Day five gazillion of quarantine. We’ve been plodding along, and thank bejesus, today is the last day of school. Homeschooling did not bring out the best in me, and poor Bean deserves a teacher who is not brought down by the devil otherwise known as “Common Core.” While this past week has been an exercise in patience, I did have a bright spot:
I took a quick drive down to the strawberry farm to pick up a couple of perfect flats. (Before you side-eye me, it was contactless pickup). Despite it being the spring from hell in terms of storms, hail, and tornados, the crops managed to thrive. When I arrived home, I immediately launched into a full afternoon of canning.
Ok, maybe I went a little overboard. But in fairness to me, I think a lot of us under quarantine feel the need to fall back to, or learn, some fundamental skills of self-sufficiency. My social media feeds are full of sourdough starters, homemade breads, pantry recipes, and ideas to stretch items further. People are also tackling things that they would normally outsource, like birthday cakes, haircuts, and even pet grooming.
I totally get it. We see supply chains breaking down, and I think that we are all getting the reality check that it takes mere weeks to go from abundance to scarcity. If you told most of us on New Years Day that, by May, we would be rationing meat, toilet paper, and cleaning products, we all would have laughed hysterically. Especially if you told us yeast turned into one of the most coveted commodities. But now, we all have the uncomfortable knowledge that we are more vulnerable than we think, and so we turn to the kitchen, garden, sewing machines, and other tools that help us feel more in control of our lives.
So yeah, I canned a crap-ton of strawberry-jalapeno jam, and you can to!
Strawberry-Jalapeno Jam
Notes
- 2 quarts of strawberries (or about 4 cups crushed strawberries)
- 1 cup minced jalapeno peppers
- 1/4 cup bottled lemon juice
- 1 package powdered pectin
- 7 cups granulated sugar
- Wash strawberries and remove stems. Crush strawberries in a large pot one layer at a time. Add jalapenos, lemon juice, and pectin, and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.
- Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Return to a roiling boil, and boil hard one minute, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat.
- Skim foam. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Wipe rim clean, add lid and ring, and adjust until fingertip tight. Process 10 minutes in boiling water canner.
A few notes on canning this recipe:
- This should make about 8 half-pints, but I don’t think I’ve every made a recipe that did not go either over or under expectations.
- If you are new to canning, I highly encourage you to purchase the Ball Blue Book to learn the basics. I posted a few thoughts in this post for those considering giving it a try. Canning is not hard, it’s just understanding a few basic principles.
- When canning, ideally use commercially bottled lemon juice. I know that stuff is gross as all get-out, but the reason professionals recommend it is that it has a consistent acid level. The acidity of fresh lemons can vary greatly, and the acidity is key in safe water bath canning. Remember that canning is about food safety, so the experts want to ensure we all have consistent results and not death by botuluism.
- Take the time to skim the foam well.
- You will probably still have strawberry solids that float to the top of your processed jars, giving your jam an uneven appearance. As mine cooled, I would occasionally turn the jars upside down, let them cool for a while, turn them right side up, cool for a while, repeat. Toward the end of cooling, I have them a good shake to ensure any solids distributed evenly in the jelling syrup.
- If ever there was a time to tune into the food supply and learn an essential skill, this is it. Go for it!