberry jam, for example, is a staple of many a home pantry. It’s easy to make and a recipe that allows for the expression of unique tastes and creative flights of fancy. Whether it be a basic jam that lets this beautiful fruit stand on its own, a recipe that couples it with its classic partner of rhubarb, or a more exotic one that combines it with black pepper and fresh mint as Christine Ferber does in her book Mes Confitures: The Jams and Jellies of Christine Ferber, the sky’s the virtual limit when it comes to creating a lovely preserve that can allow us to connect back to summertime any time during the year.

In addition to their deliciousness, strawberries also offer us their nutritiousness. With vitamin C that rivals that of the oranges, strawberries can also be counted on as concentrated sources of fiber, manganese, and antioxidant phytonutrients such as flavonoids and ellagic acid.

If you don’t have a favorite strawberry jam recipe, check out the two we feature on our website:

Strawberry Jam, by Greg Atkinson

Strawberry Jam, by Karen Solomon

CAA contributor Stephanie Gailing, MS, CN is an astrologer, wellness consultant, and natural health writer. She is the author of Planetary Apothecary: An Astrological Approach to Health and Wellness (Crossing Press, 2009). Read her recent post, A Stellar Approach to Putting Up Food.

Canning Across America: A Stellar Approach to Putting Up Food

Jul 12th, 2010

by admin.

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Photo © ALEX CARRILLO

When many people think of astrology, they associate it with the daily snippets they read in the newspaper or the monthly horoscopes to be found in the back pages of fashion magazines, Yet, in addition to personalized insights, astrology can offer ways to frame what is happening on a cultural and collective basis.

For instance, for the past two years we have all been facing a stand off between the planets Saturn and Uranus. This has manifested as a push-pull between the old (Saturn) and the new (Uranus), standard practices (Saturn) and innovative approaches (Uranus), the tried-and-true (Saturn) and the possibilities that change can invoke (Uranus). This energetic dance often ushers in a questioning and overthrow of accepted ways, with innovative approaches taking hold in society. In fact, the last time we experienced this planetary alignment was 1965-7, a period infamous for change and re-evolution.

This current Saturn/Uranus cycle began on November 4, 2008 (Presidential Election Day, which definitely reflected the change vs. stay-the-same archetype of this planetary pair). There have been three other alignments—February 5 and September 15, 2009 and April 26, 2010—since then.

What’s this got to do with food preservation, you may wondering? Well, in the past two years, canning and the art of putting up food has re-emerged. As we strive to take back control of the food that we serve to our families and as we get in touch with our craft-oriented creativity, canning kettles, glass jars, and pantries have found their way back into our home kitchens. The revolution (Uranus) in the way we relate to the Earth and our nourishment has brought back the time-honored traditions (Saturn) of putting up food.

The last of this cycle’s Saturn/Uranus oppositions is soon upon us. July 26 to be exact, the day after this year’s Can-A-Rama weekend. And while we didn’t plan it that way, the synchronicity of the timing makes sense to me.

After all, we’ve changed (Uranus) the ways we relate to and experience our food in the past few years by bringing back the wisdom of well-regarded practices well-rooted in tradition and history (Saturn). Therefore, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the last of the structure-revolutionizing Saturn/Uranus oppositions than by participating in and promoting this year’s Can-A-Rama event. Viva la Canvolution!

CAA Contributor Stephanie Gailing, MS, CN is an astrologer, wellness consultant, and natural health writer. She is the author of Planetary Apothecary: An Astrological Approach to Health and Wellness (Crossing Press, 2009). She holds a masters degree in Nutrition from Bastyr University and currently serves as Co-President of the Washington State Astrological Association. You can find her daily writings on astrology and wellness at her blog, Planetary Apothecary.

How Much Is Too Much?

Jun 28th, 2010

by admin.

