jamming is not hard, sorry

Working for Punk Domestics has opened my eyes to a whole new world of food. Besides making my own meals, I've also started to make my own jams!


Now, these aren't traditional jams as I'm not using any preservatives (pectin products) or any sort of canning methods. That means that you have to use it within a few days; believe me, that's not a problem.


There are basic ingredients to every jam and I've had fun experimenting with different variations. You should, too!


Today I made a strawberry-blackberry "jam". It's going to make you wish every meal was breakfast.


What You'll Need:

• strawberries
• blackberries
• a lemon
• brown sugar
• sugar
• pumpkin pie spice (optional)
• cinnamon (optional)

Notice I gave no measurement for any of those. That's because I don't use any in particular. It all depends on how much fruit you use; a cup of fruit should get just about two cups of sugar. The spices are just generous pinches.

How to Cook:

• Chop/slice your fruit into small pieces and place into a saucepan.
• Squeeze the juice of one lemon into the saucepan. I also like to include some small chunks of lemon.
• Place the saucepan on the stovetop on a medium-high heat, about a 4 on my stove.
• Add the pinches of optional spices.
• Add what sugar you'd like. I chose to include brown sugar to make this jam deeper.
• Check your twitmailbook to give the fruit some time to get with the sugar.
• Stir and mash some of the fruit. All of the liquid in the jam comes from the fruit itself (there's no added water). So it's important to squish the fruit. It's up to you how MUCH you do; I like seeing the fruit in the final product so it's chunky.
• Once the fruit is at the desired consistency, just stir it around.
• Check your facetwitmail.
• Stir and raise the heat to a 5/6. It doesn't need to be that hot for too long, but this helps eventually make the jam thick.
• Once it's been boiling for just a minute or two, reduce to a low heat for five-ish minutes. So, check your bookmailtwit.
• Pour the jam-sauce into a resealable container. It's still really warm so don't put it in the fridge just yet.

It may not seem like much... but it is TASTY.

So what are the main points to any jam?

• A fruit! Berries tend to be better in jams; citrus fruits can be made into marmalades, though I have made an orange-strawberry jam before.
• An acid! Lemon is an obvious choice, but oranges would work too.
• Some sugar! Sugar brings out the fruits' juices and makes the jam sticky and delicious.

Experiment while berries are in season! Maybe next week I'll make some sort of apple "jam"...