Tomato Orange Marmalade

My addiction to canning began 7 years ago with this recipe, all that I love about canning is present in tomato orange marmalade.  It is a product that is inaccessible if you do not make it yourself, one that looks beautiful cooling on your counters for weeks longer then necessary, an enjoyable almost meditative cooking process and of course a flavor that is well worth all the time you invest in it.  The flavor is one that provides a bright sweet flavor to a long winter of stored root vegetables.  I was recently asked what compelled me to make this recipe when I first saw, tomato is not well known as a sweet preserve and many would not even try it.  Honestly I do not remember, it may have been my love of tomatoes, or the way I was imagining it would taste in my head or just an adventurous streak.  Although we should remember that tomatoes are a fruit, so really it should be less of a mental leap then making a tasty dessert with rhubarb, which is a vegetable.

I ended up making Tomato Orange Marmalade in my No Added Pectin Jam Making Workshop last Saturday and I think it is safe to say it surprised all the participants.  Everyone immediately fell in love with it.  One attendee said, "This is my new favorite thing."  A sentiment I fully understand as it is a spread that is just the right side of sweet to be perfect spread on toast or filling a French crepe, but would also be happy paired with chevre.  The tomatoes serve to balance the citrus and temper the bitterness that is usually so prevalent in marmalade.  In the end I think everyone was happy that I called it in to pinch hit for the seedless raspberry jam I originally had planned.

Raspberry jam seemed perfect to teach now as the season was just beginning, giving the participants plenty of time to make it on their own before the season was over.  However I failed to think through the nature of farming and availability.  I was happily remembering picking fall raspberries in the height of the season, when you can take less then thirty minutes to fill a flat with berries.  However this is the start of the fall raspberry season and the picking is frustrating at best.  So in the end I had enough local raspberries to make a batch in my workshop but not enough to swap in and out various steps like a Food Network Star.

In case I have not sufficiently piqued your interest to try this marmalade recipe perhaps my eight year old's undying love for it can persuade you.  This has been Sebastian's favorite since he was 3, the year I ran out mid winter and unable to imagine his diet without it found out a quart jar of home canned crushed tomatoes would work in the recipe.  Every time Sebastian introduces someone to it and they fall in love it makes his day.  He loves knowing that other people have discovered one of his favorite culinary joys.  If you do try this please let me know in the comments, I know he will love to read them.

Tomato Orange Marmalade
Adapted from Gourmet 2003

It is important that you use the best quality tomatoes you can for this recipe.  You can use any color of tomato you want, a mix is especially striking.  Don't use paste tomatoes as they do not have enough liquid in them.  If need be in winter you can make a batch using 1 quart jar of home canned crushed tomatoes.  However supermarket tomato look alikes will not work.  A friend tried that once and when I asked how it was she replied, "Well... I ate it."  Which meant no one else would.



3 pounds peeled, cored and chopped ripe heirloom tomatoes, including juices (the weight is after peeling, coring and chopping, including the weight of any juices)
3 cups sugar
2 organic juice oranges, washed
1 organic lemon, washed
1/8 tsp salt

Place peeled, chopped tomatoes and their juices in a 5 to 6 qt or larger, wide pot, (the ingredients will all fit in a smaller pot but you need to leave space so they will not bubble over, ideally it should be at least 9 1/2 inches wide to encourage rapid evaporation).  Slice oranges and lemons as thinly as possible, including peel and pith.  I slice mine on my mandolin using the thinest insert and then remove all the seeds and slice the rounds into 4 pieces (and the pieces that are only peel I julienne, you can also quarter the fruit and then slice it as thinly as possible with a knife.

Place the lemon and orange slices in the pan with the tomatoes, checking again for any citrus pits you missed, in the pot with the tomato.  Add the sugar and salt and place over moderate heat while stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved.  Turn the heat to high and continue to cook until the setting point is reached.*

Using a canning funnel ladle hot marmalade into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Run a bubble wand or small knife around the inside of the jar to remove air bubbles.  Use a damp paper towel to clean the surface of the rims, place a clean lid on top, add the rings and tighten as tightly as you can with your hands.  Place the filled jars in a water bath canner and process for 10 minutes.  After the 10 minutes is up remove the lid, turn off the heat and leave to rest for 5 minutes before removing the jars to cool on a towel or receiving blanket.