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Photo by katart

Recently, I was reading a 50+ year-old British cookbook by Elizabeth David on food preservation. I had great fun imagining the accent of Ms. David, who wrote in such florid language. No doubt, with her upper class pedigree and as a food preservationist, she spoke in pear-shaped tones.

Turning to her recipe for apricot jam, my long-since-deceased guide assured me that the secret to really flavorful apricot jam is in the kernel held within the pit. Break open the pit, she instructed, and one will find a soft kernel full of flavor. Add a few of these to the pot of bubbling jam and, voilà! A depth of flavor, reminiscent of almond blossoms will be imparted to the jam. Who else but foodies, of this or any other century, can wax so poetic about the wonders of a fruit pit? But I digress.

Taking to heart the advice of my guide, I picked out what appeared to be the most beautiful apricot pits of the seven pounds I had already pitted for my jam. Heading to the garage I went in search of a hammer or other blunt object. I felt like Michelangelo releasing the sculpture from the marble. I was transported by the fact my apricot kernels were just as anxious to be free, to feel the sunshine and breeze on their little faces. Now, you must understand that my husband has a place for everything when it comes to his tools but I rarely know where those places are. After a search of about 10 minutes, I found a yellow-handled heavyweight with the name Stanley emblazoned across its handle. I would not have cared if it had been called Livingstone- -I needed to get on with it! Carrying the hammer to the back sidewalk, I crouched down to break open the apricot pits. That is about the time my right knee locked up and started singing its own version of Swanee River: “Way down upon the back stoop sidewalk, that’s where I hurt!” The pain was so sharp and so instant and I was sure I could not stand up and was just as was sure I could not lower my kneecap on the cement. I was frozen somewhere between.

Bearing a strong resemblance to a stork, I decided to quickly whack the pits, grab the kernels, and hoist myself up. This worked fine for the first two pits. They each opened nicely to reveal a buttery yellow kernel just ready for a suicide mission in a pot of superheated boiling fruit. However, when I hit the 3rd pit, it ricocheted off the sidewalk. The pit seemed to say, as it hit my aching knee and proceeded to gouge a hole in my skin, “I’m not going back to the BIG HOUSE!” Needless to say, the cut hurt worse than the knee joint pain, so I sprang up immediately and hopped around cursing my English cooking guide in tones that were more thorn-shaped than pear.

I returned to the house and spent a few minutes wiping the blood that had gone south on my leg and plugging the hole from the pit with a wad of cotton and an adhesive strip. Settling myself once more, I washed my hands and returned to jam making. I placed two kernels in a little bag of culinary cheesecloth and boiled them with the jam. When it was done, I removed the kernels and tasted the jam. True to her word, the jam had a lovely woodsy undertone. Into the jars it went. I was thrilled. . . for about a nanosecond.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I remembered reading that some folks thought apricot pits or kernels were medicinal, especially in the treatment of cancer. I headed to the computer and began to search the Web. The more I read, the more alarmed I became. My Internet search had informed me that stone fruits like apricots, cherries and peaches contain amygdalin, a cyanide derivative. It is used very often as a favorite poison of murder mysteries. Cyanide is colorless and tasteless, there is no antidote, and death takes place within minutes when ingested inmlarge doses. Think of the capsule that spies chomp on when they are caught behind enemy lines. Fortunately, my Internet search also assured me that there are a large number of apricot varieties the kernels of which are considered to be completely harmless.

I returned to sanity, if a foodie like me can ever be called sane when it comes to food. I glanced up from my laptop and saw that a sunbeam had shone in the kitchen window and landed on the jam jars. The color of the apricots was the color of the morning sun. My yield of seven jars equaled about 48 ounces of jam and only two kernels in all of that.

That being said, the near loss of a knee cap notwithstanding, the improved flavor and brilliant color of my latest batch seemed to assure me that there really is such a thing as just enough cyanide. I put my jam pot to soak in the sink and made myself a cup of English tea. I spread a little cream cheese on toast and slathered it with apricot jam. Ms. David lived to be 83, even using her secret ingredient. I guess that makes me good for at least few more decades.

