Dilly Beans

In case I had been previously confused, I now know for certain, high paying jobs that impress other people are not important to me.  Instead I am motivated by jobs that match my values and allow me to parent the way I want.  As this blog should make very clear I am heavily invested in how people eat.  Because of this I spent a year at the VNA Family Room working for poverty level wages as their Americorps Vista Healthy Food Coordinator.  At the end of the year the Family Room was making lunches for their preschool in house instead of relying on food from the school district.  My menu included several bean dishes and all the grains where whole grains.  Plus, the children actually ate the food, including vegetables, I prepared.  Watching a child who said the only vegetable he likes was canned corn devour kale chips made me want to do back flips through the classroom.  (It is probably best for everyone that I have never learned to do a back flip).

So this summer when a friend started to tell me how my children's school was hiring a lunch room monitor for the first time and I really should apply for the job I stood there listening to her and shaking my head no the whole time.  When she was done talking somehow I stopped shaking my head and decided I could make the most difference in how the children at the school ate by being there every day.  So now I spend 3 hours smack dab in the middle of the day in a lunch room filled with boisterous children.  I walk around and remind them to eat, offer them taste tests of a new healthy food available in the salad bar that I am sure they will like once they taste it.  I try to keep the children happy and social without tipping over into crazy chaos and bedlam.

I have had feedback from many adults in the building that they would not have taken this job on a bet.  But I have also had several staff I really respect tell me I am doing a great job and they have never seen the lunch room with such a nice kid vibe and still efficient.  I calmly tell them they have not seen me with the classes that are the most challenging.

Truth is most of the time, I love it, and not just because Julian finally has to stop taking chocolate milk.  But man is it exhausting, three hours is like a marathon.  For me to post here I think it will have to be during the window after I drop my boys and school and before I return for work.  Once I decide these Dilly Beans are done curing my boys will bring them to lunch.  Because most of the time my boys still bring lunch from home.  Because I make them slightly spicy with 1/4 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes in every jar, both boys will eat them and sip milk between each bite.

Dilly Beans

Adapted from Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving to replace cayenne pepper with crushed red pepper flakes (this does not affect safety, I just prefer this type of heat)

2 pounds string beans (I used Rattlesnake and Purple Pole beans from my garden)

1/4 cup canning salt

2 1/2 cups 5% acidity cider vinegar (you can use other 5% acidity vinegars but I prefer the more mellow flavor of the cider vinegar.  Although many prefer the clear color of white vinegar in the brine)

2 1/2 cups water

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste, divided

4 cloves garlic

4 heads dill

Trim ends off beans so they fit in the jars with 1/4 inch headspace (I used the new Ball Pint and a Half Jars).  Combine the salt, vinegar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil and cook until the salt is completely dissolved.  Pack Beans into jars with 1/4 inch headspace and add 1 clove of garlic for each pint or pint and a half jar with 1 head of dill and 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper.  For quart jars use 2 heads of dill, 2 cloves of garlic and 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes.  Ladle hot brine over the beans with 1/4 inch headspace.  Use a bubble wand or other nonmetal utensil, to press the beans away from the wall of the bar to release any trapped air.  repeat carefully all around the jar.

If need be top up the liquid after removing any air bubbles to maintain 1/4 inch headspace.  Use a damp paper towel to clean the rims of jars before placing lids and rings on top and tightening by hand.  Place filled jars in the canner and process for 10 minutes once the canner comes up to a full boil.  After the 10 of processing time turn the heat off and remove the lid of the canner.  Let the jars and canner rest and cool for 5 minutes before removing the jars to a kitchen towel or receiving blanket to cool on the counter with at least 1 inch of space between all the jars.  Allow the beans to cure in the jars for 2 weeks before joyfully sampling.

Green Coriander

With the recent hot weather we have been experiencing, chances are some of your herbs are starting to bolt.  When my cilantro goes from lush foliage to flowers to seeds instead of missing the herb I greedily gather the green seeds before they dry out and become brown.  Green Coriander has a softer taste than brown coriander seeds with an herb like freshness.  Its flavor is reminiscent of both cilantro and dried coriander.  My children like to eat it fresh in the garden.  I store as much as I can harvest in the freezer to use all year long.

Some of my favorite uses are in a white wine chicken or pork braise, in a sauce for fish, dressing up extra virgin olive oil to drizzle over fresh tomatoes, and in an Indian curry.  This year I have several cups stored away, so I am sure I will be adding to the list of my favorite uses.

