Imagine this: freshly sliced homemade bread covered with homemade jam — taste buds will be overwhelmed with satisfaction.
This week’s recipes offer ideas for how to make homemade jams with fruit that is readily available in local outlets.
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Strawberry Jam
- 4 cups sliced strawberries
- 1/2 lemon, thinly sliced
- 4 cups sugar
Wash, hull and slice strawberries. Wash and slice lemon and remove seeds.
Combine fruit and sugar in a kettle. Place over low heat, uncovered, until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Boil rapidly until gel stage is reached.
Remove from heat and skim off foam. Let stand 1-2 minutes. Pour hot mixture into hot, sterilized jars and seal immediately. Makes 3-4 small jars.
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Cherry Jam
- 4 1/2 cups chopped sour cherries
- 7 cups sugar
- 1 bottle liquid pectin
- 3 tsps. almond extract
Sort, wash, stem, pit and drain fully ripe cherries. Put cherries through a food chopper.
Measure 4 1/2 cups and place in a kettle. Add sugar and mix thoroughly. Place over high heat and bring to a rapid boil, stirring constantly. Boil until gel stage is reached. Stir in pectin and return to a full boil for 1 minute.
Remove from heat, add almond extract and skim off foam.
Pour hot mixture into hot sterilized jars and seal immediately. Makes about 9 small jars.
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Banana Jam
- 3 medium lemons3 cups white sugar
- 3 cups water
- 8 ripe medium bananas, mashed lightly
- 1 whole piece ginger, size of olive
- 6 cloves or to taste
Squeeze juice from lemons. Slice lemons into paper-thin strips.
Put sugar and water into a large pan. Boil for 10 minutes. Add lemon juice, lemon peels, mashed banana, ginger and cloves. Cook gently for 40-45 minutes, stirring often so jam will not scorch. Mixture should become a pale yellow mush.
Remove ginger before spooning mixture into sterilized jars. Seal immediately Makes about 7 cups.
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Microwave Rhubarb Strawberry Jam
- 5 cups rhubarb, cut quite fine
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 small pkg. strawberry Jello
Place rhubarb and sugar in a large microwave kettle. Cover. Cook in microwave on high for 10-12 minutes. Stir once or twice during cooking time.
Remove from microwave and add Jello. Stir until crystals are dissolved. Cool slightly before spooning into jars.
Joyce Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net