Editor’s note: using kernels from sweet apricots is considered safe in jam-making because they have negligible amounts of cyanide. On the other hand, kernels from bitter apricots contain significant amounts of cyanide and should be approached with extreme caution.

CAA contributor Cynthia Dare O’Connor writes from Northeastern, Ohio. She blogs at The Womens Boomer Humor Blog . She learned to can from her mother’s southwestern Virginia relatives who “put up” everything from chicken soup to chow chow. She also learned from her paternal aunts who, as Eastern European women, wanted not only fruits and vegetables in the jar but also wonderful jams and jellies for their exquisite Christmas and Easter pastries. This summer, she is joining friends in starting a community Farmers Market where she will sell her wares. Her husband is a graduate of the Ohio State Extension Master Gardener program, so she has lots of produce this summer for canning!

IthaCan: Canning with Community

Apr 14th, 2010

by admin.

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Mason v4b_150
A year ago, Mason’s shy smile made its debut in the cyber lane, as the beloved icon of IthaCan, an online home food preservers’ network located in and about Ithaca, NY. During its first year, 215 home food preservers have joined ranks online to share insights and know-how on IthaCan’s website. Over two thousand unique visitors have dropped in as well, generating nearly 50,000 visits to the site.

IthaCan’s website was created in 2009 to help the people of Tompkins County, NY, meet up with others in the area who are interested in preserving food at home. Members don’t have to be experts to join up, just have a willingness to learn and connect with like-minded people.

With 19 affiliation groups, in addition to canning IthaCan covers a fleet of diverse topics of interest to home processors, such as brewing, livestock, wild edibles, cellaring and cheesemaking. Photos from members, guest blogs and links to how-to videos round out the fast-paced discussion board.

But what makes IthaCan unique as a social network is that it also exists in “real time” too. IthaCanners hosted or participated in dozens of hands-on events in the community this past year, building the collective knowledge base of this essential skill set and bolstering household resiliency for its members. At its heart, IthaCan is a group of friends and neighbors getting involved in their local community, not just at publicly attended fairs and workshops, but also by meeting (often for the first time) in each other’s homes for peer-to-peer skill sharing sessions preserving food.

In fact, most of IthaCan’s events are sponsored by members and are held in small groups in their own homes. The website facilitates these sessions by providing a communication and registration vehicle, so folks can, as IthaCan’s promotional poster states: “Gather. Share. Make food.” For example, in March, 2010 a group of nine IthaCanners met to make “Winter Jams” and in April a half dozen members will gather to make fermented sauerkraut, in May there will be gatherings for hard and soft cheesemaking.

IthaCan grew out of a concern for building local infrastructure as a response to energy descent and its founders believe preserving food at home is important, because it:

• Is critical to the development of the local foodshed
• Builds community resiliency
• Encourages household self-reliance
• Can contribute significantly to individual efforts to lower carbon footprints
• Is a wonderful way to network with others, to learn and share.

The quest to strengthen the networking begun in IthaCan’s first year continues as it launches a new set of food gatherings for 2010, organizes a Jar-a-thon, and collaborates with Authentrics, Inc. [owned by the author and her husband] to develop and pilot an innovative internet widget to connect local farmers and home food processors funded by a Northeast SARE Sustainable Community Grant.

Fueled by the dedication of its volunteer administrative team and the interest of its members, IthaCan has accomplished much its first year. So Happy Birthday, Mason..and many happy returns!

Mason Birthday

CAA Contributor Katie Quinn-Jacobs is a life-long home food preserver and self-sufficiency gardener. Prior to creating and managing Prepared Tompkins (launched in 2006) and IthaCan (launched in 2009), she served as the President of a successful local software development firm, ReQuest Technologies. In 2009, she founded Peasant Dreams Farm, located on the East Hill of Ithaca, NY. As the 2nd child in a family of ten, she spent most of her summer days during her developing years weeding, picking and blanching vegetables at her childhood home in the Hudson Valley, where deep, rich topsoil is real, not just something people aspire to or read about in glossy gardening books. Today, in addition to raising fruit, nuts, lamb, chicken, eggs and vegetables on meager topsoil at her Ithaca homestead, Katie also raises three sons with her husband, David. In her spare time, she enjoys writing and wishes she had more time to hang with the sheep in the west paddock overlooking the pond.