*How to test the setting point of jam:
This recipe is a great one to learn how to make preserves without added pectin as it gives you a visual cue when to begin testing.  At first the ingredients all look like separate items, tomatoes, juice and citrus slices.  I never begin to test this recipe until the ingredients take on a cohesive look, like they are all one product and most of the liquid is evaporated.  When making jam do not expect it to look like jam when it is still hot, hot jam is still a liquid unless you have moved beyond the gel stage and gotten to the cement stage.

Once it begins to look cohesive begin testing, for this recipe I rely almost exclusively on the cold plate test.  I place 2 saucers in the freezer and when I want to test the set I place a dollop on the plate, remove the marmalade from the heat, and place the plate in the fridge.  After a few minutes check the plate, the marmalade should remain in a mound that does not run if it is done, if you run your finger through it it should leave a line.  If you want a firmer set it should wrinkle before your finger if you push the mound, I personally prefer a softer set then that with this one.

If you do not trust your set testing abilities do the cold plate test and when you think it is set take the pot off the heat, place it in the fridge and test the set the next morning.  If it is set heat it back up to boiling before ladling into hot jars and canning (the product must be hot to safely can it).

Canning 101: An Article, Two Workshops and FAQ

I decided to post a canning FAQ based on the google searches I see people using that cause them to find my blog.  I keep seeing the same questions come up in my statistics so I wanted to answer the questions directly here. Often the questions are answered in the post they land on, but only if the reader has good reading comprehension skills.

Before I dive in let me tell you about the canning workshops I am teaching this summer.  They are being taught through Red Wagon Plants and will help participants feel more comfortable with the whole process.

The first workshop is Saturday, August 28th from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and the topic is No Added Pectin Jam Making.  Right now all signs point to a seedless raspberry jam, but please don't hold me to that.

The second workshop is Salsa Two Ways on Saturday, September 18th from 9:00 Am to 12:00 PM.  In this workshop we will make a green and red salsa.

To register for either or both workshops contact Red Wagon Plants.

Red Wagon - Phone: 802-482-4060

Greenhouse and workshop location: 2408 Shelburne Falls Rd. Hinesburg, VT 05461

If you don't want a full workshop but need a little more guidance, last summer I posted a step by step guide to canning crushed tomatoes that can help beginning canners to be more comfortable with the process.  My personal goal is 35 quarts, last year I did 28 and while I only recently used them up, I was being careful.

Lastly a link before I get to the questions, the Burlington Free Press published an article today on Canning's comeback.  I was interviewed (and photographed) for the piece on topics as wide ranging as the need for safe canning practices, why I do it and where to find more info (other then this blog of course).  Canning Makes a Comback Article

Reprinted with permission from Burlington Free Press staff photographer Glenn Russell

Canning FAQ


Can you make no sugar jam without added commercial pectin?
Sorry, no.  While pectin is naturally occurring in fruit, the amount is different depending on the type of fruit and how ripe it is.  The pectin that is naturally present in fruit requires sugar and acid in order to set or gel.  The only way to make no sugar jam is to use Pomona's Pectin.   If you decide to buy it and use this link I will get a tiny credit at Amazon, however I do not personally endorse the product.  I have friends who love it, but I find it has a chalky texture.  In addition no sugar or low sugar jams will go bad quickly after opening, even when refrigerated, as sugar acts as a preservative.  I do make jams that rely on the natural pectin in fruit. With this method I can use less sugar then required by most commercial pectins and I still have a product that lasts in my fridge after opening.

Do you need to use pectin or a special recipe to make freezer jam?
Any jam or jelly can be stored in the freezer if you do not want to use the boiling water bath.  Just leave 3/4 of an inch of headspace, making sure to use jars that are labeled as being safe for the freezer.  Any of the tapered jars that are wider at the top then the bottom, or the ones with straight sides will work.  In the picture at the top of this post the first 2 jars from left to right will work and the other 3 should not be used.  Because the top is smaller than the base in the 3 jars on the right. Jam expands as it freezes and could cause the jar to crack.

