Oh, summer, with its oppressive heat and humidity also brings an abundance of fresh fruit. Stone fruits and berries are all in season and relatively cheap. Unfortunately, the temptation to buy large quantities is in conflict with these fragile fruits’ limited shelf life. One way to preserve these tasty fruits for later in the year is to make jam.
I know it might seem daunting, but making jam is actually quite easy. Canning is the hard part, and if you have enough room in your freezer for a few containers of jam in choice flavors, it is completely unnecessary. Homemade jam is perfect on toast, ice cream, or oatmeal. All it requires is fruit, a little lemon juice, a pot, and maybe some sugar or spices if you’re up for it.
Just take that extra fruit that you bought, but forgot to eat, cut it up, and throw it in a pot. I recommend starting with at least a pint of fruit. This can be all the same fruit, like those peaches you were going to eat with lunch every day and then didn’t or the hodgepodge of berries you impulse-bought on your last grocery trip. Rinse the fruit and cut it into bite-sized chunks if necessary. Add a little lemon juice to help break down the fruit and cut some of the sweetness. This quantity will vary depending on your tastes, but I usually use a tablespoon per pint of fruit. Bring the fruit slowly to a simmer, stirring constantly. The fruit will begin to break down and thicken as the water boils off.
Taste as you go and add sugar, ginger, cinnamon, or whatever you feel is necessary. When the jam has reached its desired thickness, remove from the heat and allow to cool. Transfer the cooled jam to a freezer-safe container and store until ready to use. Depending on the amount of fruit you use, the amount of jam you get could be very small. It’ll still be enough jam to use on a few pieces of toast or on some vanilla ice cream.
Now to the big questions:
- Why would I stand over a boiling pot of fruit for an hour in the middle of summer? Well, it might make you feel cooler when you step away from the stove. And sometimes we have to put in a little effort in order to waste less. If it’s ungodly hot out, you can always freeze the fruit before it turns and make jam later.
- Why would I spend all this time making jam when it’s so easy to buy? Like I said, I’m talking about solutions for fruit that’s about to go bad. You can’t get that at the grocery store. And sometimes it’s a nice break from the troubles of reality to stir a boiling pot of fruit and not think of the rest of the world for a while.
-Ella