30 Before 30: Fig and Balsamic Jam (#31)

So yeah, figs aren't in season. I used half the amount required with dried figs and rehydrated them with some simmered merlot for a few hours. Because of this, they are a bit harder to chop and the jam ended up being a little more chunky and less jam like, but it's still wonderful.This is amazing with wine and chevre and friends.

Fig and Balsamic Jam via Ad Hoc at Home:

Makes 2½ cups

2 lb. Figs, preferably Black Mission or Kadota, stems removed and coarsely chopped

1½ c. granulated sugar

½ c. balsamic vinegar

1 tsp. black peppercorns, tied into a sachet

Fresh lemon juice

Combine the figs, sugar, balsamic vinegar, and sachet in a large saucepan and attach a candy thermometer to the pan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook, stirring to break up the larger pieces of fig, keeping a chunky consistency, until the jam reaches 215 to 220 degrees. Remove from the heat.

Remove the sachet and stir in the lemon juice to taste. Spoon the jam into a canning jar or other storage container, cover, and let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for up to 1 month.

Recipes Complete: 31

Recipes to Go: -1

(Almost) Perfect Strawberry Jam

Ever have a recipe that doesn’t seem like it’s working out and then it mostly does? This is one of those recipes. By Lucy Baker (of The Boozy Baker that has shown up here and here in the blog), it was cooking strangely and ended up ½ pint short of the yield, causing me to waste a lid. And then it was opened and super delicious and it spreads really well. Yeah. Almost perfect.

(Almost) Perfect Strawberry Jam from Perfect Strawberry Jam via Serious Eats:

Yields 4 ½ pints

1½ c. sugar

2½ tsp. Pomona's Universal Pectin

4 c. coarsely chopped strawberries (from about 2 farm stand quarts)

1 Tb. freshly squeezed lemon juice

3 tsp. calcium water (included in the Pomona's packet)

¼ tsp. unsalted butter

1 c. honey

Whisk the sugar and pectin a medium bowl and set aside.

Combine the strawberries, lemon juice, calcium water, and butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the honey and the sugar-pectin mixture and return the fruit mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard for one minute. This takes a little longer than you might think, hence by comment about cooking strangely.

Remove pot from heat and skim any foam from surface of jam with cold metal spoon. Ladle jam into hot sterilized jars and process them in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.

It’s great with peanut butter or cream cheese or just on a spoon. Other similar pectin berries can replace the strawberries if you want to check this out right now and you can’t find those late season strawberries anywhere.

Jam Muffins

Wow, I made these a long time ago. And they were messy. And pretty good. But messy. Have extra homemade jam that you have no idea what to do with? Want to make them too? Follow along!

Jam Muffins from Serious Eats:

Makes 12 muffins

¾ c. all purpose flour
¾ c. white whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¾ c. milk
¼ c. vegetable oil
1 Tb. vanilla
1 egg
¼ c. honey
½ c. jam

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and spray 12 standard-sized muffin tins with baking spray, or line them with paper liners. Combine the flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk to combine.

In a separate bowl, combine the milk, vegetable oil, vanilla, egg, and honey. Whisk to combine, making sure the honey is fully dissolved.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir just enough to combine. It will be lumpy. Add the jam, and fold the mixture a few times to distribute it, but leave the mixture streaky. Portion the mixture evenly into the muffin tins. I topped mine with extra jam, which turned out to be kind of a mistake because the jam leaked a lot and I had to scrub my poor baking stone that was sitting underneath the muffin tray. Sad.

Bake at 375 degrees until the muffins are browned on top and a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

Remove the muffins from the pan and cool completely on a rack.

Like I said, these a pretty good, but very messy. Be careful with your jam mixing. I thought they also tasted a little gritty, so really make sure you get your dry and wet ingredients well mixed. I might fiddle with these some more, but if nothing else, it’s a great way to use jam.

Apple Dutch Baby

Dutch babies are a nostalgic breakfast for me. My mom used to always makes them for me for special breakfasts and whenever I visit, I can get one. The classic way to make it is to make a huge one in cast iron pan and share it, but you can do individual sizes. I made a smaller version to share with Aaron and did it in a casserole, which made it thicker than usual, but still tasty. Apple is a classic combo with the Dutch baby.

Apple Dutch Baby:

¼ c. milk +

¼ c. flour

for every egg

1 – 2 eggs from one person

3 – 4 for more

1 apple

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place enough butter to coat casserole. Warm in oven until melty.