My jam did not set, how can I fix it? (How do I fix runny jam?)
The answer to this depends on whether you were making a recipe with added commercial pectin or not.  If you were using added pectin you need to follow the package directions for redoing the batch which involves adding more pectin and recooking.  I have never tried this as I don't use commercial pectin (except in my strawberry freezer jam), however I understand doing this can give you an overly stiff jam.  If you were making a jam without added pectin and it just had not set when you canned it you can put it all back in the pan and recook it until the setting point is reached.  Alternatively, you can just label the jars as syrup and use it on french toast, waffles, pancakes, ice cream, stirred into yogurt, as a dessert sauce, folded into whipped cream, drizzled over pound cake, as an ingredient in barbecue sauce...

How risky is botulism when making jam and other high acid products?
Botulism is not a concern when making fruit jam (unless you are using a low acid fruit such as bananas), as long as you are making jam or jelly without adding any low acid ingredients or fats (so no oil, nuts, dairy, chocolate, vegetables).  Jams and jellies are some of the safest products to can.  The steps to safely can fruits are to ensure the product does not mold or decay, not to protect you from botulism.  Botulism cannot live in a high acid environment so even if you mess up the canning process when making jam you are not going to have botulism growing in your jars.  Instead they may not seal properly so you may have a jar that goes moldy or bad.

If I mess up the steps for canning am I going to poison my family?
Depends on what you are preserving and how you mess up, and even then it is rare.  If you are canning tomatoes adding the correct amount of acid for proper acidification is very important, so make sure to add any acid called for and do not change or add any ingredients.   Proper acidification creates an environment where botulism spores cannot thrive.  However if the proper acidification level is reached any errors you may make in the process may cause mold or spoilage, not botulism.  If you are using a pressure canner to preserve low acid items strictly adhering to the process is more vital, the correct temperature and times for processing allow the heat penetration that kills the botulism spores that may be present.



I found this recipe for _____________ in one of my cookbooks.  It looks really tasty and I want to enjoy it in the winter.  How do I can it?
Sorry, the only way to enjoy whatever non canning recipe in the winter is to freeze it or safely can the main ingredient. Then make the recipe with your preserved items in the winter.  For canning it is really important to use tested safe recipes.  Canning requires set acidity as well as density to make a reliable and safe product. You can find plenty of safe, tested recipes designed for canning to keep you busy canning all year without searching for new recipes to can from non canning sources.

I want to change this salsa/tomato sauce/pickle recipe to suit our tastes, what can I safely change?
Without seeing the recipe and the changes you want to make it is hard to advise you, however some guidelines.  You cannot increase the amount of any low acid ingredients in these recipes or else you may change the acidity and making an environment where botulism could grow.  Low acid items include: garlic, onions, peppers, celery, and all other vegetables.  You can add wine, sugar, salt, pepper and other DRIED herbs and spices.  Do not add any fat (so no butter, oil, schmaltz).  You can switch the acid that is being added for another acid. 1 tsp citric acid is equivalent to 1/4 cup bottled lemon juice or 1/2 cup 5% acidity vinegar.

This canning recipe calls for bottled lemon juice, can I substitute fresh? It tastes so much better.
Sorry, no.  Fresh lemon juice can vary greatly in how much acid is present, you need to use bottled to make sure you are using the correct amount of acidity to properly acidify what you are making.

These are good pointers, but I am still scared.  Any other information that can help me get over my fear of canning?
Yes, remember, I am teaching two, yes two, workshops this summer on canning through Red Wagon Plants.  If you take these workshops you will get to take part in canning, this can help give you the confidence in how to follow the steps and get over your fear.  You will even get to take home a sample so you can brag to all your friends that you canned this tasty item.  Plus I will answer your questions about canning.

The first workshop is Saturday, August 28th from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and the topic is no added pectin jam.  Right now all signs point to a seedless raspberry jam, but please don't hold me to that.

The second workshop is Salsa two ways on Saturday, September 18th from 9:00 Am to 12:00 PM.  In this workshop we will make a green and red salsa.

