Today is a “play in the kitchen” day. I have already made a double run of the traditional Mock Strawberry Jam. We have given away figs to a few people and still have a tree full. This is when the tree is at its peak and they need to be picked every day unless you just want to feed the birds, squirrels and fruit flies. Needless to say I am spending my Sunday in the kitchen making two double batches of jam. I am not about to heat everything up for just a single batch so it is at least a double batch or nothing.
First thing you have to do is get everything ready. Frank and Dean are cranked and the work begins. Yeh, yeh , yeh… don’t hate on my choice of music… it has a very wide range. Later today you may hear Macklemore but if I had a Tardis (I am old, not dead, yes I know what a Tardis is) I would love to go back in time and see Frank Sinatra or Dean Martin in a Vegas show. I try to get all of my items laid out before I even start cooking.
Start with a clean work area (don’t really feel this needs to be said but just in case). Have your jars either clean and set out or in the dishwasher getting clean. Food processor, stock pot, sugar, jello, figs, spoons… I set it all out.
I am playing with the recipe I have but the original is the one I will give you and the only ingredient I toyed with was the fruit. I don’t know where this recipe came from so I don’t know who to credit. I got it from a neighbor but it is all over the web.
Wash and take off the stems of the figs. Unless you are going to use a knife (lame) then just treat it like a banana. Whatever peel comes off with the stem is not meant to be in the jam.
You can either mash your fruit with a potato masher or do like I did and pulse it in the food processor. I happened to have some strawberries left from the night before (made a big fruit salad) so I just thought I would toss them in. It is supposed to taste like strawberries right? I still used the same measurement of fruit (double batch is 6 cups). The smell coming from the food processor was amazing. This prompted a trip back out the the store for more strawberries. The next batch I used some of those strawberries and I also had about a cup of raspberries and about the same amount of blueberries. (This is more leftover fruit from the night before.) Combine the mashed fruit, sugar and water in your pot and start cooking on medium maybe a tad hotter. Start your water bath now that way it’s ready to go when you are.
Once this mixture starts to boil it will also foam.
Skim the foam off into a bowl to discard later. You don’t have to constantly stir but every few minutes is good. I skim every time I stir. Yes, that pot looks really full at the moment but it will cook down and yield eight 1/2 pint jars full of awesomeness – remember this is a double batch. This is not a speedy process but it also won’t take all day. In roughly 30 minutes or so it will start to become thicker. This is when you test for jam consistency. Like most GRITS (Girls Raised In The South) I own the a copy of the canning bible. The Complete Book of Home Preserving put out by Ball is a must if you want to learn how to can. Testing for jam consistency and preserving using a water bath is explained step by step in this book. Don’t want to get the book? Google it. Either way it is stupid easy. I put about a tablespoon (eye ball it… not rocket science) on a small plate and place that plate in the freezer for about a minute. When I take it out and run my finger through the middle it holds shape and has thickened just right. Out to the carport we go.
This is where my wonderful husband has set up the “production area”. He has the water heating on a fish fryer which means I don’t have to really heat up the house. The clean jars have been setting in the boiling water until I bring out the hot jam.
Then he dumps the water out of the jars (back into the pot) and places the hot jars on a small table that looks like we are ready to perform surgery with all the gadgets laid out and ready for use.
Pour the hot liquid into the hot jars allowing for 1/4″ head space. Take a clean damp cloth and wipe the rim clean before you put a canning lid and ring on top. Put the filled jars back into the water making sure they are covered by about 1″ of water and put the lid on the pot.
Once the water comes to a boil start timer for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes turn the heat off and let the jars continue to sit in the water for 5 more minutes before you take them out. Put the VERY HOT (if you don’t think jars coming out of boiling water is going to be hot then you shouldn’t be doing this) jars in a draft free area where they will be left undisturbed for roughly 24 hours. Allons-y! (Like I said…. old not dead)
Mock Strawberry Jam (single batch)
3 C mashed, peeled figs (whatever comes off with the stem is more than fine)
3 C sugar
1/2 C water
1 small box strawberry jello
In a large pot, combine all the ingredients and cook to the consistency of jam, stirring occasionally.
Place mixture in hot, clean jars, wipe rim of jar and screw down lid.
Place jars in a water bath and process for 20 minutes then let sit in hot water for an additional 5 minutes.
Remove to a draft free place to cool.
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