Now is the Season for Making Marmalade

Feb 21st, 2010

by admin.

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Photo by Chiot's Run

As part of my quest to eat seasonal foods, I preserve year round. In the middle of winter that means preserving citrus so that I have some to enjoy in the summer. Right now Meyer lemons are plentiful and next to salt preserving them, one of my favorite ways to preserve them is in a marmalade.

Lemons are one of those things that comfortably straddle the fence between sweet and savory. To make marmalade a more utilitarian pantry staple, I often choose to follow the more traditional marmalade directions which call for a longer cooking time and for not removing the pith. The resulting marmalade sets up like a good aspic with a darker, more caramelized flavor, and vaguely bitter end note. In my mind this makes for a more balanced and less cloying marmalade that can be used in all manner of dishes. Adding herbs like rosemary adds a final element of mystique to the flavor. Also, marmalade is quite versatile and is great served with white fish, as a last minute glaze for roast chicken, swirled into ice cream, or spread between the layers of any not-too-sweet cake.

Because citrus is a high-pectin class of fruits, marmalades are still made without adding pectin–the way all preserves were made before commercial pectin hit the scene. Other examples of high pectin fruits include crab apples, quince, certain seeded grapes, currants, and wild berries. Because they require longer boiling times and some knowledge of gel stages (the point at which your mixture has cooked long enough to create a gel), pectin-free fruit preserves and traditional long-boiling marmalades are the hallmarks of a veteran jammer. Once you’ve mastered those, you’ve made the grade.

The process for making traditional citrus marmalade involves thinly slicing the citrus and removing any center pith (the white membrane between the fruit and peel) and seeds, covering the fruit with water, and soaking it overnight. To remove more of the bitterness, cooks might change the soaking water and soak for an extra night. On cooking day, they would boil the fruit until soft (about one and half to two hours) then add sugar and simmer until the mixture hits gel stage (220 degrees F). This would take about 35 minutes depending on weather, elevation, water hardness and pot shape.

If you are curious why seemingly unrelated factors might influence the amount of time it takes to hit gel stage, I’ve provided an explanation in the article, Weather and How It Affects Hitting the Gel Stage.

ROSEMARY INFUSED MEYER LEMON MARMALADE

CAA Contributor Annette Cottrell lives in Seattle with her husband, two young boys, hairy dog, and backyard chickens. She has devoted the front and side yards of her quarter acre city lot to growing enough fruits and vegetables to feed her family year-round. She blogs at Sustainable Eats about thoughtful, sustainable eating and provides tools and resources to others who want to make the journey from supermarket to local, farm fresh food one step at a time. In her spare time she runs Pollywog Baby, a website full of practical solutions for infant reflux and colic.

Spreading Holiday Cheer, One Can At a Time

Dec 7th, 2009

by admin.

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So many people have told us of their Plans-to-Can for the holidays, that they are going to be gifting their homemade jams, chutneys, pickles and other preserved goods to friends and family. If you’re among those with holiday Can-Do spirit, the Canning Across America community would love to see what you’re creating. We’ve set up a Flickr pool entitled Canning for the Holidays.

In addition to uploading your photos, you can also include some tidbits about what’s in the jar and why you’ve decided to share it with loved ones this year. We hope that the CAA flickr pool will serve not only as a showcase for everyone’s home-preserved goodies but also as a source of inspiration for others looking for ideas on creative and personalized gifts to give this holiday season. Take a look at some of our creations and resources.