Red Wagon Plants Workshop Series

A Peek in my Kitchen

While I am on vacation in Cape Cod cooking in this kitchen

please come and tour you the inside of my kitchen in Burlington and hear more about my family and I over at The Stir on Cafemom.com.  I have to admit I struggled with this opportunity and how real I wanted your peek at my kitchen to be.  I did clean it, but hopefully I managed to leave it looking real.  Just like the small well used kitchen it is.  I asked a friend once if my house was like a real home or one where the owners just set down in the middle without making it a home.  She told me it looked like we had moved in and started playing and cooking immediately.  She did a great job of telling me the truth and making it sound good.

Thanks to Kim Conte for being so patient with my response to this opportunity.  She asked me back in April, it took me until a week ago to submit my answers.  It is not because I spent that time cleaning my kitchen, instead I was deciding how clean to make it.

After all that, here is the Hippo Flambe feature at the Stir on CafeMom.com

Blue Fish with Saffron Caper Aioli

Lewis and I have been vacationing in Cape Cod for over 10 years.  B.C. (Before Children) we used to car camp, first in Wellfleet and then in Truro.  However after Sebastian was born I could not face the idea of camping, not even the luxury tent car camping we always did.  My children are the kind who are into everything.  I often joked that I could hire them out as a baby proofing service, set them down on the floor and within 5 minutes they could find the most dangerous item in any room.  Camping was out because I could not figure out how to baby proof the world, really the whole idea did not sound relaxing to me.  Now we stay in a cottage with a tiny kitchen that I can only assume is well stocked for hot dogs and boxed mac and cheese.

Every year I bring a kitchen box with my most needed kitchen tools.  With the addition of my non stick saute pan, silicone spatulas, oven mitts, tongs, favorite knives, spices, pepper mill and anything else I remember to toss in the box, I can cook happily in even the tiniest of kitchens with the most motley assortment of pans.  However 3 years ago I had a new food quandry for vacation.  The previous summer, while on vacation, I read Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma and decided I was done with supporting the meat found in most supermarkets.  I would no longer buy meat from CAFO (contained animal feeding operations).  At home this was a simple decision to follow through on.  My favorite local store carries several options and I could always find something local in the reduced price section.  In addition I could easily buy a share in an animal directly from the farmer, further reducing my cost.

However the supermarket franchises in Cape Cod are not like City Market, so I was left arguing with myself over how to approach meat while on vacation.  I was not up for the task of bringing it with me, however I also knew I would not enjoy a week of CAFO meat.  The guilt alone would ruin the taste.  In the end I did not think of a solution until we went to the beach.  Somehow as a landlocked Vermonter I totally forgot seafood is local and wild in Cape Cod.

The other night I bought bluefish and was plotting in my head how to prepare it, trying to remember a tasty onion and lemon sauce I made last year.  I realized it was time to give up on that dish and move on.  Last year I added herbs in 4 inch pots to my "kithchen box," although technically they travel stuffed in a corner of the car, not in the box.  I always bring saffron as it goes so well with seafood.  Still plotting and thinking (and reading many bluefish recipes that called for spreading mayonnaise or mayonnaise and sour cream on the fish before baking).  I began by soaking some of my capers in water to temper their saltiness and to saute some onions.

Thinking of the mayonnaise preparations I suddenly remembered the saffron aioli my friend Cheryl went on about trying at The Bouillabaisse Bash I was not invited to.  I decided I could make a version that would be just right to spread on the fish before baking.  The end result was delicious, it had to have been as Julian asked me today if I would make it again, tonight.  Sebastian, on the other hand, tried a bite, tasted it slowly and after careful consideration decided he did not want any.  (Trust me, it tasted far better then it looks in this photo.  I decided this dish was too good not to post, even though none of the photos are good.  If nothing else I need to record the recipe for myself).

