Hey guys,
Maybe it's kind of late to talk about Jam and Harvest but I think you can always save ideas if they fit you.
I have this folder on my phone for so long, it feels forever. I wanted to share it with you and add some more content but for now, I'll stick with Jam. YES, JAM!!!!
Pb&J....Jam. not Jelly.
Btw, do you know the main difference between Jam and Jelly? Jam is made from whole fruits while Jelly is made only from fruit juice.
In Romania, people usually dont buy jam. At least, not that much as in other countries. Romanian women prepare Jam for their families every year and pass the recipes onto their children and daughters especially. And the recipe goes from generation to generation.
I don't have a problem buying jam if I dont have my own fruits available. I would pick one as natural, local and organic as possible. I'm sure there are some better options than others,but when and if we do have fruits in our orchard and they're a lot, we make Jam.
It's so rewarding to pick up fruits from your own trees, knowing what is inside the jars and how those fruits grew, it's a satisfaction I can't compare with anything else. No pesticides, no colorants, healthy soil.
And plus, the nutrition and delicious taste you'll get from making your own jam, is 100% better than any fruit jam bought.
Along others, aome of our harvest this year were cherries, figs and apricots.
Now, I dont make the jam as my mother does. My mom cook the jam for hours and soemtimes adds in a sort of curdle for jam.
I, instead, boil the jam for 30-45 minutes, depending the volume of fruits. I started to make my own jam two years ago and I didnt have a problem consrvating it. My jam didnt spoil.
My mom make jam using huge kilos of fruits, spending one day only with making jam. Me on the other side.... well, I like to make small portions and get ready fast. I dont have either the time or patience to spend one day only with making jam though I would spend it if this way my jam would taste better. But its not such a difference between 30-min cooking time jam vs 6 hrs cooking time jam.
I only wash the fruits, add them in a pot, add a little bit of sugar, sometimes spices like cinnamon, vanilla, cardamom, lemon juice and let it simmer for at least 30 min.
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Also my mom adds a lot of sugar. They, older women, say 1:1 fruit to sugar.
I am not adding that huge of sugar into my jam.
I barely add 30% sugar.
They say sugar helps with preserving the jam. Maybe, but I added less and it was just fine.
I add lemon juice, vanilla, cook the fruits for a while, let them simmer and boil until I am ok with the consistency.
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Meanwhile, I add jars into the oven at 100°C to sterilize them. 10 min its just enough.
Caleb helped in one time.
Here we have Cherry Jam.
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Apricot Jam
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Fig and Vanilla Jam
To this one, I added sugar (125g) to 1kg Figs, lemon juice from one lemon, vanilla bean. It tastes amazing. I jusy served it a few days ago with toasted bread.
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Well, pretty much this is how I do my Jam. We often serve it with crepes, pancakes, banana bread, toasted bread, croassants, cookies and cakes.
I didnt always enjoy making Jam but since now I have a small orchard, I feel it's convenient to make a couple of jars if there's harvest. I make just as many I feel we need and it would be enough for our family.
I hope you'll enjoy my post and the jam.
Have a lovely day! 💓
P.S. almost forgot. After I pour the jam into jars and close them ermetically, I let them cool slowly into s comfi container, covering them with a blanket or a few towels. I dont know what's the purpose of it , but I know this is how my mom keeps her jam after it's ready. 😁😄
Byyeee 💓💓