The Jam and Jelly Lady

I'm asked all the time what's the difference between a jam and a jelly.  Fair question. 

If you had a spectrum of spread based on their thickness:

1.  Jelly would be at one end.  It is made with only juice. 

2.  Marmalade is the next thickest spread.  It is basically a jelly in which citrus rind or small pieces of fruit are suspended.  Think of grapefruit marmalade, orange marmalade, etc.

3. Curds are creamy spreads made from juice and butter.  I love, love, love lemon curd.  I use it as a filling for cakes.

4.  Butter is the next thickest.  It is pureed fruit.  Think pumpkin butter.

5.  Next comes a jam.  Jams are made of crushed fruit.

6.  Following a jam is a preserve.  Preserves are made from chunks or slices of fruit.  After cooking a preserve, it may retain some chunkiness, or the fruit may cook down to a smoother spread, much like a jam. 

7. Finally, you have a conserve.  This spread must contain a citrus, a nut or raisin (or both), and at least one other fruit.  This spread is definately chunky.

There are other varieties of spread that folks in other countries might add to this list, but this is pretty complete for the U.S.

Canning on a large scale is very hot, sweaty, often dirty work.  And I adore it... 

I gave up a regular Joe job in a clean, cool corporate office.  That was where I had time for lunch (made and served by someone other than me).  I talked grown-up talk all day long (not Barney, Dora, and Bill Nye chatter).  I often stayed for weeks in far-off hotels, and rejoiced that someone else made my bed, cooked my meals, even washed and detailed the rental car!  Best of all, I looked forward to mingling with friends, sipping drinks, and having late dinners on some of the riverboat nightclubs in Cincinnati.

Then we began a family.  I knew I couldn't juggle a consulting job and children without introducing an unmanageable amount of stress.  So I quit my old job and started my new one:  stay-at-home-mom. 

After a few months at home, I crazy for that hit of adrenaline that I get from hard work!  So one day, I bought cases of peaches and began canning peach puree for my baby, Jessica.  However, when I showed off my first few jars to girlfriends (who were MUCH more experienced than I with babies!) they laughed their heads off at me.  Didn't I know Jessica would be eating real foods in only a few weeks?  No!  I'd planned on making enough puree to last until she was three!

Back to the drawing board.  I had many more cases of peaches to can and no reason to make puree...  So I made peach preserves instead -- 200 jars! Of course, husband and I couldn't eat all of them, so we took the jars to the Applefest here in Lebanon.  Lo and behold, you CAN sell peaches at an apple event!!  We sold out in a few hours, and The Jam and Jelly Lady was born. 

For 15 years running a cannery has been the perfect job, and surprisingly I still use quite a bit of my hard-won business background.  I design and publish my own color media, perform accounting and inventory tasks, apply for certifications, update our website, etc.  

Most importantly, this job has been secondary to my real job, my real love -- being a mom.  Playdates, story time, playgrounds, museums, the zoo -- I did it all with my children.  And now that Jessica, Will, and Jack are all in school, I get invited to Career Day every year.  It's such a pinnacle in my career, explaining to my children's friends how the birth of a baby launched my career in jam, and the beginning of a very happy, very grateful family...

Going to the West Chester (Ohio) Blast this weekend as part of the Ohio Proud initiative.  But we'll still be at the West Chester Farmer's Market Sat. morning, too.  The Blast is full of great musicians, rides, food, etc.  The venue is wonderful - the base of the new clock tower.  I'll be giving a demo in the Ohio Proud Kitchen, showing how to make a semi-homemade trifle using our Blackberry Jam.  Doesn't get tastier than that!

We're bringing lot of fresh canned goods just made this week: Sonya's Salsa (spicy, not too hot!), Blackberry Jam, Strawberry Jam, Apricot and Pineapple Conserve, Traffic Jam (perfect for cream cheese appetizers!), 4th of July Jam (a combination of blackberries, strawberries, and black raspberries), and Strawberry Lemonade (a drink concentrate).

Going to load the truck now and get down to the market.  Hope this heat wave doesn't last forever!

If you are a regular reader of our, please go back to Canning Tip #9, Canning Tomatoes to learn more about safe canning practices.  We've had quite a vibrant discussion!

The Jam and Jelly Lady is going to the Ohio State Fair for the first time!  I'll be giving a cooking demonstration using our berry jams in the Ohio Proud Heartland Cuisine Kitchen, located at the Food Court.  The demo will be at 3:00 on Monday, August 2.  I'll be demonstrating to the audience how to make a very simple but delicious Berry Trifle using our jams as a base. 