The last time I was in my community Garden Plot I pulled out all of my cilantro plants and brought them home to harvest.  One more day and I would have had fully ripened coriander, missing the opportunity for this gardener's only special ingredient.

Announcing Hippo Flambé's Preserving Index

As the canning season begins in ernest more and more people find my blog looking for answers to canning questions and recipes.  To make this easier for everyone I have created a canning and preserving index for Hippo Flamb&eacute's blog posts.  If you have any canning questions feel free to ask in a comment.

Hippo Flambé's New Preserving Index

Preserving Tomatoes: Freezing

Every summer I can an obscene amount of crushed tomatoes.  I make deals with farmers for the tomatoes that are too ugly to sell, harvest flats of them from my plants and keep some out from my CSA share.  As tomato season progresses I begin to panic, fearing that I will never preserve enough to last until the following summer.  Until one day I look at the jars lined up in the basement and I decide I can stop.  Then, as long as I have made enough salsa, and tomato orange marmalade, I freeze the rest.  In addition I freeze any smaller tomatoes throughout the season, because I learned the hard way, canning small tomatoes is time consuming, overly fiddly, and frustrating.

I know many folks who prefer the ease of freezing tomatoes and preserve all of their harvest without canning.  For the bulk of my tomatoes I prefer to spend more time on them in the summer months so I can use them more easily in the winter.  With a quart of crushed tomatoes I can make pasta sauce, soup, or chili easily enough that I think of them as convenience food.  In addition, if the power goes out, or my freezer dies, I won't lose my entire tomato stash.

However frozen tomatoes do have a purpose that goes beyond preserving the tomatoes I can't or don't want to can.  I will admit their primary use is running out of tomatoes too early insurance.  However they are also perfect for recipes that call for just a few tomatoes.  Many times I use part of a quart of tomatoes assuring myself that I will find a use for them in the next few days.  However many times the jar gets lost in the back of my fridge until it resurfaces in scary new colors.  Instead of using a partial quart I take a few tomatoes out of the freezer, rub the skins under running water to remove the skins, cut out the core and proceed with my recipe.  For a small number of tomatoes you can even do this without getting frostbite.

Frozen Tomatoes
I hope it doesn't insult any ones intelligence to write this in recipe format.  I just know some folks skip the blog chatter and scroll down to the recipe.

Tomatoes, local vine ripened flavorful ones
Zip top bags or Pyrex dishes with lids or plastic storage containers

Place the tomatoes in the bags or containers and close.  Place in the freezer.  To use just remove the tomatoes from the storage container or bag, reseal, and return the remaining tomatoes to the fridge.  Rub the tomato under running water while rubbing the skin.  The skin will rub right off.  Cut the core out with a knife.

Sour Cherry Raspberry Lime Jam (No Pectin)

Last years sour cherry jam was a success because it set without using commercial pectin, it made a really beautiful translucent jam with preserved cherries suspended within, and many who scored a jar raved about it.  The only problem is my family did not like it.  Turns out we prefer a jam with a more consistent texture and flavor, one where the whole fruit adds body to the whole jam instead of occasional solids floating in jelly.  We are not big jelly eaters and missed the body of the jam having more substance and texture.  Which is fine with me as French preserves are more time and labor intensive requiring multiple steps, fruit straining, simmering etc.  So this year I got to start over after picking 12 pounds of sour cherries at a local orchard.

Last years jam was really just the cherries, so this year I decided to play a little more.  Plus I have a friend with a flat of raspberries at home who I saw in the fields.  So my first inspiration was sour cherry raspberry.  I decided to use lime in place of the usual lemons after seeing raspberry jam recipes made with lime.  Plus my newest summer drink obsession means I have been stock piling limes.  This recipe depends on the pectin in the limes, especially the peels to to gel.  Probably a little easier for the average person to get then unripe green apples.

The results were an unmitigated success.  The boys have enjoyed it drizzled over ice cream and have happily greeted it on toast for 2 mornings in a row without complaining.  Truth be told, after the first breakfast they looked critically at the 4 jars lined up on the counter and told me I needed to make more.  My boys have learned how to judge how many jars of jam they will need to get through a winter.

