Thursday, April 21, 2011

Golden Sunshine Jam

G’morning everyone!  We spent the afternoon on the beach yesterday and had a wonderful time.  The Ocean may have taken one of our Frisbees as an offering but returned to us some beautiful things including a gorgeous black porous rock, some interesting slugs in beautiful shells that loved crawling up our hands before we put them back in the water and a great show put on by some crazy dolphins that were busy flapping their tails on top of the water and making some huge splashes.  It was a beautiful day and we had a great time together running, playing and feeding the gulls.  Speaking of the gulls, does anyone know exactly how many different kind of seagulls there are in Northern Florida?  We noticed 3 distinctive types of them, all in one group.  Sounds like a great homeschool research project for a certain 12 year old that I know…cough, cough. 

I had a request for a mango jam and the last time we were at the big Farmer’s Market we scored a good deal on some beautiful fruits, including 4 huge mangoes.  BTW, I checked, and it can be spelled mangoes or mangos, either way is correct.  The vendor let us taste these mangoes and said the whole shipment of them were string free.  I thought these would be perfect for jam since some of them that I have bought in the past can be really stringy and fibrous.  It also helped that she let us taste one right there and you just know they melted in our mouths.  They were juicy and oh-so-sweet.  They were ripe, but not overly ripe, so it allowed me a few days before I had to make my batch.  This one is, like my Ape For Bananas Jam, made specifically for my nephew who has severe food allergies.  I had to modify a basic recipe that I found online to not include any butter.  I hope he is able to enjoy this one, too.

I did some research on mangoes before I made the jam and learned a LOT about them.  Here’s a bit of what I gathered from the web.  Mango trees are indigenous to India and are often used (fruit and leaves) in weddings since it’s considered a symbol of love.  It is the national fruit of India, the Philippines and Pakistan.  The mango is considered the “king” of all fruit, worldwide.  And who would’ve thought that mangoes were related to poison oak and poison ivy!  You can get the same rash from handling green mangoes, even the leaves and sap so, of course, you should NEVER burn the wood from a mango tree.  It will cause serious eye and lung irritation.  Other distant relatives are the pistachio and the cashew.   The skin can cause a rash, like poison oak or ivy, in or on the mouth so it is typically not eaten. 

Since mangoes represent love, it was a perfect jam to make for my nephew.   The result was stunningly beautiful in the jar and the texture was perfectly set.  I have finally succeeded in getting a firm set on something.  I think it may be the 2 full pouches of pectin…I’m on to something here, I just know it.  While I was potting the gorgeous jam all I could keep thinking was “liquid sunshine”, over and over again.  In honor of the pure beauty of this, I am calling it my Golden Sunshine Jam. 

SDC10253

Golden Sunshine Jam

4 cups prepared fruit (about 4 large or 5 medium fully ripe mangoes)
2 Tbsp.  fresh lemon juice
7-1/2 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl
2 pouches Liquid Fruit Pectin

SDC10245SDC10250

SDC10246

Preheat canner and prepare jars and lids. Peel and pit mangos. Puree fruit thoroughly, in a blender, one mango at a time. Measure exactly 4 cups prepared fruit into a large (6-8 qt) pot. Stir in lemon juice until blended. Stir sugar into fruit mixture in the pot. Bring it to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred down) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin. Return to full rolling boil and boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.

SDC10252

Remove pan from heat and quickly skim off any foam from the top. Ladle the jam into the hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean damp cloth and add the lids and rings, turning the rings until just finger-tight. Place the jars in the preheated canner and bring canner to a full rolling boil. Process jars for 10 minutes (adjusting according to your altitude, if necessary) then remove canner from heat. Let canner sit for 5 minutes, then, carefully remove hot jars from water with a jar lifter, place them on a towel on the counter and leave them undisturbed for 24 hours. Check the seals before storing and use within 12 months.

Makes about 9 half pint jars (I did 7 half pints and 1 pint)

SDC10257

My Mabert’s 85th birthday was this week.  I sent her a box that included a jar of the strawberry lime, banana and mango jams that I had made.  She was thrilled to get it and left me the sweetest message last night.  I can’t wait to call her back later and see which one she tried first.  She said she had never had nor seen mango or banana jams.  I was just glad to be sharing with her some of her inspiration and teachings and it filled my heart to send her package to her.  I love you Mabert!

Till next time, Be Blessed and Be Sweet!

