Kitchen Gadget Girl

I will admit, I have not spent that much time on Etsy, not like my friend Erika, aka Plain Jane Mom, who has a whole new blog devoted to Etsy-goodness, Try Handmade. However, the other day, while browsing around the web (not sure what I was looking for, that happens sometimes), I found a cool post on Kim Vallee’s site about personalized baking stickers and stamps. I have been looking for something to put on the jars of Limoncello I made this summer, and Kim had several Etsy suggestions.

In keeping with the food theme, I went over to Etsy to see what else I could find. SugarCake has beautiful, crocheted food toys, including a set of 4 fruits, a bowl with 6 vegetables and even chocolate covered strawberries! If my daughter was even remotely interested in a play house, I would buy these little treasures for her kitchen.

For more play food treasures, I looked to Just Felt Hungry, who creates adorable play food out of, you guessed it, felt! Her designs are creative and fresh, and just in time for Halloween, Sugar Skulls. And then I get side tracked looking at these nifty meal planners. And these neat magnets with vintage fruit box labels. Oh, and this cute cupcake notecard stationary.

But back to my original quest, stickers for my Limoncello bottles - I think I am leaning towards this. Or maybe this. Or even this. What do you think?

Picture courtesy of Rob Qld.

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As I wrote about for Uptake this week, we stopped by Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville last weekend to pick up a bushel of apples for my annual apple sauce making project. Gizdich nicely provides a worksheet to help figure out which apples you need. Here is a brief summary:

Eating apples (not good for cooking)

• Honey Crisp
• Royal Gala
• Red Delicious
• Braeburn
• Fuji

Cooking apples (good for sauce or butter)

• Pinova
• Golden Delicious
• Newton Pippin
• Mutsu
• Granny Smith

Pie apples

• Golden Delicious
• Newton Pippin
• Mutsu
• Granny Smith

I came home with a 1/2 bushel each of Pinova and Golden Delicious. At the moment, the boxes are sitting in my garage, giving off the most wonderful aroma. Soon, very soon, I will begin the saucing and buttering process. Then my kids will once again be happy!

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Of course I canned tomatoes this weekend, now is the time. So did other bloggers, such as Lelo in Nopo (met her at BlogHer, and have really been enjoying her blog), Hedonia (another from BlogHer) and Andrea’s Recipes (yet another BlogHer contact). All have great instructions and loads of pictures if you want to follow along. If you are interested, there are loads of other blogger recommendations about tomato canning, just use the Food Blog Search.

On Sunday, I made an Heirloom Tomato Ketchup from Cooking Light that turned out pretty well, although it took much longer to reduce down, probably because I tripled the recipe. I used 9 pounds of tomatoes and came away with 5 half-pints of ketchup.

Monday morning, I canned the San Marzano Roma Tomatoes from our CSA, into pint and quart jars. After peeling and quartering, I brought the tomatoes to a boil, then poured them into jars and proceessed for 10 minutes in a boiling water canner. The tricky part happened when my daughter’s play date forgot to get off the bus, so I had to call the school, at the same time I was filling jars. Got the jars filled, lids and bands on, then sprinted back to the bus stop to pick up our friend. Phew!

My garage storage shelf is now full of 11 quarts and 11 pints of quartered tomatoes. Oh, I love that feeling of accomplishment. Now, I need to see if I can get my hands on some more tomatoes, so I can try Alanna’s Slow-Roasted Tomatoes.

Are you canning any of summer’s bounty this year? I would love to hear about it (and get inspired!)

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Now that you have brought together all your supplies and have your fruit, it is time to make some jam. Best to set aside at least 3-4 hours, so we aren’t rushing anything. Here we go!

Peach Ginger Jam (makes 3-4 pints, or 6-7 1/2 pints)

5 1/2 - 6 cups of peaches, peeled and sliced
5 - 6 cups sugar (depending on how sweet the peaches are, use more or less sugar)
2 TBS lemon juice
6 coins of fresh ginger (peel ginger, and slice into coins)

Prepare the peaches: if the peaches are difficult to peel, drop them in boiling water for 30 seconds, then plunge into ice water and peel. Otherwise, peel and pit, then slice the peaches, measuring as you go. Add lemon juice.

Prepare the sugar: it is easiest to measure the sugar in advance into a separate bowl.

Into your big pot, pour the peaches and lemon juice, and then add the sugar and ginger. Turn the heat on medium-low, and allow the fruit and sugar to heat up. As the sugar dissolves, stir the fruit and attach your thermometer. Cook the jam, stirring occasionally, maintaining a low boil, until the temperature reaches 220F (if you are cooking at any altitude over 1000ft, check this chart for correct temperatures). Total cook time is about 1 hour 30 minutes - watch closely and stir often in the last 30 minutes so you don’t scald your jam.

