The Jam and Jelly Lady

What an exciting class in the Summer Kitchen last night! I walked into the kitchen this morning and was blown away by the fresh smell of citrus!

Last night, I demonstrated how to make a simple Lemon Curd, and then got out of the way fast as the women took over!  As we took turns whisking the butter, eggs, sugar, and lemons into a smooth pudding-like spread over a double boiler, the rest of the team began attacking oranges and eggs.  For once, I just stood to the side and let it happen. 

We were short a few jars, so they decided to whip up one last batch of lemon-orange curd - my favorite!  Served the leftover lemon curd over pound cake, and swirled a little raspberry jam into the curd for a fun presentation.  Wow - what flavor profiles.

How to choose a good curd at the store?  Stay far away from lemon curd that looks tan.  It is usually canned with a lot of shelf-stabilizing additives.  You see, curd should be eaten fairly quickly.  Stabilizers affect the sharp citrus and buttery flavors, but it they are not added, I would advise eating a curd within 3 months after it is canned.  After that, the flavor diminishes.  Or come take a Master's Canning Class and we'll teach you how to make your own fresh curd.  Nothing beats it!

It's been a long, hard week of canning classes and canning!  Taught Beginner's all day Sat., and last night was Curds.  The beginners were wonderful.  What an education I received!  Aileen and Dessie (with multiple degrees in anthropology and biological conservation) work for Vista to bring agribusiness techniques to Clinton County (which REALLY needs an economic boost due to the loss of DHL).  Good luck, ladies, and let me know if you need any help.  Perhaps I could gather some canning jars for some of your charges?

And lovely Alena is a Criminal Justice prof at Miami (not to mention a profiling consultant for local law enforcement), but pours her love and time into operating her own horse rescue!  Wow - forget learning how to can - I could have spent weeks learning from these wonderfully giving women!

But can we did.  Strawberry Jam and Glazed Carrots.  It was a little nippy outside, but in the cannery twas warm and steamy, and quite delicious when we served warm pound cake with fresh Strawberry Jam!

We teach canning classes year-round except for August, Sept., and Dec.   If you would like more information please click on www.jamandjellylady.com.  We'd love to teach you!