Gifting tomato sauce? Then create Moo.com mini cards with photos of what the recipient can do with it and add a personal greeting (or link to a recipe) on the other side. You can upload up to 50 different photos in a pack of 100.

Ilee papergoods shop has a variety of labels with fun graphics or you can create a custom label (main title, small description and a date/month/year) for your canned goods at Lelo in Nopo Homemade.

Winter blues tones and snowflakes are modern and work well for all holiday festivities, including New Years.

Confection bags, scrap-booking paper, stickers and ribbon from your local craft or paper supply store help to dress up your canned goods for any seasonal occasion.

A Year Long Canning Challenge for Everyone!

Dec 3rd, 2009

by admin.

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When the folks at Canning Across America said they wanted to feature the Can Jam on their site, of course I jumped on it. We are of the same ilk, my fellow preservationists and I, both on a crusade to bring back the art of the can.

And we are not alone.

It has been less than a year since the start of my two blogs, when I and fewer than a handful of others were firmly on the jarwagon. Blogging about our canning forays from late spring through early fall and enjoying the fruits and pickles of our labor during the leaner months. Since then Dorie Greenspan and Kerri Conan (on Mark Bittman’s blog) and a whole host of others seem to be shouting from the roof-, er, screw-tops that canning is back, and with a vengeance!

And why not? Canning is so right now! It is:

Local – I think many of us became interested in canning as an outgrowth of the Locavore movement. Preserving fresh produce grown in your area is the logical progression. And when you grow your own, and a glut is on, it can become a necessity!

Organic – In an effort to control what we eat, be it produce, sweeteners, flavors, etc., when we make it ourselves we know what went into it, and we know how we like it. It’s having a real choice about what we consume.

In Season - Canning produce in season keeps it in season all year (in a certain way). Ergo a much tastier interpretation of eating seasonally than abstaining from certain foods except for once a year!

Humane – I heard tell that veggies get a kick out of being pickled, and fruit, well, who among us canners has not witnessed that barely audible exclamation of fruit about to be jammed, “Sweet!”

Never one to leave a jar unopened, I started thinking…”What will it take to motivate even more peeps to get off of their cans and start canning?” Hence, the first ever “Tigress’ Can Jam! ”

Here’s how the Tigress’ Can Jam works:
Registration to be done by: December 22, 2009
Start: January 1, 2010
End: December 29, 2010

The Basics

• Each month we’ll focus on one fruit or vegetable to preserve. Recipes may include other fruits or veggies but the food of focus must be integral to the preserve, and the recipe must include hot water bath canning. Canning 101 post

• The month’s produce of focus will be announced the last Friday of the prior month (we will rotate the choosers by order of sign up). The focused food cannot be repeated in subsequent months.

• Bloggers will post their recipes on their blogs by midnight Friday on the 3rd week of the month.

• No blog? No worries! You can still participate by following along every month, trying one of the posted recipes or use the fruit or veggie of focus as a jumping off point to finally try your hand at jamming & pickling, or to hone your skills. Don’t forget to post your experiences in the comment section on the monthly round-up post on the last Wednesday of each month, and we’ll have a Flickr group set up just for you, so you’ll be able to post pics too if you are so inclined.

• On the last Wednesday of the month I will post a round-up at Tigress in a Jam or Tigress in a Pickle and direct you to the blogger who will announce the next fruit or veggie of focus. Said blogger will have until that Friday of that last week of the month to announce new focus.

Additional notes:
• Though this is not an ‘eat local’ challenge it is understood that in the spirit of the movement the fruit or veggie of focus should generally be in season at that time – at least for the blogger that is choosing that month. My hope is that it will mean that it is in season for many if not most of us.

• Substitutes of food in focus is acceptable only if it really is not in season where you are and you would rather use a fruit or veggie that you can source locally. In this case, effort should be made, if possible, to choose a substitute that is closest to the focused food. and please, don’t let this stop you! We’re learning about canning here people! So can what you can!

