Last summer, I told a farmer at the market that I had been learning to can and I had lots of canned goods in the cabinet ready for the winter, but that I wasn't sure how long they would last. Farmer Dan replied, "Oh, we keep our canned goods for over a year and they're fine." Realizing he had misunderstood my I-don't-know-how-long-they'll-last concern, I said, "Oh, no. I mean, I don't know if I have enough canned goods to last me the winter. I'm afraid I will eat everything too soon."We had a little laugh about that but I was right - I don't know how to gauge how much of whatever I need. Even before the new year arrived, we had already run out of Blueberry Spice Jam (of which I only had one half-pint jar to begin with). We are now half way through what Barbara Kingsolver calls "the hungry months" and won't be getting fruit at the markets any time soon. However, in my stock there is still tomato jam, which is good, and frozen peaches which are delicious, if a bit cold for winter. But otherwise, our preserved fruits have dwindled. I wish I had made a lot more jam and jam of many more varieties. I did try to save as many blueberries in the freezer as possible, in order to make a lot of jam ... it's just that I couldn't keep from eating so many of them fresh. It's so tempting to eat it all fresh, but some of it you've got to put away for later.
Note for this year: make more jam. A lot more jam.
3 comments:
I want a canning lesson with just enough knowledge so that I can make my grandmother's dill pickle recipe. Can ya help?
I've got some dill pickle recipes. I think I have a cornichon, too. The best thing about my pickling experience was that my farm sells pickling packs - everything you need in one bag, plus a recipe! It's a pretty easy pickling job, actually. And fun!
You are definitely going to have to teach me how to make homemade jam!
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