Homemade Raspberry-Blueberry Jam

There is a perk/downside to having a blog and that is the ability of viewing and analyzing my website statistics. When I first started my blog, I was completely obsessed. Then, I gave up looking at them because it was time consuming and drove me mad. It was like participating in a popularity contest that I could never win. Three years later, I have more restraint and only look them over once a month. For the past year, there has been one recipe that’s bringing a lot of people to my blog. More specifically, it’s Lazy Man’s Cabbage Roll Casserole. That recipe has been pinned over 1000 times! I know, I’m shocked too.

I can’t follow up because I don’t do a whole lot of cooking anymore. My boyfriend is the main chef in our house. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to have a sexy man that cooks for me while I pursue other artistic endeavours. I decided to take this opportunity to lay off of the food blogging and focus more on travel, adventure, and maybe a dash of literature. I think my blog visitors from Pinterest do check out these articles, but let’s be clear: my new direction is not bringing in the followers. I’m riding of the coat-tails of Lazy Man’s Cabbage Rolls.

In addition to that, I found out having a food blog contributes to hipsterdom. How have I come to this conclusion? Well, my friend recently admitted to being a closet hipster on Facebook. It went like this:”I’ve gone down a slippery slope from being a skateboarder type who liked heavy metal to a guy wearing a toque, a plaid shirt, and an ironic moustache. Cue the internet slandering.” One of his friends listed the qualities of a typical hipster.

• Skinny jeans (Check),
• low fat skim milk lattes from locally owned fair trade coffee shops (Check),
• a food blog (Check, beginning to feel uncomfortable),
• hot yoga classes (Check, sweating now and not from yoga), and
• some type of soy based diet (Oh golly, that was a close one).

After some deep soul searching, I’m going to embrace the food part of this blog and come back to the kitchen. My newest “hipster” culinary hobbies are canning, soups, and scones. Today’s recipe is homemade jam. I know, I know. You are thinking “Canning is hard and fiddly,” or “Only Grandmas have the time and skills for canning.”

BUT the rules have changed and it’s easier!

1. Sanitizing the jars now requires just washing them in warm, soapy water. This is only as long as they require processing of over 10 minutes in boiling water. Most canning must be processed longer than 10 minutes, except for some pickles, jellies, and fruit juice.

2. Warming the lids in boiling water is no longer necessary. Just wash in warm, soapy water, rinse well, and keep at room temperature.

via Water-bath canning just got easier via the Washington Post, September 25th, 2014.

Here is how to make bitchin’ jam for you and your friends. It’s a little late for the berry season, but you can use thawed frozen berries from your garden.

Raspberry-Blueberry Jam or (Merry-Double-Berry Jam)

adapted from Canning for a New Generation by Liana Krissoff

Makes about 4 quart-size jars

3-4 apples (peels and cores for natural pectin) or
1 package of Certo Light pectin crystals
3 lbs of raspberries
1-1.5 lbs of blueberries
2 cups of light brown sugar
3 tbsp of strained fresh lemon juice

Note: You’ll need cheese cloth to hold apple peels and cores. You can skip this ingredient if you use Certo, but I think it added a zest.

Instructions

1. Prep your canning station – canning pot with water on to boil and washed jars and lids are ready. Put a small plate in the freezer to test your jam before canning.

2. For apples: Quarter, peel, and core apples. Put as many of the apple trimmings in a jelly bag or a cheese cloth (4 layers) and tie bag closed.

3. Pour raspberries, blueberries, and leftover juices in a wide pot. Add sugar and lemon juice. Blend with a potato masher. Then, bring to a simmer.

4. Add the bag of apple trimmings or add the Certo pectin crystals to the berry mixture. Bring to a boil over high heat and cook, stirring frequently to avoid stickiness. Put a dab of jam on the frozen plate to test readiness. The jam should become somewhat firm. Remove from heat and take out the bag of apple trimmings. Set aside.

5. Ladle the hot jam into your clean jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace at the top. Use a damp paper towel to clean the rims of the jars. Then, top with the flat lid and adjust the ring so it’s just finger tight. Repeat and continue to fill jars until you are out of jam.

6. Gently lower your jars into the canning pot, making sure that water covers the jars by at least 1 inch. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes

7. Remove jars carefully to a folded towel, when the jars can stay undisturbed for 12 hours. After 1 hour, check lids for a seal. If the lid has not popped down, it hasn’t sealed and should be put in the fridge immediately.

8. Label jars and feel like a badass domestic goddess with cool, homemade gifts.

Organic Jam = Happy Toast