Comments on: On picking, prattling on, and preserving

By: Kate

Kate — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 05:33:10 +0000

Corrie- I bet a banana curry jam would be amazing…am I crazy?

I just made this the other night with concord grapes. I followed your method though and it was fabulous…all of my jars sealed with no problems! To do concord grapes, use a cup of sugar/lb of grapes, peel the grapes and puree peels with sugar. Mix with lemon juice and seeded grape “pulp” and boil away!

By: Corrie

Corrie — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:19:00 +0000

By the way: as a lover of cooked bananas, did you ever try banana jam? It’s delicious.
I also like to add a banana to cherry, kiwi or strawberry jam.

By: Corrie

Corrie — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:53:00 +0000

Hi Molly,
I am from Germany. I discovered your blog some weeks ago and am reading my way through from the beginning. It’s fun, and I keep on printing recipes madly. I even bought your book.
I’ve been cooking jam for years and always used the upside-down method with used jam jars, as mentioned in the other comments, (I don’t even sterilize them), and everyone I know does it, and it was described that way in every German jam recipe I ever saw. I think that’s much easier than special canning jars. And I can assure you, the jam keeps forever, too.

By: jenn

jenn — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 17:31:00 +0000

I just read your wonderful article in bon appetit on making mixed berry jam, which led me to your blog- what a great find for me!One question with the jam, can you substitute honey for the sugar? same quantity of honey as sugar?

By: flosshilde

flosshilde — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 23:32:00 +0000

This recipe is the absolute best for jam making. You need look no further. I made the most amazing apricot and raspberry jam batches with this last summer. For the raspberry jam, I added a rose geranium leaf to each jar before adding the jam, then canned as usual. Awesome.

By: Sean

Sean — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 05:33:00 +0000

I am making some of this <>right now<>. Can't wait to crack into it!

By: Molly

Molly — Sun, 10 Sep 2006 00:24:00 +0000

Thanks for the freezing tip, Anonymous! The blackberries <>were<> exceptionally fat this year, weren't they? Happy canning to you!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 15:36:00 +0000

Hi, I live oustside of Seattle in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains…What a great year for the Blackberries!! The size of a large black grape last week when I was picking. I love the jars in the oven to steralize, I used to use the dishwasher but now I AM the dishwasher, LOL. I’m so busy with all the produce that I “Put up” this time of year that I usually freeze the berries until the heavy fall work is done then make Jams and Jellies and Syrup at my leisure. It works great! Freezing with a small amount of sugar helps the berries, I just note the amount of sugar to berries on the container. Happy canning!!

By: Molly

Molly — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 21:36:00 +0000

Anonymous, hmmm, I’m not sure what to tell you. After the jam has been canned, processed, and cooled, its texture really won’t change much. It may stiffen up a bit if you put it in the fridge, but not a huge amount; generally, if it’s runny after it has fully cooled, it’s going to stay runny. Now, that said, you should know that my blackberries made for somewhat runny jam too–a thin jam with hunks of soft, falling-apart blackberries throughout. It’s not your typical grocery-store stuff. But it may be that way because I didn’t boil it hard, as Margot (in her comment above) has since told me I needed to. Did you give yours a good, solid boil, or did you only simmer it? If you only simmer it, this recipe yields a runny-ish jam. And keep in mind, too, that different fruits have different pectin content, so some will yield more or less stiff jams. Now, as far as this pectin issue goes, I’m not sure why your jam was still runny with added pectin. You’ve stumped me! And as for the second batch, it sounds like normal ingredients to me, except that you shouldn’t be adding any water. The fruit should give off plenty of liquid when it macerates for a bit with sugar; any extra liquid is unnecessary. At any rate, m’dear, sorry to not have more conclusive answers. If I were you, I’d try again and maybe boil the jam for longer–say, 45 minutes rather than 30? Hope that helps!Buffy, thank <>you<> for finding Orangette! It’s a pleasure to meet you. I absolutely love imagining you and your mother hovering together over burbling pots of plum jam. What a beautiful mental image–and a wonderful way to spend time together. I only hope that this recipe can measure up to your mother’s, which was surely a treasure…

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sat, 27 Aug 2005 18:54:00 +0000

Thank you, Google, for having sent me to Orangette! Molly, you have a beautiful blog. I hope to be a regular reader, and will encourage others to visit.My mother is 88, and has made Italian plum jam almost every year of the past 16 years that she has lived with us. She has been ill this summer, so I thought I would lend her a hand with the project. One of the vendors at our local Farmer’s Market agreed to supply me with tiny, tart, dark blue plums. I discovered today that Mother can’t remember making the jam, or the recipe she used. Your post will give me the opportunity to carry out the project. I’m looking forward to the time in the kitchen with my mother, and I’m sure she will look forward to tasting the fruits of our labors.I truly enjoyed my visit here, and can’t wait to see what you post about next.Buffyhttp://arrrgh.redeaglespirit.com