Green Living: Learning to Jam

Over the weekend, I bought two quarts of locally-grown peaches. One quart my family ate in a day, and the other I saved to try my hand at making homemade jam. 

For guidance, I used the Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook, edited by Ruth Berolzheimer. My mom scored an old version of this book at a yard sale—it smells like an old bookstore—but newer editions are still in print and can be found at Amazon.com.

First published in 1950, this cookbook has everything you need to know about making real food. It was obviously geared toward all-American homemakers, and one has to laugh at chapter titles like "Father Carves the Fowl" and "The Woman's Club Cake Sale." 

There's something wonderful and authentic about making food from scratch though, and this cookbook has so many surprising offerings about foods I've taken for granted most of my life.

A year ago, I would have thought that ketchup was made my Heinz, mayonnaise by Hellmann's and jam by Smucker's. But thanks to this cookbook, I now know it's relatively easy to make these condiments from scratch without using high fructose corn syrup for ketchup or jam, or the array of chemicals used to preserve most commercial mayonnaises.

Because this was my first try at jam, I'll admit that I didn't bother to sterilize the Bell jar I used beyond washing it in very hot water. But if you're planning on keeping your preserved food through the winter or longer, it's very important to use proper sterilization methods to avoid food poisoning.

This is the next step in my crash course on food preservation, and the USDA's Complete Guide to Home Canning is a useful resource for learning how to sterilize jars and preserve food for the long-term. From what I've read, there are two basic ways to sterilize glass jars: either use a canning kettle to boil the jars, or put them in an oven at low heat. And it's always important to use new rings and lids with the jars.

Proper sterilization seems to be the most complicated part of making jam, because preparing the fruit is actually very simple. The recipe I used from the Encyclopedic Cookbook called for one pound of peaches to 3/4 - 1 pound of sugar. (Not exactly healthy, so it's probably wise to eat jam sparingly!)

You blanch the peaches, remove the skin and pits and slowly bring the fruit and sugar to a boil until it thickens. I also added a squeeze of lemon juice. Pour the jam into a jar and let it sit at room temperature. (I made the mistake of refrigerating a currant jam batch and the next day it was like taffy!)

I wasn't sure how my peach jam would come out, but when we ate it with bread and cream cheese for breakfast the next day, we all loved it. The key to making good jam—in my very amateur opinion—is to allow the fruit and sugar time to thicken while also reaching a high enough temperature without scalding the jam. Somehow I managed to do this on my first try, so I'm now eager to try out different types of fruits and learn how to sterilize the jars so we can enjoy the tastes of summer throughout the winter!

The Encyclopedic Cookbook has all sorts of ideas for fruit jams: blackberry, cherry, plum, rhubarb, tomatto and apple, strawberry and "tutti frutti." The cookbook also outlines many other preservation ideas, from making apple butter and marmalades to pickled cucumbers, peppers and green tomatoes. 

But because the Hudson Valley has a relatively short harvest season, the time is now to buy lots of fruits and vegetables at the farmers market, invest in a canning kettle and try one's hand at the old fashioned art of jamming.