Also going to sell our jams, chutney, etc. in the Ohio Proud area.  Come by and say hi, and I'll let you nibble on a real butter tart filled with samples of our jams!

Many folks love to can their own tomatoes for use in the winter months when they can't find a tomato in the grocer to their liking.  I personally put up only 50 jars or so.  I know some folks do a hundred or more.

But I like to vary the spice and dried herbs in my canned tomatoes.  The fun thing about spices is that you can add them to tomatoes without increasing the processing times for the water bath or the pressure canner, whichever you like to use.

For Italian tomatoes, I add basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, garlic, and salt to my tomato base.  In the winter, this combination makes wonderful base for a spaghetti sauce.

Rotel is one of the most recognized names in manufactured canned tomatoes.  You can make your tomatoes sing with flavor like Rotel's, too.  Simply add spices to your tomatoes when you are heating them to can.

For Mexican tomatoes, try chili powder, cumin, garlic, cayenne pepper, onion flakes, and coriander.  You can even add some diced small chilis.  If it's easier, open a can of chopped chilis and add them to your tomatoes.  It won't change the processing time of your canner.  I use Mexican tomatoes to make chili, enchiladas, and tacos in the winter - yummmm!

Taught "Pickling Fruits" last night in our Masters Class.  I made a big mistake: in the morning, when I was prepping watermelon rind for pickling later, I just wasn't thinking, and simmered the rind in the brine instead of just letting it sit in cold brine.  The heat caused the salt to REALLY inhibit the rind, so during class there was no way to get the excess salt out. What a senior moment!! 

The students had already put together the watermelon pickling syrup per my instructions when I informed them the rind was too salty.  We were also working on pickling pears, but the class required two recipes to be presented.  Sooo, I opened the cooler doors and found 5 oranges I'd not used yet.  I tossed them on the chopping table and told the students, "We're not done yet!  Thinly slice these oranges and we'll use the watermelon syrup for these instead!"

After softening the orange rind by boiling it for a while, we put it in the syrup: vinegar, sugar, cinnamon sticks, whole allspice, whole cloves.  For a little flair we decided to add a few TB of brandy and some orange zest.

The result was rockin'!  As we waited for the jars to process in the water bath, we all had bowls of vanilla ice cream with pickled pears on one side and spiced oranges on the other.  WOW! 

If you can enough, you'll make mistakes.  Sometimes big ones. I'd spent over an hour prepping the watermelon, so I lost that time.  But it was fun showing students how to recognize a mistake, take the loss, and move on to better things!

What a fabulous class yesterday!  Thanks to the lovely, intelligent, and articulate women who became newly crowned Canning Queens, and who shared their rich experiences with CSAs, canning, cooking, gardening-in-bikinis, and family lore!

We made a VERY thick Strawberry Jam (as I was lecturing a lot, and didn't know how thick it was getting!), and Glazed Carrots.  We decided at the last second to spike the carrots with a tiny bit of Grand Marnier (we were BAD), and the glaze smelled just heavenly.  I hope you all enjoy opening this jar at home on a special ocassion - like tonight!

This was a particulary fun class because it is sooo easy to teach inquisitive folks.  These ladies asked questions a mile a minute, and added to the class with their own interpretations and experiences.  What made me happiest was to see all hands up at the end of the class when I asked, "Who is planning on pressure canning this season NOW?"  Taking unbelievers and making converts is my reward!  Watch out, out local farmers - there are a newly released batch of canning queens who are going to fight for your fresh farm products!!

A good week in the Florida sunshine was just what the doctor ordered!  I feel so refreshed and ready to get through this promising canning season now!

July is the last month of the summer that I teach canning.  When the bulk of the harvest arrives (Aug), I work 'round the clock!  Then in September, when the best apples and cider are arriving and I'm crying to have just one more peach to can, we participate in numerous Ohio festivals.

If you want a comprehensive canning class that focuses on food safety as it relates to USDA-approved water bath and pressure canning techniques, Beginner's Class is for you!  I'm offering one Beginner's Class: July 11, Sunday, noon till 6.  Maximum 10 students.  If this class looks to be filling quickly, I'll add another Sunday class later - probably on July 25. $75 per person. 

I'm also offering two Master's Classes in July.  On Tues., July 13 at 6:30 p.m. I'll teach Canning with Honey.  This is for folks interested in using honey instead of sugar to sweeten and preserve.  We'll dive into the food science of honey vs. sugar, and you'll can two recipes this evening.  $25 per person.

