I'm in mourning.  I had such high hopes for homemade apricot jam this summer.  Apparently I completely missed apricot season...I had no idea their season was so early, or so short!  Apricot jam has always been my favorite, and here in my first year of making jam I completely miss out.  Sucks.

I've been trying to console myself with my peach jam, which is incredibly delicious (seriously, you need to make some!) and then with this blackberry jam.  My batch turned out a little thick but still very good.  Next time I will trust my instincts and not the candy thermometer and take the pot off the heat a bit earlier.

Blackberry Jam
adapted from Food in Jars

6 cups blackberry puree (press fresh blackberries through fine mesh strainer)
4 cups sugar
zest and juice from 1 lemon
1 packet liquid pectin

Prepare jars:  wash pint or half-pint jars and rings in hot soapy water, rinse and set aside.  Put lids in small saucepan of water and bring to a simmer (do not boil).  Keep lids in saucepan over low heat.

Prepare canner:  put rack in bottom of canner or large pot and place clean jars on rack.  Fill canner with water and bring to a boil.

Combine blackberry pulp and sugar in large heavy pot and bring to a boil.  Add lemon zest and juice and continue to boil, stirring, until thickened.  Stir in liquid pectin, return to a boil, and cook for 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.

Remove jars from boiling water.  Carefully fill jars with jam, leaving 1/4" headspace.  Wipe rims with damp paper towel and apply lids and rings.

Process in boiling water canner for 10 minutes.  Remove from canner and let cool on towel-lined countertop.  When cool, check seals and store in cool, dark place for up to 1 year.

Here's my latest adventure in preserving...pickles!  These turned out so good...crunchy and flavorful and spicy.  And so easy!

Dill Pickles
adapted from Food in Jars

2 cups apple cider vinegar
3 teaspoons pickling salt
8 garlic cloves, peeled
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, divided
4 teaspoons dill seed, divided
2 teaspoons black peppercorns, divided
2-3 pounds pickling cucumbers

Prepare canner and jars:  wash 4 pint jars in hot soapy water.  Put rack in bottom of canner, place jars in canner, and fill canner with water.  Bring to a boil.  Place lids in small saucepan, fill with hot water, and keep at low simmer.

Prepare brine:  combine vinegar, 2 cups water and pickling salt in pot; bring to a boil.

Carefully remove jars from boiling water and place on dishtowel-lined countertop.  Place 2 garlic cloves, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon dill seed, and 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns in each jar.  Trim off blossom end from each cucumber and cut into spears, or leave whole if they will fit in your jars.  Pack cucumbers into jars.

Carefully pour hot brine over the cucumbers in each jar.  Leave 1/2" headspace.  Use plastic or wooden chopstick to dislodge any air bubbles.  If necessary, add more brine.  Apply lids and screw on rings.  Process in boiling water canner for 5 minutes.  Remove from canner and cool; check seals.  Allow pickles to cure at least 1 week before eating.

"The peaches are here!  The peaches are here!"

Every year at this time, the entire world stops in my office when the word goes out...the peaches are here!  One of our attorneys, based in South Carolina, sends boxes of Mac's Pride peaches from McLeod Farms to certain lucky people as corporate gifts.  Those people then become very popular as the rest of us try to sweet-talk as many of the delicious fruits as we can.  These peaches are almost obscenely good...perfectly ripe, so sweet and full of flavor...office drones suddenly become greedy children as they wolf them down with juice dribbling down chins and arms.

So I clearly had to make something good when I scored a large bag of these peaches.  Enter this jam.  Oh my FREAKIN God why have I not been making jam until now???  This jam is so delicious I found myself eating it straight from the jar with a spoon.  JD said it tastes like peach cobbler in a jar.  I can't even describe to you how incredibly good this is.  Just trust me:  you need to make this jam.

Peach Jam
adapted from Food in Jars
makes approximately 7 pints of jam

10 cups peaches, peeled, pitted and diced
6 cups sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
zest and juice from 2 lemons
2 packets liquid pectin

Prepare jars:  wash pint or half-pint jars and rings in hot soapy water, rinse, and set aside.  Put lids in small saucepan of water and bring to a simmer (do not boil).  Keep lids in saucepan over low heat.

Prepare canner:  put rack in bottom of canner or large pot (no rack?  just line the bottom of the pot with extra jar rings) and fill with water.  Bring to a boil over high heat.