When I tasted it I was surprised at all the flavors, wondering at first at a subtle background taste I could not place.  Then I remembered the lime, which adds more to the overall taste then the bright acid flavor from lemon juice.  It is tart and sweet with a richness that is addictive.  Plus it set up beautifully with a minimum of hanging over a hot pot in July.  Last summer my kitchen scale broke and has refused to measure in anything other then ounces, or allow me to tare out the weight of anything on top.  I replaced it with a new scale that remembers the previous weight when it turns itself off.  Now as long as I pay attention to when the display goes blank I can slowly weigh cherries as I pit them.  A vast improvement over my old scale where I had to occasionally write down the weight I was at and start over.

Sour Cherry Lime Jam

Note: There is sugar listed twice as it gets added with the raspberries and with the cherries.  I have given conversions from Metric but they are just approximate, I created the recipe using weight.

600 grams [1 1/3 pound] raspberries (mine were frozen, I just put them in the pot still frozen)

200 grams [7/8 cup] granulated sugar

500 grams [1 lb 2 ozs] pitted sour cherries (I have a book that says this is 600 grams or 1 1/3 lbs before pitting, I don't know, I weighed them as I pitted them.  Why measure them twice?)

500 grams [2 1/4 cups] granulated sugar

Juice of 1 lime 2-3 Tbsp (rinds reserved)

Bring raspberries and 200 grams sugar to a simmer, simmer for 5 minutes.  Turn off and allow to cool slightly (I let it cool just long enough to set up my Fruit and Vegetable Strainer).  Set the raspberries aside and combine the pitted cherries, 500 grams sugar and lime juice in a large pan.  Bring up to the simmer and simmer gently for 5 minutes, crushing the cherries with a potato masher as they cook.

Remove the seeds from the raspberries in a food mill, chinois, sieve or a Kitchen Aid attachment. Add the raspberries to the cherries along with the reserved lime peels.  Heat the jam over high heat,  once the fruit is boiling stir constantly until the setting point is reached (this jam was set for me at 220°). You can also do the cold plate test, 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.  Remove the lime peels from the jam before canning.

Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace.  Wipe the rims clean with a damp paper towel or cloth and place on 2 piece lids and tighten by hand.  Place filled jars in a water bath canner with water covering the jars by at least 1 inch.  Boil for 10 minutes, when the 10 minutes is completed turn off the heat, remove the lid and leave the jars in the canner for another 5 minutes.  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. 

Annie's Salsa: One to judge all other salsas by

Everyone should have a great salsa canning recipe.  A great salsa recipe is the perfect answer to what can I snack on, but even more importantly can be brought to a potluck with a bag of tortilla chips and not be frowned upon, even by the guests who slaved over their stoves before attending the party.  I remember one time I brought this salsa, we decided to attend at the last minute as we were getting ready for vacation.  In a panic I grabbed a jar of salsa and tortilla chips as we wrangled the boys into the car.  My salsa was not the only one in attendance, although it was the only one that was home canned.  It sat on the table, mostly forgotten, the other salsa was in front of it on the table.  However 4 months later the hostess called, asking if I had any jars of salsa left and if I might sell her one.  Apparently a jar of my salsa was the only thing her husband asked for at Christmas time.

"My salsa" is really my friend Annie's salsa.  She spent years perfecting the recipe, once she could get everyone in her family to agree it was perfect, she somehow managed to get it tested to see if she could safely can it.  I know she had a friend who worked for her local extension service, however I suspect she also bribed them with salsa.  This salsa is safe to can as written.  There are a few things you can change while still maintaining the proper balance of acidity and texture so it is safe to can.  It is important not to alter the recipe in a way to lower the acidity or texture.  Salsa is consumed straight from the jar without any further cooking which means it has no safety back up.

ANNIE’S SALSA
Tomatoes are roughly chopped into about 1/2 inch or larger pieces and the other vegetables should be cut into 1/4 inch pieces.

8 cups tomatoes, peeled, chopped and drained
2 1/2 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 cups chopped green pepper (substitute red or spicy peppers so long as total volume is the same or less)
3 – 5 chopped jalapenos
6 cloves minced garlic
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp black pepper
1/8 cup canning salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup apple cider vinegar (or substitute bottled lemon juice)
16 oz. tomato sauce, this refers to cans of plain tomato sauce, not pasta sauce
16 oz tomato paste

Combine all ingredients, bring to a boil, boil 10 minutes. Pour into hot jars leaving 1/2 inch head space, process pints for 15 minutes in a boiling water bath canner.