• For the ‘leaner’ months. This is a year long challenge and I know that January, February, and December especially pose a problem for many of us in finding local produce. So even if you are the chooser it is understood that there may be months where the choice won’t be local– say citrus in December–but perhaps in season in many parts of the world (and a fine time to can citrus I may add)!

Let’s Get Rolling:
• Thus far close to 30 bloggers have signed on, from all types of keyboard. From fellow canning bloggers excited to share ideas and techniques, to those new to the blogosphere inspired to jump in the water for the first time just for the can jam. Now that is exciting! And at this writing, there is still a whole month left to sign up!

• Linda Ziedrich of The Joy of Pickling, and The Joy of Jams, Jellies and Other Sweet Preserves fame, has happily agreed to stop by the jam as a guest participant one month and I’ll be interviewing her too! Other guest participants are in the works, and some give-aways and other fun stuff too (’cause we like those)!

• Oh, and in case you’re asking, “Why can all year?” The answer is: Because it’s a challenge, people! And because it’s fun, and by the time summer’s overflowing we won’t feel like Lucy and Ethel in that famous chocolate factory scene, nope, not us. We’ll be lean, green, cannin’ machines–able to can bushels of produce in a single bound!

Gettin’ Jiggy Widget

• If you would like to help spread the jam please copy and paste the html code below to place the tigress’ can jam widget on your blog (the graphic will show on your blog and it will link back to this post). Please don’t hot-link!

How to Sign Up
• Deadline for sign up is December 22nd, 2009

• Sign up by sending an email to: tigressinajam(at)ymail(dot)com please put” Tigress Can Jam” as the subject and include your name, and your blog URL if you are a participating blogger.

• Final participant list will be announced on January 1st, 2010 along with the first month’s fruit or vegetable in focus.

That’s it! 12 months, 12 cannings, it’s a can jam people!

Get your jars ready and screw your lids on tight–’cause we’re gonna have a ball.

CAA Contributor Tigress hosts some of the most successful electronic music events in the country by day (and night). When she’s not jammin’ in her field, she’s jamming and pickling in her kitchen. Her love of historic foodways and home preserving was borne out of a utilitarian spirit and a passionate obsession with growing what she eats. She divides her time between the industrial bog of Long Island City, NY and a little white farmhouse with a big garden in the Berkshires of MA. Inspired by the great ethnic cuisines of the world that focus on the vegetable at the center of the plate, you can find her at Tigress in a Pickle and Tigress in a Jam blogging with both joie de vivre and tongue-in-cheek, and one spoon in the mason jar.

Keeping Up the Family Traditions

Nov 2nd, 2009

by admin.

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My 80 year old grandmother, who was born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina, has been “putting-up” for as long as I can remember. I don’t ever recall a single summer where she wasn’t freezing green beans and bell peppers, canning tomatoes, or making jar after jar of strawberry jam. The summer I turned 13 she taught me how to make jams and jellies. Sadly, that summer was the last time I would preserve anything for a long time.

Fast forward nearly 20 years later, to a trip I took to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. I happened to pick up a jar of apple butter and upon bringing it home and having it on my toast the next morning, I fell head over heels in love. I found all sorts of uses for it as a sauce, as a marinade, and by putting the occasional swirl in plain yogurt for a simple dessert. I even used it to add a little extra something to my fool-proof apple pie recipe.

After a late summer visit with my grandmother where she was making her now famous strawberry jam, a light bulb went off–that fall I was going to make apple butter. Once my local orchard opened to the public, my then 2 year old daughter and I set off to start our own tradition. I dragged her to the orchard where I picked more apples than I knew what to do with. Over the next few weeks, I made batch after batch of apple cinnamon muffins, apple pancakes, apple turnovers, apple pie, applesauce and finally, apple butter. Pleased with my kitchen full of apple products, I decided that every year going forward my daughter and I would go apple picking and make tons of apple things, especially apple butter. My heart swelled with pride every time my little girl asked for applesauce or apple bread (her name for apple-cinnamon muffins).

