53
No, really. I made this. Ok, so its no major accomplishment to many but I'd never made jam before. I decided I wanted to give this a try after realizing that late summer fruit would be shortly gone and peaches were currently at a pretty good price. I called my authority on all things kitchen, my mother, and invited her over for a lazy Sunday of simmering jam and rented movies. I remember my mom making jams of all different kinds when I was a kid and thinking it was magic that the fruit just allofasudden was jam. It was the magic jam moment! I climbed up on a chair by the stove and peeked into the big pot to see this glossy surface and bubbly texture while she stirred the last few minutes. And it smelled so good, I had to physically restrain myself from reaching in for a taste!
Aren't they lovely?
So I told her I was going to document this process and blog it. She looked at me like I had 3 heads. "It'll be so fun! Our little jam-teaching project!" I promised as we pulled out little mason jars from 1972. Seriously, I'm pretty sure they were that old. The box was still sealed up but if you know my mom, it was entirely possible she'd have these at her house.
We set about cutting up the fruit and general 'mom-and-me' chatting. And for the record, I didn't make her cut them all up. I did some of it, I just had to be the one manning the camera.
Into the pot it goes! With more sugar than should be allowed in one batch of ANYTHING. I'm not kidding when I say there was probably 5 cups or better. You have a gym membership, right? :) Put some heat to those babies and let 'er go! (Hi mom!)
Now the kicker here is to be patient. A few good stirs and you just have to let it do its thing. Something about the sugar mixing with the pectin in the fruit and adding the heat will thicken it into spreadable goodness. Whatever. You have to WAIT FOR IT.
The start. Lookin' all sugary and solid. Oh and I threw a piece of split vanilla bean in there, too. Just for some flavor depth. Because that's what vanilla bean lends. DEPTH. That, and fancy little black specks that make people go 'ooh, vanilla bean'.
While we waited, we enjoyed a few tasty beverages. Mom had made a peach sangria and brought me a bottle. The Sprite was to make it fizzy. It went very nice with the peachy aromas floating around my kitchen as the fruit bubbled away.
So we chilled out and chatted and watched a movie in the living room. Every once in a while, one of us would hop up to give the fruit a good stir to avoid burning or sticking on the bottom. I have to say that what I thought would be endless hours of waiting for the magic moment of 'Jam' actually went by fairly quickly. Before I knew it, this happened.
Isn't that just the most perfect jewel toned peach thing you've ever seen??? Say yes.
Holy cow, I've made jam! I fished out the vanilla bean pods and ladled the sticky sweetness into our prepared jars to cool.
Soon the little telltale 'pop' of 6 canning lids promised a sealed and shareable treat. And a photoshoot of full jars.
This one is Josh's. "You should stack them." Mkay. Here you go, baby.
So pretty! I can still see my mom shaking her head at my 'jam jar photo session'. :)
I'll definitely be doing this again. It wasn't nearly as tedious or time-consuming as I thought it would be. And I can add it to my list of 'Cooking stuff Mom taught me'. I love spending time with her anyway, but having her teach me this is a great memory I'll always have. Thanks, Mom, for coming to my own kitchen, in my own home and making new memories with me. You're my favorite mom ever! :)
Aren't they lovely?
So I told her I was going to document this process and blog it. She looked at me like I had 3 heads. "It'll be so fun! Our little jam-teaching project!" I promised as we pulled out little mason jars from 1972. Seriously, I'm pretty sure they were that old. The box was still sealed up but if you know my mom, it was entirely possible she'd have these at her house.
We set about cutting up the fruit and general 'mom-and-me' chatting. And for the record, I didn't make her cut them all up. I did some of it, I just had to be the one manning the camera.
Into the pot it goes! With more sugar than should be allowed in one batch of ANYTHING. I'm not kidding when I say there was probably 5 cups or better. You have a gym membership, right? :) Put some heat to those babies and let 'er go! (Hi mom!)
Now the kicker here is to be patient. A few good stirs and you just have to let it do its thing. Something about the sugar mixing with the pectin in the fruit and adding the heat will thicken it into spreadable goodness. Whatever. You have to WAIT FOR IT.
The start. Lookin' all sugary and solid. Oh and I threw a piece of split vanilla bean in there, too. Just for some flavor depth. Because that's what vanilla bean lends. DEPTH. That, and fancy little black specks that make people go 'ooh, vanilla bean'.
While we waited, we enjoyed a few tasty beverages. Mom had made a peach sangria and brought me a bottle. The Sprite was to make it fizzy. It went very nice with the peachy aromas floating around my kitchen as the fruit bubbled away.
So we chilled out and chatted and watched a movie in the living room. Every once in a while, one of us would hop up to give the fruit a good stir to avoid burning or sticking on the bottom. I have to say that what I thought would be endless hours of waiting for the magic moment of 'Jam' actually went by fairly quickly. Before I knew it, this happened.
Isn't that just the most perfect jewel toned peach thing you've ever seen??? Say yes.
Holy cow, I've made jam! I fished out the vanilla bean pods and ladled the sticky sweetness into our prepared jars to cool.
Soon the little telltale 'pop' of 6 canning lids promised a sealed and shareable treat. And a photoshoot of full jars.
This one is Josh's. "You should stack them." Mkay. Here you go, baby.
So pretty! I can still see my mom shaking her head at my 'jam jar photo session'. :)
I'll definitely be doing this again. It wasn't nearly as tedious or time-consuming as I thought it would be. And I can add it to my list of 'Cooking stuff Mom taught me'. I love spending time with her anyway, but having her teach me this is a great memory I'll always have. Thanks, Mom, for coming to my own kitchen, in my own home and making new memories with me. You're my favorite mom ever! :)
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Comments
Yum! Can't wait for mine :)
(09.23.10)Um...are you taking web orders? :)
(09.23.10)