(note: This recipe can be safely canned in pints, not larger.  If you wish to can it in smaller jars use the same processing time)

Approved Salsa Tweaks


Tomatoes: Green tomatoes or tomatillos can be substituted for some or all of the red tomatoes, do not reduce total volume.


Onions: total quantity may be lowered or eliminated to your taste.  Do not increase total volume

Peppers: The total volume of green peppers and  jalapenos is 1 3/4 cups, you may use any combination of spicy and sweet peppers including red peppers to make up the total volume of 1 3/4 cups. I usually use a mix of spicy peppers for a more complex flavor instead of all jalapenos.  Do not increase total volume.

Garlic: Do not increase the total volume of garlic

Cumin, Black Pepper, Canning Salt, Sugar: It is safe to vary the total of any of these dried spices and seasonings either up or down as you prefer

Cilantro: total quantity may be lowered or eliminated to your taste, you can also substitute fresh parsley if you prefer.  Do not increase total volume

Apple Cider Vinegar: You may use any vinegar that is 5% acidity or more in place of the apple cider vinegar.  You can also use bottled lemon juice in place of the vinegar.  Do not reduce total volume, may be increased

Tomato paste and sauce may both be reduced slightly, personally I would leave them in. They contribute to the texture of the finished product and I also feel more comfortable knowing something I can and eat without reheating is safe from botulism. "Reduced Slightly" is not clear enough for my comfort.

Jar Size: You can process this salsa in smaller jars if you want, it would need the same processing time in the water bath canner.  It is not tested and approved for larger jars.

The boys after City Markets Harvest Celebration, they both requested a "Harvest themed face painting." Not that I have them brain washed or anything.

Lacto Fermented Green Tomato Pickles

As a child we used to get green tomato pickles from Williams Chicken near my Grandmothers. They would be floating in a large plastic tub of brine and they were sour and delicious. My brother was mildly addicted to them. Even though I understand his obsession with them, I still do not fully understand the night he created, "Green tomato stuffed hamburgers". Let me just suggest you never attempt to make them and leave it at that. Although I have to admit the vegetable soup with the egg poached in it he made another time was worse, maybe it was the addition of the melted stinky cheese.

Several years ago I consulted the Ball Blue Book and tried to make green tomato pickles. Some folks liked them, but for me it did not match my memory of pickled green tomatoes. This summer when I was making lacto fermented pickles I realized the pickled green tomatoes we all loved where lacto fermented, not vinegar, salt and water. The folks from Flack Family Farm told me to use the same procedure I would use for any vegetable. Then they thanked me for giving them an idea for using their green tomatoes.

The good news is this method of pickling couldn't be easier, no boiling water bath canner, no hot brine. Plus lacto fermented foods are super foods, in modest quantities anyway. They improve vitamin absorption and correct the environment of your digestive system. The down side is after 3-4 days at room temperature they have to be stored in the fridge. The basic procedure comes from the Nourishing Traditions cookbook. Although there is no recipe for green tomato pickles in the book. It is better to make the pickles with homemade whey as they are lower in salt and it works more consistently. Whey is really simple to make using full fat yogurt that active yogurt cultures. The only downside to making it with whey is you have to plan ahead, and have yogurt in the house.

Lacto Fermented Green Tomato Pickles

For 1 quart (make as many or as few as you wish to store)

1 wide mouth quart preserving jar

enough green tomatoes to fill the jar to 1 inch below the lid (only use tomatoes that are totally green, the ones that made you crazy at the start of the summer)

1 dill head or 1 fresh dill sprig or 2 Tbsp dried dill or dill seed)

1 hot pepper with the stem pulled off (optional)

1 large or 2 medium or 3 small cloves of garlic

1 Tbsp canning and pickling salt

4 Tbsp homemade whey (or substitute an additional Tbsp of canning and pickling salt)

water

Wash the tomatoes and remove their stems and place in the clean wide mouth jar to 1 inch below the rim. Add the garlic and hot pepper between the tomatoes and add the salt and whey, if using. Fill the jars with water to 1 inch below the rim and screw on the lids. Store at room temperature for 3-4 days (3 days when kept at 72°) before placing on the top shelf of your fridge. They can be eaten after the 3 - 4 days but are better after a month of storage. It's normal if the brine is fizzy or there is white foam floating on the top. If the pickles go bad the smell will be completely off and you won't want to eat them.

As a full disclosure thing, the green tomatoes in the photo are not fermented yet. When done they will be more of an olive green color. I just wanted to post this while there were still green tomatoes for people to use.