Keeping up with our new family tradition, my now four year old daughter and I went apple picking last month and have since put-up a small batch of apple butter. Over the past couple of years I’ve tried about three different recipes for apple butter until I found the one that really works for me, the recipe I use now is perfect for my super busy lifestyle. It gives me great pleasure to share it with you fellow canners out there today.

APPLE BUTTER

CAA Contributor Heather Jones, a self described Foodie Princess, is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City (formerly Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School). She has worked for Gourmet Magazine, TV Personality Katie Brown, and the New York based Indian-fusion restaurant Tabla. Heather resides in New Jersey with her husband and two daughters, where in addition to holding down a full-time job she writes for the websites Project Foodie, Cooking Up A Story, and moonlights as a private cooking instructor.

Dispatch from Dallas: A Can-A-Rama Event

Sep 16th, 2009

by admin.

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A group of twelve convened Saturday afternoon, August 29th, to undertake an ambitious canning adventure. The group was comprised mostly of Slow Food Dallas members–some had home canning experience, others none. All shared a love of good food. Three recipes had been chosen based on the recommendations of the group. We would make Peaches in Brandy, Watermelon Rind Pickles, and Chow Chow (actually Piccalilli, Carmen’s Great-Grandmother’s recipe).

Two of the recipes, the Watermelon Pickles and the Chow Chow, required some advance prep work followed by a resting period. Otherwise all the prep and production work for the three recipes would be completed on-site that afternoon by those participating.

We started the day with a 25 pound case of peaches, a 25 pound case of green tomatoes, eight dozen jars, at least 15 pounds of sugar, and countless other spices and ingredients. We devised a strategy based on prep and process time and determined it was best to start with our peaches recipe. Once the peaches were in jars and ready to start processing in the hot water bath, we moved on to the watermelon pickles. As soon as those were ready to go into jars we ramped up the chow chow processing. In just four hours time we had everything processed with only the clean-up remaining.

One of the most amazing and unplanned aspects of the afternoon related to our utilization of leftovers. Our team of twelve showed great dexterity and creativity when it came to our by-products and overages. It was an impressive display of imagination and resourcefulness with a goal of nothing going to waste. The remaining simple syrup from the peaches went on to become Gloria’s mojitos and Jim’s hummingbird food. The leftover peach slices went home with several people in extra mason jars–mine became a delicious peach and lavender tart. The water the peaches had been boiled in (to loosen their skins) was so beautiful no one wanted to throw it out, so it became a tea infused with a rich peach essence. The watermelon meat was divided and shared. Some of the remaining green tomatoes went on to be served for dinner as fried green tomatoes. And, the last bit of them were cooked up on Sunday in an additional batch of chow chow using a different recipe. The peach pits and skins were the only waste we generated and that went into Jim’s compost to live another day as food for his garden.

We had agreed to share all the costs and then divide the output. When all the receipts had been totaled we had spent $206. For the modest sum of $17/per person, we each netted 3 half-pints of Peaches, a pint Chow-Chow, and a pint of Watermelon Pickles. We had extras of a few things, plus the remaining peach slices, so everyone helped themselves to a leftover of their choice as a bonus.

Midway through the afternoon, we created a small, unplanned feast to fortify our energy. Kathryn makes fig jam, using figs from her own tree, and brought a jar of it to share. She also brought a baguette. Jim located a wonderful hunk of cheddar cheese in his fridge. We had loads of tasty watermelon. The snack helped propel us towards our big finale.

Canning Across America and Ball had sent a canner and accessories which I had designated as a door prize. Everyone put their name in a bowl and at the end of the day we drew the winner’s name– and Kate won.

All and all, it was a great experience. There we were shoulder to shoulder, all pitching in, enjoying an afternoon of community, good cheer and fellowship with one another.