Mix milk and flour with beaten eggs. Cover the bottom of the casserole with apple slices. Pour in batter and cover top with apple slices.  For a one egg baby, bake for 8-10 minutes. For two eggs, 10-12 minutes, and 12-15 for three eggs.

Remove when top is puffy. Serve with maple syrup, sour cream, and jam.

It’s easy, but still seems like a fancier breakfast. It would also be a welcome addition to a potluck brunch.

Lindsay's Graduation Cake

So what do you do when you buy too many strawberries? Besides eat a ton of them, I mean. You make a cake. Specifically, you make a cake for your dear friend who is graduating from medical school. Yeah, my friend is a doctor. You don’t have a doctor friend? You actually don’t need an occasion for this cake because it is delicious and awesome and so summer.

The original is here and I made some modifications, some out of necessity and some on accident (like using all the whipped cream on one layer and then have to make more). I weighed everything like they do across the pond. If you don’t have a food scale, there are plenty of web resources for converting ingredients. It all works out, I promise. And your new doctor friend will be so happy.

Lindsay’s Graduation Cake modified from Mega Strawberry Summer Cake from Donal Skehan:

One rad layer cake

For the cake-
3 large eggs
225 g. sugar
50 g butter, melted
100 ml. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
210 g. flour
2 tsp. baking powder

For the filling and the topping-
80 g. strawberry jam
2 Tb. berry liqueur
300 g. strawberries, hulled
500 ml. heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 345 degrees and grease two 9” cake pans (or, in my case, use the same one 9” cake pan you have twice).

In your mixer, beat the sugar and eggs in a large mixing bowl until pale and fluffy.

Mix the milk, melted butter and vanilla extract together in a measuring jug and pour into the sugar and egg. Mix through to combine. Sieve the flour and baking powder into the bowl and then using a spatula, gently fold in to the cake mix until completely smooth and combined.

Divide the mix evenly between the two baking tins and place in the oven for 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Allow the cake to cool slightly before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. When both cake layers are completely cooled, whip the cream until soft peaks form. Put the jam and liqueur into a food processor and pulse until smooth.

Place one layer on a cake stand and dollop with half the cream, spread evenly and then spread on the smooth strawberry jam. Carefully place the second cake layer on top and add the remaining whipped cream and strawberries.

This cake rocks even after a ride from Portland to Seattle and being transported between an apartment to a hotel room. It was a hit after a long day in the sun, celebrating the new doctor. Make this right now!

Knox Co. Whole Strawberry Jam

Aaron loves strawberry jam. When we buy it, that's what he goes for and though he did like my peach lavender and blueberry lime, he requested I make strawberry next time I made jam. There are a lot of strawberry jam recipes out there and the one I ended up doing was because it was the fastest one to make. There are a couple of others I'd like to try - one of which involves having your oven on for 10 hours, but for my first strawberry, I'd say this is the jam (ha!).

I'm getting better at canning, but I'll emphasize a few things - work quickly, but carefully, keep your area clean, and try not to scream when you get hot jam on your hands. It doesn't help anything. What does help is keeping a cool head, following directions, and hearing the ping as your lids seal shut, proving to you that you can can. It's awesome.

Knox Co. Whole Strawberry Jam from Lip Smackin' Jams & Jellies:

Makes 4-5 cups
4 c. strawberries
4 c. sugar
2 Tb. lemon juice

Wash, drain, hull, and measure the strawberries. In a large pot mix together the sugar and berries. Over a low heat, mix the berries until the juices are released. Raise the temperature. Stop stirring. Allow the mixture to boil at this point for 15 minutes. Do not stir; however, be certain that the mixture is not sticking at the bottom of the pan. Take a wooden spoon and drag it through the mixture. After 15 minutes, the mixture should be set. Pour the lemon juice over the top of the berries. Stir in the lemon juice and pour into the jars. Process for 10 minutes.

This jam uses no pectin, but it is thick. In fact, mine is more like a glue than jam. It is tasty, but hard to remove from the jars without some leverage and then it needs to be mixed with a liquid to be useable. So be sure to check when it’s set and don’t boil it too long.

Blueberry Lime Jam

Yesterday I posted about the rock my world peach lavender jam. At the same time, I made this one, which is also really, really amazing. The only caveat I'd add to this post is that trying to do two different kinds of jam at once is not a great idea, especially for a beginning canner like myself. There was a ton of stuff going on at once and though it all worked out, I wouldn't attempt it again, at least not yet. This jam, though, rocks. A lot. Get good blueberries and limes and you're good to go.