Traditional Strawberry Jam

This morning the boys and I went strawberry picking for what I guess will be the last time this summer. We went to a farm in Monkton which we were introduced to earlier in the season by friends. They have lambs, chickens, currants, strawberries etc and are really nice. The first time we went the owner told me to make sure the boys tried some of the berries in the field. Not a problem, my boys regularly eat Julian's birth weight when picking berries (Julian was 8 pounds 14 ounces when he was born, Sebastian was 6 weeks premature and only 5 pounds 10 ounces).

That first time we went we visited the bottle fed lambs and the chickens and the boys ran around pretending to play basketball in the court with friends. Everyone had a great time, although I got a shock on the electric fence around the baby lambs as I did not know about disabling it and I was happily taking photos. Today it was only me and the boys and they played together and grazed while I picked. Like that first time at the beginning of the season it was hard work picking. The boys are also a little "picked out" after being dragged out to the fields on several occasions. I'm hoping that in a week when we can start picking black currants they will rally. I tried one at the farm today and now my brain is buzzing with jam ideas.

As for the strawberries, I think I picked enough for the last batch of freezer jam I need as well as some to chop, measure and freeze for strawberry ice cream this year. However I have received several requests for my no pectin (or really no commercial pectin) traditional strawberry jam recipe. Many folks don't have enough freezer space for jam and so the traditional one is easier to store.

Strawberries are a low pectin fruit which makes it difficult to get jam to set. One trick is to have about 1/4 of the fruit you use be underripe. Unripe strawberries contain more pectin because as strawberries ripen they lose their pectin. Many folks just use commercial pectin to make strawberry jam. However with most types of commercial pectin you have to use more sugar then fruit. Which is why so many strawberry jams taste "red" and not of berries. While I am fine with using white sugar I would not feel good about feeding that much of it to my family. There is Pomona's pectin that does not require any sugar to set, many people love and swear by it. I however noticed a chalky texture when I tried Pomona's pectin. Some of my jam making friends also commented on a chalky texture when they tried it.

The other reason I don't like to use commercial pectin is how finicky it is. Commercial pectin often does not set correctly. Then you are left with runny jam. The runny jam can be "remade" by adding more pectin and cooking again. My understanding is often this results in a rubbery texture. Personally I would either label runny jam as syrup and use it on ice cream, pancakes, waffles etc or I would add the orange I use in this recipe and cook it again that way.

Because strawberries are so low in pectin and I did not want to use commercial pectin I decided to add some setting insurance in the form of an orange, peel and all to this recipe. Citrus fruits are very high in pectin, especially in the peels and pits. The tiny pieces of cooked peel ended up being really tasty, and the jam sets reliably.

As a note on safety, this jam should be processed in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes, or 5 if the jars had already been sterilized in boiling water for 10 minutes. Many folks don't water bath can their jams, insisting that they have always done it that way and been safe. Personally I have never been in a car accident but I still wear my seat belt. While botulism is not an issue for jam because it is high in acid the boiling water bath gives a tighter seal and kills mold spores. After all that work picking the fruit and making the jam I am not interested in losing the results to a seal failure or mold.

Traditional Strawberry Jam with Cointreau and Drambuie

6 cups roughly chopped strawberries (measure the 6 cups after chopping), About 1/4 not fully ripe

Juice from 1 juice orange, peels, pits and pulp reserved (chop half the peels and all the pulp finely and reserve, the other half and the pits should be placed in a tea ball or cheesecloth bag

3 cups white sugar

3 Tbsp Drambuie (optional)

1 Tbsp Cointreau (optional)

Place 2 small plates or saucers in the freezer to test the jam later. Put the chopped strawberries and all the other ingredients (including the bag or tea ball of pits and peel) in a 5 - 6 qt heavy saucepan at least 9 inches in diameter (a Maslin pan would be ideal. If you get one please send me one as well). Bring to a boil stirring constantly, if any foam forms on the top skim it off and either discard or place in a small bowl as a treat later. Cook until the jam is set, knowing when the jam is set is an art form. I use both temperature and the cold plate test to determine when my jam is done. When the jam reaches a temperature of 218° - 222° I take a dollop and place it on one of the plates in the freezer. Allow the jam to sit n the plate for 30 seconds to cool. If the jam on the plate has formed a skin that wrinkles when you push it the jam is set. If you don't have a candy thermometer you will have to test more often.