Later, as I was reflecting back on the day I thought what a natural, primal thing it is to do–cooking with others. Since the dawn of time, cooks have been gathering, tending their fires, and feeding their people.

CAA Contributor Kelly Ingram is a sales executive, writer, and a passionate champion for good food, gardening and canning. She comes from a long line of home gardeners with many early memories assisting her family’s canning projects. She has taken that expertise into her own kitchen and over the past several years has been perfecting her signature product – Dill Pickles. She is the Program Director for Slow Food Dallas in Dallas, TX.

Jammin’ With Kathy Casey

Sep 14th, 2009

by admin.

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There is no better way in my mind to preserve the abundance of summer than by making homemade jams and preserves. It has always been the perfect way to make the summer fruits bring us joy all year long — whether on warm homemade bread smeared alongside crunchy peanut butter for a gooey PB+J sandwich, spooned over vanilla ice cream, or dolloped in the middle of thumbprint cookies. Just think … this winter, when it’s blustery cold or drizzling rain outside, you’ll have sunny thoughts of picking your brilliant berries from the backyard, or the fragrance of bubbling jam will waft back under your nose, filling your head with summery reflections as you take your first bite of morning jam spread, crisp sourdough toast!

One of the favorite rituals of summer at my house is the “scum sandwich.” Yes, you read it right. “Scum” is the foamy stuff that simmers atop the jam and gets skimmed off. Fluffy and hot, there’s nothing better scooped up on some bread. The fascination is kind of like licking the cake batter off the beaters.

Probably the most loved jam is plain and simple strawberry–fun to make after a day at one of the U-pick fields. When back at home, the kids are great stem pluckers. For a charming twist to strawberry jam I’ve done a version with lemon zest and poppy seeds, giving it a fun texture and flavor zip–but I also love it with a touch of lavender added too!

Another jam I like to make is Peach Pineapple Ginger. It is especially good with the minced fresh ginger cooked in to give it a unique zing. This is pretty wonderful daubed on a morning oat nut scone, or you can even use it as a glaze on grilled pork chops by adding a dash of vinegar to it before you slather it on.

Have you ever tried a savory tomato jam? It’s fantastic! I’ve included my recipe for Tomato Basil Jam which is inspired from the tomato jam that a nun showed me how to make when I was a teen. See–a lot of this “new” cuisine isn’t really all that new in the first place. This savory/sweet spread is excellent with roasted meats or with a stinky blue or creamy blue cheese like gorgonzola or cambozola spread on crostini.

Dark Cherry Almond Conserve is just the thing to extend our season of beautiful local Bing cherries (yes you can use frozen) Big, lush ruby orbs with toasted almonds and a pinch of allspice. Wow, can you imagine a spoon of this over some Ben + Jerry’s Cherry Garcia Ice Cream in mid-January? Yeaaaaah!

And last but not least I did whip up a recipe for no-peel Spiced Nectarine Jam. Made with a bit of brown sugar, cinnamon and allspice, this is great on morning toast or bagels. You can even toss it with a few fresh, sliced peaches, nectarines or cherries, add a dash of dark rum and serve over vanilla ice cream for a quickie dessert. Note: This method does not use the traditional method of canning but more the commercial process of making jam.

So … all this is why in the middle of a blasting hot, 85-degree summer day you’ll find me stirring a bubbling pot of fruit. This winter it’ll be apparent it’s worth every bead of sweat.

STRAWBERRY LEMON POPPYSEED JAM

PEACH PINEAPPLE GINGER JAM

SAVORY TOMATO BASIL JAM

DARK CHERRY ALMOND CONSERVE

SPICED NECTARINE JAM

Also check out Kathy’s Jam Making Tips on our Resource Page.

CAA Contributor Kathy Casey is a blend of her myriad passions: Her culinary “playground” and private event space, Kathy Casey Food Studios®; her stores and specialty product brand, Dish D’Lish®; her status as a respected national food and beverage consultant; and her cookbooks. You can find her at Kathy Casey.

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