My peppers are getting outrageous.
I really appreciate that about them.
There are billions, and more and more of them each day.
But guess what? I rarely have time to actually cook myself meals these days. (something i need to work on)
I’ve been interested in the art of canning for a long time.
I like the gift giving aspect of it.
The cute little jars themselves, and the endless possibilities to decorating them.
I tried canning for the first time today.
I had to purchase strawberries at the grocery store, and should have gone to a farmer’s market..
Time constraints are a B.
Next time.
Those strawberries sure were pretty, though.
I used:
3 pints strawberries
1 cup hot peppers (serranos and jalapenos)
1 1/2 tbsp lemon zest
2 1/2cups apple cider vinegar
Juice of two lemons
2 3oz packets liquid pectin
6 1/2 cups sugar
I chopped the peppers in a food processor with 1 cup apple cider vinegar, and added the mixture to chopped, then hand squished strawberries.
I added the zest, lemon juice, and the rest of the vinegar..
I brought that to a boil, then added the pectin.
I read somewhere that you need to boil the pectin for a minute before adding the sugar, so the pectin sets later on…
I did that.
My friend and I agreed that there’s this underlying pressure, and an inner timer for canning that we decided isn’t really there.
You can actually take your time, and the only worry is that moment where you set the lid on the top of the jar.
It’s but a moment..
After you’ve pulled the filled jars from the boiling water, there’s a little symphony of pops that tell you the exact moment the jar has created a seal.
It’s thrilling!
One of the things I read says a jam may need 24 hours to two weeks to set.
I’m afraid that I might not have used enough pectin.
I have to be extremely patient, which makes me glad that the jars aren’t being kept at my house.
I want the little chunks of fruit to be evenly dispersed in the jam, so I kept turning them every hour or so.
Unfortunately, it was still a bit like fruit juice.
PATIENCE.
Also, I saw this today.
“Babies. We’re just babies, man.”-Digable Planets.
