Home-Made Jam

So you've been to the farmer's market, grocery store or garden, and you have more fruits and vegetables than you can use. Now what?
There are many ways to save your produce so you can use it later. Some of these are freezing, canning, pickling, and dehydrating. I have frozen some of my excess produce, but I usually will convert it into something else, like jam or pie filling.

If you are making pie filling, prepare it as you normally would, then pack into freezer containers or Ziploc freezer bags. Label with the date and type of filling before freezing. When you are ready to make the pie, defrost the filling and make pie as you normally would.

If you have a lot of extra fruit to make into jam, you will probably want to can it. It may be possible to freeze some jam, but I haven't tried it yet. I tend to make small batches of jam and store them in the refrigerator in margarine tubs. My jam recipe doesn't use any preservatives, so it only keeps for two or three weeks in the fridge.
For each pound of fruit, use 1 1/2 C sugar. You can put the fruit in a food processor to make a smooth blend to start with, or you can cut the fruit into small pieces and hope it breaks up in the cooking process. The first time I did this, I ended up with large chunks of fruit in my jam.
Put the fruit in a large pot or saucepan and add the sugar. Stir to blend, then cover the pot and let it sit 12 hours. (If you are going to can the jam, this is the time to prepare your jars according to manufacturer's instructions.) Place the pot over medium high heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to keep the sugar from sticking. Keep an eye on the jam--if it boils over, you'll not only have a mess to clean up, you'll be smelling burning sugar the whole time! Skim off any foam that forms on the surface while it's cooking. Boil gently for 20 minutes before beginning to test for doneness. Test for doneness by drizzling a little into a glass of water with ice in it. If the liquid disappears, keep cooking. If it forms lumps, it's ready. Transfer the jam to containers. (For canning, ladle jam into the prepared jars, leaving 1/4 inch empty at the top, and seal according to manufacturer's directions.)

The length of time the jam will need to cook will vary according to the types of fruit you use and the amount of pectin they contain naturally. Some jams can take an hour to reach the right consistency. I've only had one time that the jam firmed up faster than I was expecting, and I had to free it from its jar (by soaking the jar in nearly boiling water) and turning them into "caramels." I would not recommend doing that, as it's very messy.
Use your own judgement on what types of fruit you put in your jam. I usually use a mix. Berries and pitted fruits are always a good choice. I've also used the occasional pear or apple that had gone past its peak ripeness. Mango is very nice in a mixed fruit jam.

I realize that jam is neither particularly healthy nor quick, but I prefer not to let my extra fruit go to waste, and this makes a nice weekend project. Also, if you're canning, you can use these as gifts for birthdays and Christmas. Decorate the jar with a circle of fabric placed over the lid and tied on with a ribbon. These would look great as part of a basket or as a stand-alone gift.