Prepare peaches:  bring large pot of water to a boil.  Fill large bowl with ice water.  Blanch peaches, 2 at a time, in boiling water for 30 seconds.  Remove and put into ice water.  Repeat with remaining peaches.  Using paring knife, peel, pit and dice peaches.

Place peaches and sugar into large, heavy-bottomed pot and mix together.  Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then add the cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest and lemon juice.  Boil, stirring constantly, for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, put a small plate in the freezer (you'll use this to check for gel later).

Use a potato masher to break up the peaches if they are too chunky for your taste.  Add the pectin, stir, and bring to a rolling boil.  Keep at rolling boil and continue to stir for a full five minutes.  Check for gel:  put a small blob of jam on the plate from the freezer and let it cool.  Gently push the blob with your finger; if the jam wrinkles a bit, the jam is ready.  If your finger just pushes through the jam, continue to cook for another five minutes and then check again.

Turn off the heat under the jam and line up your jars.  Carefully fill jars, leaving 1/4" headspace.  Wipe jar rims clean with paper towel, apply lids, and screw on rings (not too tight).  Carefully lower jars into boiling water canner, cover, and process for 10 minutes.  Remove jars from canner and let cool on dishtowel-lined countertop.  When cool, check the seals by pushing down on the lids.  If the lid doesn't move, the jar is sealed and can be stored up to a year in cool, dark place.  If the jar didn't seal, the jam is still good...you just need to keep it in the refrigerator and eat within 3 weeks.

Note:  I also got a lot of great canning tips and info from Put 'em Up! by Sherri Brooks Vinton.

Before you pass over this blog post, thinking "Ha! I could never can tomatoes, or anything else! It's too complicated! Besides, store-bought canned tomatoes are the same, right?" allow me to say this to you:

YOU CAN CAN TOMATOES!
and
TOMATOES YOU CAN YOURSELF ARE SOOOOO MUCH BETTER THAN STORE-BOUGHT!

So now that we've got that out of the way, let's get to it...

Home-Canned Tomatoes
adapted from the UGA's Home Food Preservation website

First of all, you will need some quart jars and lids. Most grocery and discount stores have them. Be sure you get both the LIDS (the flat circle part) and the RINGS. You don't need to sterilize the jars; just wash them well (the dishwasher works great) and keep them clean and dry until you use them. I usually leave them in the dishwasher until I'm ready.

You will also need canning tools like these...jar lifter, magnet lid lifter (not required but very helpful) and a plastic pusher/measurer thingy (also not required but nice to have).

Next, get your tomatoes. If you don't have home-grown tomatoes, go to your local farmer's market and get some.

Wash them well.

Get a big pot of water boiling. Blanch tomatoes for 30-60 seconds, remove and cool. Working over a bowl (so you catch the juices), peel and core the tomatoes. I usually cut the big ones in half or quarters.

Now get your canning pot about half-full of water and boiling. The pot needs to be tall enough so the jars can be covered with at least 1" of water. It also needs to have a lid. On another burner, bring a small saucepan of water to a simmer, and put in your lids and rings.

Now put 1 teaspoon salt (optional) and 2 tablespoons bottled (not fresh) lemon juice into each jar. If you have fresh thyme, you can also put a sprig or two in there if you want.

Fill the jars with tomatoes, using the plastic pusher thingy to pack them in and get some juice. Leave 1/2" headspace in the top of each jar; use the plastic measuring thingy for this as well.

Wipe clean the rims of each jar. Use the magnet lid lifter to put a lid on each jar, and screw a ring on each. Don't screw the rings on too tightly.

Using the jar lifter, carefully place the jars into the canning pot. Add more boiling water as needed so the water level is 1" above the jars. Cover pot and boil for 85 minutes (check the UGA website above to confirm the cooking time for your elevation).

After 85 minutes, turn off the heat and leave the jars in the pot for 5 minutes.  Remove the jars and place on a towel to cool 12-24 hours. Don't worry if the tomatoes seem to have separated from the liquid. Once the jars are cool, check the seals (if the lids pop up when you push them, it didn't seal). Keep any unsealed jars in the refrigerator and use them first. Remove rings, date the jars and store in a cool dry place away from light.

Now, whenever you make chili, spaghetti sauce, or anything that needs tomatoes, you have a little bit of summer in your pantry!