Blue Fish with Saffron Caper Aioli


1 Tbsp capers (preferably preserved in salt not brine)
scant 1/2 cup mini onions or shallots, sliced thin
1 Tbsp EVOO
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 cup white wine (I used riesling)
1/4 tsp saffron
1 Tbsp Champagne vinegar
3 sprigs lemon thyme (or use regular thyme)
1/4 cup sour cream (I did not have sour cream so I used half and half with 3/4 tsp Champagne vinegar mixed in and then allowed to stand for 10 minutes to thicken)
2 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 lb fresh bluefish

Preheat oven to 350°

If using salt preserved capers, soak capers in a small bowl of warm water to leach out some of the salt while prepping the other ingredients.  In a large saute pan melt butter and add EVOO, saute mini onions or shallots until tender and translucent.  Add wine, capers, saffron, vinegar and thyme to onions and reduce until it is a syrupy glaze, about a few Tbsp, basically until reducing any further means you will not be able to remove it from the pan.  (This took me a little less then 10 minutes, perfect for letting the half and half mixture become sour cream).

Mix sour cream, mayonnaise and reduced saffron glaze in a small bowl. Season aioli with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Line a baking dish with foil and place the fish on it skin side down, season the fish with salt and freshly ground black pepper and pour the aioli over the fish, spreading it all over the top.  Bake uncovered until cooked through and tender.  I baked mine for approximately 20 minutes.   Plate and serve.

Wild Rice Tabouli Salad (Gluten Free)

This dish came about because of my children, not because it is one of those dishes I knew they would love.  Quite the opposite, I made this dish fully aware that it will be several years before either of my boys decides to eat this.  However thanks to them and their pickiness I had 2 cups of leftover rice in the fridge.  I committed the cardinal parenting sin of preparing a new type of rice, which both boys immediately refused to eat.  I wasn't worried about it, they made do with the other options for dinner as Lewis and I happily ate the volcano rice, enjoying the different grains each with its own taste and texture.  For the record, the second time I made the rice they liked it, which was faster then I was expecting.


The idea to use the leftovers in Tabouli salad came when I was picking herbs at my CSA on one of the many oppressively humid, hot days this summer that has been making everyone cranky and squinty.  The herb field has zero shade and the curly parsley was the first parsley I came to.  Standing in the parsley patch I quickly decided to make tabouli for dinner, as a sudden tasty sounding way to excuse picking curly when I usually prefer flat leaf.  Now it wasn't laziness, it was a meal plan.


Once I decided not to use the traditional bulgur wheat base (or the boxed mix my mother relied on) I decided to play a little by adding toasted hazelnuts. The resulting salad was light, flavorful and delicious, enough so that I made it again 3 days later, even though I no longer had any tomatoes.  The second time around I gave the leftovers to one of my neighbors, who requested the recipe when he returned my dish.  Then told me to start typing when I told him I planned to post it here.

Wild Rice Tabouli Salad (or should that be Tabbouleh?)


Most of the vegetables are listed as optional because I don't want you to put off making it because you are missing some of the vegetables listed.  Just chop and add in whatever vegetables you have so there is more texture and flavors in the salad


2 cups cooked rice, preferably a wild rice blend or other whole grain rice (I used volcano rice)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (if you put  your lemons in the microwave on high for 50 seconds first you will get more juice)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp sea salt or kosher salt (if your rice is not already salted increase salt to 1 tsp)
1/2 cup finely chopped curly parsley (it is really important to finely chop the parsley)
2 - 3 Tbsp finely chopped fresh mint leaves
1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes (optional)
1 cucumber peeled, cut lengthwise into 4 pieces and then seeds removed, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup hazelnuts briefly toasted in a dry skillet until fragrant and then coarsely chopped
1 red, yellow or orange pepper seeded and chopped (optional)
1/2 cup chopped scallions or baby onions chopped fine
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)




Mix all the ingredients and stir well.  Top with feta if using. Either serve immediately or allow the flavors to mellow and blend in the fridge for half an hour first.

Sour Cherry Pound Cake

I don't really have much to say tonight.  Perhaps I should be more precise and say I don't have much to say that would be coherent, or even interesting.    So instead of a story of how hot it is or an anecdote of my children tying me up and locking me in the basement because I refused to buy anything from the ice cream truck (partially because this did not happen, yet...)   For tonight I am going to cut to the chase, leaving out the long winded tale of our lives and just tell you about the sour cherry pound cake I made with the cherries that did not make it into one of the many batches of sour cherry jam.

