It started when Bruce helped me pick these beautiful currents. (On a Sunday before the recent frightful batch of mosquitos struck.)
That night I crushed them, and boiled them, and hung ye olde jelly bag up to let the juice drip out overnight.
It’s a good thing I had room in the refrigerator for all of the currant juice, because it took me until tonight to get around to making jelly. I didn’t have enough currant juice for two batches so I added some raspberry juice and some plum juice from the freezer for batch number two. By this time I had a jam and jelly jones. I was pulling out frozen gooseberries from last year and adding them to frozen raspberries to make a gooseberry/raspberry jam. I haven’t made any jam or jelly for a few years so I think I was making up for lost time tonight.
Boiling water bath to vacuum seal the jars.
I’m all jammed up now!
Barbara S Fernald Jewelry 
That looks delicious! What a gorgeous color. Bet it would taste out of this world on your sourdough bread!
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I was afraid the frozen berries would make jam that tasted like old ice cubes. (The gooseberries had been frozen for 3 years!) Seems to have passed the test. I hope you are having a more comfortable day today.
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what do you NOT do? really?!
for goodness sakes….you’re the most renaissance woman i know…making sourdough out of air, jam out of juice from the freezer….it’s amazing! you know what’s in my freezer? old tater tots.
gotta go gather supplies for the impending storm (i have to buy jam and bread at the store)…looks to be a doozy…
xoxo
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Well, I don’t teach. That is something that freaks me out, and I was an education major in college. I hold all teachers in very high regard! Making jam is pretty easy. It IS shocking how much sugar it takes, though. Bruce likes to have it on toast, so I try to make some once or twice a year. But I hadn’t made any for about 3 years.
I sure hope you don’t get a direct hit from Irene. We’re hoping we don’t either, though now the path looks like it will go inland to the west of us.
xoxo
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I love your jelly bag holder! Dad wasn’t anywhere near as creative,
he just held his jelly bag over the bowl and squeezed (and, if I remember
correctly, gently swore as well as the process was rather slow). I really
admire your energy!
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I invited your dad in for the jelly making. I think he was pretty creative in just making the current jelly, and then putting in between layers of chocolate cake!
I used to tie the bag up to one of the cupboard door handles.
We’re battening down the hatches for the Irene. Though, the predicted track now has it going over northern N.H. and VT. on Monday morning.
All the porch furniture is inside the house with the bikes.
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I love your jams and jellies!!! You gave them to me three or 4 years ago in Oct at a Correspondents lunch and I ate jam and jelly on toast every morning for several weeks. When I had a regular check-up w/the doc., my blood sugar was in the scary range..119…so I didn’t eat any sugar for the next 4 weeks and the count dropped to 90!!!!! I ration myself now…but yours is the BEST!!!!!
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Ps…I love the pick of the water bath with the mountains in the background…very artsy f…..!!!xo
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Like fog, right?! Those are tiles that Bruce had Gail Grandgent make for us several years ago. We wanted to be able to see the view from my family’s house, even though we are here in woods a little; not in view of the shore. The real view will be the backdrop for Robin and Stephanie’s wedding. I’m sure glad it’s not taking place this weekend!!
xoxo
Artsy Fartsy. You funny.
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Hahah!!! I didn’t see tiles until you told me they were tiles!!!!!!! What a very clever idea. Cool beans!
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Oh, yummy. I have a bag of peaches in the fridge waiting for me to make jam. Needs to be done soon. I am impressed that you make jelly. All of that making juice is just too much for me. But then, if I had currents, I’d change my mind. Because there is nothing like a bit of current jelly on toast spread with cream cheese!
Stay safe this weekend.
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Peach jam sounds delicious. I’ve never made it. What’s nice about making jelly is that it avoids all those seeds. Smash up the berries, boil with a little water and throw them in an old (clean) pillowcase, and hang it up over a bowl. After that it’s just like making jam.
It is pretty hard to beat currant jelly and cream cheese. I might have to find a bagel recipe…
I hope you stay safe too.
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Oh yum! I used to make jams and jellies eons ago when I lived on a farm. it was my favorite activity. Well besides eating them in winter! I just love the way all your Ball jars look.
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Remember the sound those jars make when the lid snaps down as the jar cools off? It’s one of my favorite sounds. Sort of a sharp “plock.”
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Yummy! Loved the photos of the process.
Hope you are doing fine post-Irene, and that all is well.
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Hi Carla, We did not have much trouble from Irene here on the Maine coast. A lucky miss for us. It went to the west. The power was out for 36 hours, but that was a minor inconvenience.
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