I followed the canning directions from the other canning book for this one to get a proper seal on the jars. This one makes me wish it were warm and summery again. Until then, I guess I'll just have to eat more jam.

Blueberry Lime Jam from Lip Smackin' Jams & Jellies:

Makes about 6 cups

4½ c. blueberries
6 c. sugar
2 Tb. lime juice
Grated zest of 2 large limes
3 3-oz pouches liquid pectin

Remove any stalks from the blueberries and rinse under cold water. Drain well and put in a saucepan. Crush the berries a bit with a masher. Stir in the sugar, lime juice, and zest. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Keep stirring to avoid burning. When the mix reaches a full boil, cook for 1 minute, and then stir in the pectin. Return it to a full boil for another minute.

Place in jars and process for 10 minutes, following the directions of your canning book and the advice I posted yesterday.

Keep in a cool, dry place.

I had a little extra than 4 jars, so I put some in a smaller jar in my fridge and thus got to enjoy it right away. It's tangy and fruity in a way that reminds me a bit of a summer cocktail, but is also perfect for your morning muffin or scone. When you've got a bunch of blueberries, I highly recommend this jam.

Peach Lavender Jam

Last summer, I got really excited about canning. I remember watching my mom do it when I was little and talking to her about it as I got older, so I thought it was time to do it myself. I had picked up a couple of books at Title Wave, where I volunteer, bought a canning pot and the rest of the canning accoutrements, and headed off to the farmers market. And I made jam. Two kinds. And totally forgot to blog about it!

I realized this (again) the other day after going through most of a jar of the peach lavender. It is so good, I want to eat it on everything and I want to share it with you.

Before diving into the recipe, you need to get yourself a canning book. I really like The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving, which is where I got this recipe, but there are other great ones out there (like this one by Ashley English, which Renai loves, and this one by Ball, because they know canning). I really like mine because of the step by step instructions and timing reminders for while you work and it's meant for smaller recipes, which is awesome since I don't have a ton of space. Plus the flavor combos look unusual and fun. Canning is an amazing way to keep the flavors of produce at their peak all year round, but it needs to be done safely and with careful reading, you'll be able to get the basics and then do any recipe you find. There is a lot to canning, but it's not ridiculously difficult, there's just stuff that has to be done a certain way, like not swapping out powdered for liquid pectin. Read. Be informed. Then can. When peaches are back in season, make this. It's ridiculous and you'll want to put it on everything too. 

Peach Lavender Jam from The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving:

Makes 6 cups (1.5 liters or in my case, four jars)

2 Tb. dried lavender flowers
½ c. boiling water
4 c. finely chopped peaches (about 5-6 medium peaches)
2 Tb. lemon juice
6 c. granulated sugar
1 pouch liquid fruit pectin

Place lavender flowers in a small bowl. Pour boiler water over flowers and steep for 20 minutes. It turns into a beautiful purple color. Strain and discard flowers. During this time is probably a good spot to get your jars ready for canning, but make sure you follow the directions of your book!

Combine lavender liquid, peaches, lemon juice, and sugar in a very large stainless steel or enamel saucepan. Bring to a full boil over high heat and boil hard for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in pectin.

Ladle into hot jars and process for 10 minutes, which you will know how to do when you read your canning book. When the processing is finished, turn off the heat and remove lid from canner. Allow jars to remain in the water for 5 minutes to stabilize the pressure inside the jars, then remove from canner. Use a jar lifter, which is so awkward to use and may involve in some almost lost jam, if you're like me. Be sure not to tilt the jar to prevent the contents from running under the lid. Transfer the jars to a wooden cutting boar or a surface covered with several layers of towels or newspaper. Do not place jars on a cold hard surface or they make break. 

Do not dry jars or tighten seals. Any water on top of the jars will evaporate during the cooling period. Let the jars cool, undisturbed, for 12-24 hours. Then check the seal. It is easy to tell if the jars are sealed as the metal lids curve downwards. you can refrigerate any jars that are not sealed and use the contents for up to three weeks. Remove the screw bands (my mom also recommended this as you can see better if something starts to grow on your jar), dry them, and store separately.

After all of that, guess what? You have kick ass jam! The lavender plays so well with the peach, giving you an herb-fruit one-two punch. If you haven't been into lavender as a flavor before, I think this jam will change your mind. I love it on toast with cream cheese, or just toast, or just everything. I mixed some in with some cottage cheese the other day and that rocked too. I'm seriously convinced there's nothing this jam can't do. Give it a try. I think you'll be surprised at just how awesome it is.