In the meantime, while your jam is cooking, wash the jars and rings with hot, soapy water. Fill your canning pot with water and bring to a boil. Sterilize your jars for at least 5 minutes. I usually bring the water to a boil, add my clean jars, turn the heat down, and allow them to sit there until I am ready to fill with jam.

Take your lids (the flat portion with the rubber ring) and place them in a small pot or bowl. Pour boiling hot water over the top and set aside until ready to use.

Gather your other supplies, including towels and set up your work surface, which should be close to your canning pot. Set up a place to bring the pot with jam, and next to that, put a folded towel with your ladle. Nearby, put your wide-mouthed funnel on a plate (to catch the drips). Have your lids and rings close by, along with another towel laid out on the work surface - this is for the finished products.

Ok, you are now ready to go - bring your jam over to your work surface. Working quickly, but not in a rushed way, use your jar lifter and tongs to remove a hot jar from the water bath. Turn it over on the towel to remove extra water. Flip back and put the wide-mouthed funnel on top. Using the ladle, scoop a small amount of jam and pour into the jar. Fill the jar almost to the top, leaving a 1/4 inch gap at the top. Remove the funnel, and if any jam has accidentally ended up on the rim of the jar, use a towel dipped in hot water to wipe clean.

Using your tongs, grab one of the lids and put atop the jar; seal with a ring. Tighten, but not too much, and flip the jar over onto the clean towel. Repeat with remaining jars and jam, working quickly but not in a rushed way. As you get to the end, if you have any leftover jam that won’t fill a jar completely, pour into a bowl and store in the fridge for immediate use.

When all the jars have been filled, using your jar lifter, return the jars to the canning pot. Make sure that the water is 2 inches above the lids, and boil for 5 minutes (again, if you are making jam at altitude, check this chart for processing times). Remove to clean towel to cool. As the jars cool, you will hear little pops as the vacuum seal is created.

After the jars have cooled, label and store in a cool, dark place. And think about your next canning project!

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Today I am making jam. I like canning - it is like baking, requiring a certain amount of attention to detail, but like cooking, allows for a bit of experimentation.

I started canning and preserving foods about 8 years ago, when my son was born, in an effort to relive some of the memories from my childhood. The first year, I made one batch of Ollalieberry Jam, from berries picked in Watsonville. Each year, I add something new to my repertoire - now I am up to Peach, Nectarine and Plum jams, canned tomatoes, apple sauce and apple butter, and bread & butter pickles. Mostly, I give these away to friends as hostess or thank you gifts, and my kids eat a great deal.

Just recently, I began preserving as a way to lengthen the season for some of our favorite fruits and vegetables. Our CSA offered tomatoes last year, perhaps I will capture green beans and corn as well. There is really nothing better than pulling a jar of summer tomatoes out of the garage in the middle of winter for a sauce!

Friends have asked how to get started in canning, so I thought I would put together a series of posts about preserving food. Together, we will make Peach Ginger Jam, and I hope that this guide will help you every step of the way!

Step 1: Equipment

Before you get going, you need to make sure you have the right equipment on hand. Here is my recommended list:

• Canning jars (1/2 pint or pint jars) with two piece lids
• Water bath canning pot and jar rack (this usually comes as a set)
• Large pot (you will actually make the jam in this)
• Jar lifter
• Tongs (the OXO tong with grips are my favorite)
• Wide-mouth funnel
• Ladle
• Food thermometer
• 8-cup glass measuring cup
• Slotted spoon
• Several clean kitchen towels

Most of these items can be purchased at your local hardware or kitchen store. Keep in mind, you can reuse canning jars and the outer rings, but you need to use new lids every time. Also, while most of my friends and family will tell you I am not the best housekeeper, I do start with a fairly clean kitchen. Keeping unwanted visitors out of the newly preserved foods is a good thing, as Martha would say.

Step 2: Recipe

Once you have the above equipment in hand, you will need to decide what to make. I started by making straight-forward jams, using recipes from the National Center for Home Food Preservation. I have also found great recipes using the Food Blog Search, including one from Warda of 64 sq ft kitchen and another from Delicious Days. Whatever you decide to make, you will need to find fresh, ripe fruit for the project. Ideally, that would come from a tree in your backyard, but don’t be afraid to ask neighbors or colleagues for extra fruit. Some farms offer a pick-your-own option, and I also visit a local farmer’s market for fresh summer stone fruits. The average recipe needs 5-6 cups of chopped fruit, about 10-12 medium or 3-4 pounds.

OK, now you have the equipment, the recipe and the fruit. Tomorrow, we will talk about the mechanics of making jam!

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