On Tues., July 27 at 6:30 p.m., I'll teach Expertly Canning Tomatoes.  We'll review food safety for tomatoes, then learn to can Fiesta Salsa and one other product I've not decided on yet.  I looove tomatoes!

Online registration, only, at www.jamandjellylady.com!  Let's Can!

Canning Tip #7:  Open Your Mind to Convenience Food!

Yes, I'm talking about food that you open out of a jar, heat in the microwave or saucepan for a few minutes (or seconds), pour in a bowl, and eat.  Sound unhealthy?  Sound likes it must be full of chemicals and preservatives?

Not at all!  I'm talking about canning your own convenience foods that are healthy, tasty, and all-natural!

I love teaching canning classes.  Been doing it for 14 years.  But in all those years, my favorite moment of the class hasn't changed:  when I introduce the concept of canning your own convenience food.  When this revelation sinks into the newbies' heads, I'm practically blinded by all the light bulbs flashing over their heads!

Why should canned foods be as simple and bland as green beans, corn, or tomatoes?  Doesn't it make sense to dream up flavor profiles that really excite the palate, and THEN can it?  For example, carrots are easy to pressure can.  But "Tipsy Carrots" are much more delicious and fun!

7 lbs carrots, 2 c. brown sugar, 2 c. water, 1 c. orange juice, 1/2 c. Grand Marnier or Amaretto liquor (liquor is optional).

Wash and peel carrots. Julienne them or slice them into coins. 

Combine brown sugar, water, juice, and liquor in a saucepan.  Bring to boil, then keep it hot on the stove.

Tightly pack carrots into hot pint jars, leaving 1-inch headspace.  Ladle hot syrup into jars, leaving 1-inch headspace again.  Remove air bubbles and then cap the jars.  Process 25 minutes at 10 lbs. pressure.

When you are ready to eat the carrots, just open the jar, toss them in a saucepan, heat, and enjoy! 

There are so many delicious (homemade!) convenience foods to can.  My favorites include tomato soup, apple pie filling, vegetable soup, jambalaya sauce, and fresh fruit juices such as tomato and grape. 

Yes, there is some work involved in making a quart of grape juice.  Sure you could buy a quart at the store for a just a buck.  But if you plan accordingly, you could easily put up 30-50 quarts in one day and have enough corn syrup-free, preservative-free, organic (if you wish) juice for the whole year! 

Yes, you can!

Wanted to take a moment to remember our fallen heroes today.  My grandfather served on the beaches of Normandy as a medic.  We were very close. 

A few years ago the Montgomery County (Dayton, Ohio) Commissioners arranged a ceremony to award the heroes of Normandy with the Jubilee of Liberty Medal.  This medal honors those soldiers who participated in the invasion of Normandy beach at any time between D-day, June 6, 1944 and August 31, 1944.  It was one of the proudest moments of my life, watching Grandpa, in a wheelchair, being saluted by a four-star general onstage, as he received his medal. 

Grandpa was a very quiet man -- a butcher by trade (ironic that he'd been a medic)!  Grandma spoke enough for both.  He taught me to paint pictures, and both he, Grandma, and Great-Grandma taught me to can pickles, relish, and applesauce.  Times seemed so simple when I was young -- my life solely revolved around picking enough apples off the grafted 5-apple tree to make enough pink applesauce to last year round.  (The pink was from red hot candies Grandma added for me.) 

But now I realize I will never be able to fathom how difficult life was for this somber, private man.  Before he died, he finally spoke to me of Normandy.  About the troops all around him drowning, and he without ability to save them.  About the beach running red with blood, but not nearly enough medics to help everyone.  What a terrible sight.  What a searing memory that must have been for all his life.

I was his companion for the last three years of his life.  I am so grateful and honored that I was able to make his last years a little less difficult.  He made my early years so happy. 

A soldier.  A butcher.  An artist.  A canner.  My hero...

Analog dial versus a weighted gauge - which is the best for pressure canning? 

I grew up using a weighted gauge canner.  My ears are well-tuned for listening to the pot "speak" through the jiggle of the gauge.  I know 30 feet away without looking at the pot whether the pressure is going a little too high.  One time the canner "told" me that the gasket had ripped by its insistent sputtering and spewing, and to abort the process until everything cooled and I could safely replace the gasket!  On the downside, these older canners are not as precisely made as the newer ones, and oftentimes even the newest gasket can't stop a little steam from escaping the sides of the canner.  Thus, it takes longer for the canner to reach pressure, and more energy to do so.  Time and energy...

