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.
• • •
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.
• • •
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.
• • •
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.
• • •
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 [email protected]