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Ape For Bananas Jam

Good morning Jammers!  Wow, what a stormy day we had, here in the South, yesterday.  We sure needed the rain, though…both gardens are loving the water, I’m sure.  I don’t remember if I mentioned it but I made a homemade organic garden spray to keep the critters, insects and bugs from munching on my leaves.  It is working great!  My baby leaves were getting chewed but I started using this spray once a week and nothing has touched them since.  It’s my own combination of jalapeƱos and garlic pureed and steeped in a bit of water, rubbing alcohol and dish detergent.  I am impressed with the formula I created! 

About 10 days ago I decided to have a banana day.  I picked up the half priced, taped, extra ripe, ready to use bananas at the grocery store for .29 cents a pound.

 073

I made another batch of my Mojo Bananas Foster Jam…………………………………..……..see (http://jamminfromthehearth.blogspot.com/2010/10/mojo-bananas-foster-jam.html), this time leaving out the butter, increasing the pectin to one and a half pouches of liquid pectin and decreasing the rum extract to 1 teaspoon, in hopes my nephew with extreme food allergies may be able to enjoy it.

079      081

087

I also made a new one, especially for him, that is a plain banana jam.  It came out so finger lickin’ good…I know you’ve heard this before, but…I think I have a new favorite jam!  Both batches that day came out so good and are wonderful all by themselves.  Yes, I admit, you can catch me in the fridge with nothing but a jar and a spoon with both of these.  Actually…I’ll be right back!

Mmmmmm, now where was I?  Oh yeah, in honor of my nephew who is 5 years old and has severe multiple food allergies AND in honor of his awesome parents that devote so much to making sure he is healthy and happy, please research and show support for http://www.kidswithfoodallergies.org/.  I never knew what some families have to go through just to make sure their child lives to see their next birthday.  My heart goes out to these families!  It sickens me to no end to hear someone mock or belittle a child with food allergies.  I know of another family that lost their young daughter a few years ago over peanuts.  Please show your support by simply being informed and most of all, tolerant.  It’s the kharmetic (is that a word?  if not, it should be) thing to do.  You know…”do unto others"…that Golden Rule that is the basis for most religions and/or ethical societies?  You never know what position you will be in some day and how would YOU want to be treated by others?  Be a good example for others, especially our impressionable young ones.  They are simply mirrors of their environment…be what you want them to be.  These kids with food allergies deserve as normal of a childhood as they can get.  I hope my nephew is able to enjoy some of the jam I am making for him.  The only question is in the pectin, but I know his Mom will research and contact the company, if needed, before giving him any.  My fingers are crossed…If not then I will be making him some wonderful peach jam when they come in season without any added pectin.  I’ll call this one, for him, my Ape For Bananas Jam.

Ape For Bananas Jam

10 medium bananas
6 tablespoons bottled lemon juice
1 teaspoon Fruit Fresh ascorbic acid crystals
5 cups sugar
1 and 1/2   3oz pouches liquid pectin

084
Preheat canner and prepare jars and lids. Thoroughly mash bananas until smooth, I used a hand emulsifier and got beautiful results.  Combine mashed bananas, lemon juice and Fruit Fresh in a large, deep, pot and then add sugar. 

088         090

Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Quickly stir in pectin and boil for 1 minute.

091
Remove pan from heat and quickly skim off any foam from the top. Ladle the jam into the hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rims of the jars with a clean damp cloth and add the lids and rings, turning the rings until just finger-tight. Place the jars in the preheated canner and bring canner to a full rolling boil. Process jars for 10 minutes (adjusting according to your altitude, if necessary) then remove canner from heat. Let canner sit for 5 minutes, then, carefully remove hot jars from water with a jar lifter, place them on a towel on the counter and leave them undisturbed for 24 hours. Check the seals before storing and use within 12 months.

Makes about 8 half pint jars (I did 4 half pints and 2 pints)

097

This is a shot of both banana batches that day.  I will be giving away limited ones of this for sure…it is a new fridge staple!

102

Oh yeah, I made my first chocolate cheesecake last week for a dear friend’s birthday.  Maybe I’m not cut out to make cheesecakes…it wasn’t bad BUT it was awful dense and seemed to get better after 2 days in the fridge as opposed to just 24 hours.  Oh well, C'est la vie!

Check back soon for the next post…I picked up some beautiful mangoes at the Farmers Market.  BTW, the Farmers Market (our main one downtown) has been in the news recently in regards to price savings of roughly 50% over all grocery stores since there is no middle-man.  I am a believer and have been going at least every other week.  They are open 7 days a week and the prices are great.  There is a HUGE variety of things and it is so much fresher than the grocery store selection.  Look out for your local markets and see what I mean.

Till next time, Be Blessed and Be Sweet!