I've got a new canner that I trust and am now selling through our cannery: the Presto 23-quart Pressure Canner.  It has an analog gauge - that is, you SEE the pounds of pressure by watching the dial (instead of listening to a jiggle). 

I have to stick pretty close to this pot as the pressure is rising to its optimum level because once the pressure begins to rise, it gains momentum quickly.  The new canner reaches pressure in about 1/2 the time of my older models (all Mirros) because the lid is very tight and doesn't leak any steam at all.  So even though I'm wary about walking too far from its side, I'm saving time and energy every day by using it!

OK, Presto, you owe me for this plug!  But seriously, this canner is a good bang for the buck.  And I also recommend the 23-quart over the 16-quart because it's only a few dollars more, but you can fit 18 pints compared to 9 pints. 

If you still have your older weighted gauge canner and you're comfortable with it, just remember to always have a spare gasket handy!  If you're using a newer, analog model, remember to take it to your county extension office once a year to have it recalibrated.  These gauges can lose their accuracy after many uses.  Happy canning!

Had wonderful opening days at both the West Chester and Lebanon Farmer's Markets.  I can tell that Chef George Stengl of Lebanon and Stengl's catering is the biggest new hit at both markets.  He drags along a custom-built wood-fired oven in which he bakes fresh French baguettes and pizza: savory pizzas for the Lebanon market, and sweet breakfast pizzas for the West Chester market.  George's Famous Dressing that he used to bottle and sell at his Best Cafe in Lebanon is also sold at his booth, and I've already loaded up!!

I'm almost out of jams after only two shows and two markets!  If you come by our road this week, you'll notice smoke coming out the cannery doors as I hustle to replenish our supply!  Farmer Jon Branstrator of Clarksville supplies me with the most georgeous local strawberries, and I'll be using his berries up as fast as I can to create many different preserves: Strawberry Lemonade, Strawberry Jam, 4th of July Jam, Jam Lady's Special Reserve, Christmas Jam, Rhubarb and Strawberry Jam, Strazzberry Jam, and Strawberry Syrup with Grand Marnier. 

Well, look for a new canning tip on my blog by Tuesday.  Have a Master's canning class tomorrow night (relishes), so after canning all day, I'll be canning with students all evening.  It's a good thing I'm CRAZY about canning!!

Happy Spring, Sonya

Much thanks to the intelligent, motivated women I spent the last two nights with canning!  It was a pleasure teaching you water bath and pressure techniques.  Hang tight to that sharp pressure canner, Heather, I really liked its style!

The next Beginner's Canning Class is June 20th, noon to 6.  That's a Sunday.  My Saturdays are now full of farmers markets until next October!

The Beginner's Class in June is already 1/2 full and we just announced it, so if you are interested, email me first to see if we have room.  Following the June Beginner's class, we'll host a Master's Class on Fruit Pickles on the 22nd.

Again, I had a great time last night!  The glazed carrots looked delicious, and I only regret that I didn't take the time to make myself a few jars!

I'm often asked why processing times for canning recipes are important.

Whether you use a water bath or pressure canner, the process time ensures that the very core of your jar of jam, beans, meat - whatever you are canning - is able to reach a temperature that kills harmful microorganisms.

Suppose you are canning green beans in quarts, and according to the recipe you should process beans in a pressure canner for 25 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure.  The canner has reached 10 lbs., and you start the timer for 25 minutes.

Now suppose the phone rings - your child wants a car ride instead of riding the bus home (oh, this sounds like MY life!)  Really, you can't trim a minute off the timer!  Finish the full 25 minutes.  Because the extreme heat you're applying to the jars hasn't been applied long enough to kill all the bacteria at the center of the jar. 

If you shorten the processing time - what could happen?  Well, sometimes you get lucky.  But weeks later, you could detect a funny smell from the basement where the jars are stored.  It's the mold, yeast, or bacteria you didn't kill in the beans, having a "party" in the jar!  They have thrived in the moist, nutritious environment, and now they will emit nasty gasses and possibly explode the jar.  Worse case: botulism exists in the beans, waiting to sicken and possibly kill anyone who eats them. 

Wow.  Process your jars completely!  Beginners: I recommend the Ball Blue Book or try this USDA link: http://foodsafety.psu.edu/usda/1PrinciplesHomeCanning/RecommendedCanners.pdf