Made my first Blueberry jam last night.

Glad you liked it. I think its great on vanilla ice cream too, makes a great sweet/fruity sundae topping. The only downside to making the butters is they take FOREVER on the stove to cook down to the right consistency. That's my only complaint but it doesn't stop me, I just know what I'm in for when I make some. Lid off, stir frequently, and then stir some more.
 
vfem said:
Stubbornhillfarm said:
The peach jam, although very, very tasty, was too stiff. My husband and I will keep it for ourselves. We spooned some out and I think you could spread it on toast. Definately not on untoasted bread. We will likely heat it up and use it on biscuts or ice cream. I'll try again maybe tonight or tomorrow and see how batch number 2 goes. :D
If you can find it, get a candy thermometer and heat you jam while cooking to only 220 degrees, then you don't have to worry if you got to the gel stage or not. That's the perfect gel temp, only needs to hold at that for 1 minute to know you're good. On the candy thermometer you'll see if you hit 230... you'll get the hard stuff. I rather mine be runny then hard since I put it on everything from ice cream to meat marinade and want it to move around easily.

I do put the over hard stuff in the crock pot as a marinade! :) Made you could do that with some pork or something and have some spicy peach glazed pork chopped! I got recipes for everything! LOL
vfem, I missed this response some how. I will certainly try some of our "stiff" peach jam in the crock pot with pork. Sounds wonderful!
 
Wow, Stubbornhill Farm, I like what you are doing. It just so happened that I made Peach Jam also , from the first Peaches that came on the market, bought 3 baskets they looked lovely and tasted very good.
My jam always tends to be a bit runny rather then too stiff I am using the low sugar recipe so that helps also. Hubby doesn't like to see me buying all that sugar when the canning season comes around,ha,,,,,,

Must say that I really envy you for having such a 'peachy friend' just around the corner with all those wonderfully laden Peach trees. Wished I lived nearby.Wouldn't even mind paying him for 'pick your own' type o thing. But stop dreaming Gerlinde, we live 'worlds apart'.

P.S.
Have you ever tried to make Grape Jelly or also Crapapple Jelly? Both are very good too.
 
Rugosa1 said:
Wow, Stubbornhill Farm, I like what you are doing. It just so happened that I made Peach Jam also , from the first Peaches that came on the market, bought 3 baskets they looked lovely and tasted very good.
My jam always tends to be a bit runny rather then too stiff I am using the low sugar recipe so that helps also. Hubby doesn't like to see me buying all that sugar when the canning season comes around,ha,,,,,,

Must say that I really envy you for having such a 'peachy friend' just around the corner with all those wonderfully laden Peach trees. Wished I lived nearby.Wouldn't even mind paying him for 'pick your own' type o thing. But stop dreaming Gerlinde, we live 'worlds apart'.

P.S.
Have you ever tried to make Grape Jelly or also Crapapple Jelly? Both are very good too.
I haven't tried either. We have loads of wild grapes around us this year and I am watching closely to see when they turn purple. I hope I get to them before the birds!! I definately will try the grape jelly. The apples are very plentiful this year too! We had a lot of rain at the begining of spring which I think really helped the fruit. I may have to try some. I know what you mean with the sugar. I bought a five pound bag two weeks in a row! :rolleyes:
 
That brings back memories ! Last year I made tons of grape Jelly from wild grapes all around the yard. It IS Fun! :)
 
I used my immersion blender to liquefy it all and cook it down quite a bit.

I recommend using a bag of apples tied in cheese clothe for your pectin. I remove the bag from pot when I'm ready to process and reserve 1/2+ jar of whatever I am making. I then add the pulp from the apples for a final jar of sauce. I cook it and blend it till smooth. It is the jar my kids covet!
 
April Manier said:
I used my immersion blender to liquefy it all and cook it down quite a bit.

I recommend using a bag of apples tied in cheese clothe for your pectin. I remove the bag from pot when I'm ready to process and reserve 1/2+ jar of whatever I am making. I then add the pulp from the apples for a final jar of sauce. I cook it and blend it till smooth. It is the jar my kids covet!
April, for grape jelly? I don't have an immersion blender, just an old fashioned hand held. But, a lady I work with gave me something similar to the "magic bullet" yesterday. :lol: I figure I may be able to use it in jelly, jam or relish making!
 
A blender works great. I must say, that I am a soup maker and I saved for a long time for my immersion blender. It is a wonderful ,luxury.

As for the apples, I use them in every jam instead of pectin.
 
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