This pound cake is nothing more then a fruit substitution in the Blueberry Raspberry Kirsch Pound Cake I shared last summer.  It makes 2 loaves, every time I made the blueberry and raspberry version we froze one and enjoyed the other one right away.  The first time we thawed one and served it for breakfast the boys both looked at their plates and said, "Blueberries and raspberries, where did we get those?  It's winter."  How I love brainwashing!  While I love the blueberry and raspberry version the sour cherry one is even better, there are so many more layers of flavor and balances to it.  The cherries sweeten when they are baked while remaining tart enough to contrast with the sweet cake.  As a total surprise, everyone here, from 5 to 43, agreed with me.  This winter it will be wonderful to have both versions stored away for a taste of summer.

Sour Cherry Pound Cake
adapted from Orangette

5 large eggs at room temperature (you can just put them in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes)
1 2/3 cups sugar
2 Tbsp Kirsch
1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature, plus more for the pans
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup plus 3 Tbsp white whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup plus 3 Tbsp all purpose flour
2 Tbsp all purpose flour (for mixing with the cherries)
2 cups pitted sour cherries, juices drained and added to any Sour Cherry Jam  you are making


Generously butter a 9 cup Bundt pan or two 4.5 cup/1.5 Qt loaf pans and then dust it with all purpose flour, shaking out the extra.

Beat the eggs and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer with the flat beater attachment until thick and smooth, about 1 minute. Add the kirsch and the butter in 1 Tbsp sized pieces and beat until it is thick and fluffy. This should take a couple minutes, stop once to scrape down the sides. Add the baking powder and salt and mix to combine well. Add both flours and turn the machine on and off on low in short pulses until just combined. Be careful not to overmix.
Toss the raspberries and blueberries in a large bowl with 2 Tbsp all purpose flour before using a spatula to fold them into the batter. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan or pans and smooth the top. Place in the center of a cold oven and turn the oven temperature to 300°. Bake until a knife or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. For both pans for me this took 1 hour and 25 minutes. Cool in the pan or pans for 5 minutes before inverting on to a cooling rack to cool completely.

If you wish to freeze the cake wait until it is cooled completely and then place the cake in a freezer bag, make sure to label it.  To defrost just allow to defrost overnight at room temperature.

Sour Cherry Jam (No Commercial Pectin)

This winter as I am spreading tangy sweet sour cherry jam on my toast I know I will romanticize everything that went into making it.  I will bite into my breakfast and the vivid tart cherry flavor will fill my mouth (a flavor that oddly cannot come from sweet cherry jam) and I will have fond memories of picking the cherries with my family.  I will remember my strange enthusiasm and zeal while picking in the heat, which caused me to pick close to 20 pounds.  My memory will gloss over the time I spent, during an unbearably hot, record breaking, July heat wave, cooking batch after batch of boiling jam.  I will no longer remember the blanket covering the door to the kitchen so the heat would not poison the rest of the house.  I may even conveniently forget resorting to cooking in my bathing suit.

The jam will only remind me of the best of sour cherries, the taste of them in your mouth, my boys working together to pick enough for their crazy mother,  everyone in the family taking a turn swinging maniacally across the fields on a rope at the orchard, going to the beach together after picking to jump in the cold water and for the boys to dig extensive tunnel systems in the sand.  The jam will provide me with happy memories of the summer just as this blog serves to preserve the best parts of raising my children.  Like sitting here with them in my room, with the air conditioner turned on, listening to Sebastian read to Julian, while I write this post.  Without recording the screaming stand offs between parents and children, like the one we had at dinner the other night.

Arguments over leaving the table, not coming to the table in the first place and the general rudeness of children whose job it is to think only of themselves.  In my memory this jam will be just like those family dinners, the ones we are constantly told to have as they are the cornerstone of strong families, because clearly they never dissolve into the general mayhem and unpleasantness which cause Lewis and I to look  at each other, trying to remember what dinners were like pre-children.  Twenty years from now I will look back at our dinners as a magical part of raising my boys where they shared what they were thinking and doing and enjoyed ALL the food I lovingly prepared and served.