Ladle the hot jam into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch of space at the top of the jar. Wipe the lids clean with a damp paper towel, use a plastic spatula or bubble remover to remove any air bubbles and screw on the lids and bands. Process the jam in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes for unsterilized jars and for 5 minutes for jars that have been sterilized in the boiling water bath empty for 10 minutes. After the jam has been boiling for the correct length of time turn off the heat and remove the lid, wait 5 minutes before removing the jars from the canner.

If this is your first time making jam, welcome to a new addiction, um... hobby. Also check out the processing guidelines here. Now that you are happily making jam and want more recipes check out the jam swap on Under the Highchair. I am sure there will be enough there for all of us to be chained to our stoves next summer.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

As you can see by the photo we are all out of strawberry jam. The boys and I have tried to go pick berries twice to fix this problem and both times the fields were already picked out. Really it is early here for strawberries. In another week the plants will be overflowing with ripe fruit. However the boys and I love going berry picking and all of us are impatient for more jam, strawberry butter and mounds of strawberries to eat just waiting on the kitchen counter.

So why am I posting this recipe before I can get enough strawberries to make it? Well many of you are already in the height of strawberry season and this is a great way to preserve their taste for the winter. Plus this recipe is on my mind right now, even though I don't have any for us to eat.

This recipe is super easy to make, even for those with a fear of canning and traditional jam making. For other fruits I use traditional preserving methods and no commercial pectin. However I prefer the taste of strawberries when they are uncooked. This delicateness of flavor is why local seasonal strawberries are so different from their grocery store relatives. So when I make strawberry jam I use freezer jam pectin. It also means this is a super easy recipe that you won't mind making after picking a mound of berries. You don't need to hang over a boiling pot of jam and boiling water bath canner to make it. Good thing if I want to have the time, and energy to make at least 4 batches this summer.

The resulting jam tastes like strawberries and summer. If you have only ever had strawberry jam from the store this will be a real surprise. I think store bought strawberry jam just tastes "red." The last time I said that Sebastian asked what I meant. I explained that it doesn't taste like strawberries, just like sugar and artificial strawberry flavor, it is what the color red would taste like. Then the boys and I went with Lewis on a business trip to Boston and at breakfast in the hotel Sebastian finally tasted regular strawberry jam. After taking a bite of his toast he said, "It tastes red, only sweet and red." He did think the bacon and cheddar omelette he had there was, "Spectacular."

The recipe I use is based on a traditional no pectin strawberry jam I came up with several years ago. In that jam I added the chopped peel of half an orange to ensure the jam would set, as strawberries are low in natural pectin. The jam reliably set well and the orange was a wonderful counterpart to the berries. I didn't keep the peel in this recipe as it would not taste good uncooked, but there is Cointreau for the orange taste and Drambuie for complexity, both liqueurs can be left out if you prefer.

Strawberry Freezer Jam

5 Tbsp Ball Freezer Jam Pectin

1 1/2 cups sugar

enough fresh, ripe, local strawberries to yield 4 cups crushed, 2 quarts should be enough. (I crush mine in a large measuring cup with a potato masher, slicing any really large berries first)

2 tsp Cointreau (optional)*

2 Tbsp Drambuie (optional)*

1 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon or orange juice

5 - 6 1/2 pint jars, it is fine to use regular glass canning jars. Ball does make freezer jars, however they still break if they fall when frozen. Perhaps I should stop over stuffing the freezer.

Combine pectin and sugar in a large bowl and mix until thoroughly combined. Combine crushed fruit with liqueurs if using and either lemon or orange juice. Add fruit mixture to the sugar and pectin and stir for 3 minutes. Ladle jam into half pint canning jars or freezer jars leaving 3/4 of an inch of headspace to allow for expansion during freezing. Allow jars to stand at room temperature until thickened, approximately 30 minutes.

I don't like this jam until 24 hours after making it as it takes that long for the sugar to dissolve properly. My boys love it right away as the undissolved sugar makes it much sweeter. The Ball package says freezer jam will keep for 1 year in the freezer and up to 3 weeks in the fridge, I often keep it for longer in the fridge without any problems, there is enough sugar to act as a preservative. I don't know if it will last a year in the freezer, I never seem to make enough for that to be a concern.

*If you are worried about adding uncooked alcohol to the jam bear in mind that when you make a dish such as a stew with alcohol most of the alcohol is not cooked out. The alcohol content in this jam is actually very small, or you can just leave it out.