Make Jam

“It let me go with the wildly unrealistic notion of making my first ever batch of jam on a Monday morning before work (because I’d been side tracked on Sunday night and it was now or never with the macerated blackberries!) and having to run out the door, unsure if the jam had set and leaving my kitchen splattered with sticky purple spots and smears. When I came home, I popped open a jar and discovered to my great delight that the jam had indeed set and was heavenly – gloriously glossy, with the zing of lemon zest and juice to cut through the sweetness. I was amazed that I could make something this good first-go.”

“The directions said to bring your mixture to a “violent boil.” And that is exactly what I did. In fact, it was so violent that sugary strawberry goo began rapidly spewing out of my pot, immediately charring on the glass cooktop. The first level of our house filled with smoke, triggering the fire alarms while the goo continued to bubble over. My husband rushed over and grabbed the pot off the stove, telling me I had to take it off the heat immediately and couldn’t just lower the temperature to get it to stop bubbling over.”

“It was hot, it was humid, and my jam did not jam! I waited forty eight hours after canning them, and no jell. I tried reworking one batch, by returning it to a full rolling boil, and boiling it down… nope, still did not jam. And, it tasted very over-cooked. What I did not rework I kept as blackberry syrup.”