If you want to make cherry jam so you can wistfully dream about the feeling of the sun warming you this winter you will need to add some form of pectin as cherries are low in natural pectin.  Personally I do not like using commercial pectin (except for in my strawberry freezer jam with cointreau and drambuie).  Commercial pectin requires a large quantity of sugar to gel, producing a jam that is overly sweet for my taste and does not highlight the flavor of the fruit.  Some folks use Pomona's Pectin as it does not need any sugar to gel, however when I tried it there was a chalky texture to the jam that I found unpleasant.  For pectin in this jam I used unripe apples from the same orchard where I picked the jam.   If you do not have access to unripe apples you can use granny smith or crabapples instead.  If you have a local pick your own apple orchard it is worth asking to pick some fruit now to use as pectin.  I was given my pectin apples for free because I only took the apples that had been damaged by hail, and only a few from each tree.

No Commercial Pectin Sour Cherry Jam
This is not a complicated recipe, I just have a lot of information on canning in the directions.

1200 grams pitted sour cherries (approximately 6 cups pitted and halved sour cherries)
700 grams granulated sugar (approximately 4 cups, really 3.65 but 4 cups will work)
4 small unripe, still green apples roughly chopped, core and all (approximately 2 cups)  If you don't have access to unripe apples use granny smith or crabapples
Juice of 1 small lemon (pits reserved, they are high in pectin as well)

Put the sour cherries lemon juice and sugar in a large non reactive pan.  Place the chopped apple and lemon pits in a giant tea ball or a muslin bag and add to the pot.  This makes it possible to remove the apple mush and lemon pits later.  Bring the mixture to a rolling boil while stirring and cook for 5 minutes, the sugar should all be dissolved and the apple pieces should start to soften a little.  Turn off the heat and cover with a pan lid and place in the fridge overnight, I usually refrigerate mine for at least 24 hours, but that is only because I do almost all of my canning at night.

The next day, or night, place two small white plates in the freezer to test the jam with, put the pot back on the stove and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, while prepping your jars, lids and canning pot.  You will need approximately 5 half pint jars, I always prep extras to be safe.*

Once the fruit is boiling stir constantly until the setting point is reached.  When you think your jam is set place a small amount on one of the plates in the freezer and place it back in the freezer for several minutes.  Test the dollop of jam by pushing it with your finger, if it wrinkles up it is gelled and you can can your jam.  The setting temperature for jam is around 220°, begin testing when the temperature is around 218° to 219°. The National Center for Home Food Preservation says the temperature test is the most dependable, however I have made syrup by relying only on temperature so I use both temperature and the clean plate test.

When your jam is sufficiently gelled remove the jars from the canning pot and fill the clean jars using a canning funnel.  Leave 1/4 inch headspace on the jars and clean the jar rims using a dampened paper towel before placing on the lid and tightening the screw on bands with your hands, before placing in the canning pot.  Bring the canning pot to a boil and boil hard for 5 minutes for sterilized jars and 10 for unsterilized jars (sterilizing jars can only happen in a boiling water canner,  not the oven or dishwasher).  Once the jars have boiled for the correct time turn off the heat and take off the  canner lid.  Allow to cool with the lid of for 5 minutes before using a jar lifter to remove the processed jars.  Place the jars on a towel, dish cloth or receiving blanket or a cooling rack, with at least 1 inch between jars.  Allow to cool completely, 12 to 24 hours.  Once cool take off the bands, test the seal by pushing up on the lid with your thumbs.  Any jars that have not sealed properly can be placed in the fridge.  Clean the top of the jars, label and store in a cool dry place.


*To prep your jars and lids, wash the jars and place in a caning pot on a canning rack with hot water to cover.  You now have 2 choices, you can bring the canning pot to a rolling boil and boil the jars for 10 minutes.  If you do this you only need to boil the filled jars for 5 minutes.  Alternatively you can bring the canning pot to 180°, with this option you will boil the filled jars for 10 minutes (this is what I do, it means less time heating the kitchen with a giant canning pot of boiling water).