Finding myself home alone on a smoky Sunday with lots of really ripe fruit laying around, I couldn't decide what to do.  So I started with pear-apple butter cooking in the crockpot.  That got the house smelling really wonderful.  Next I figured I'd better deal with the last of the peaches from the orchard, they were way beyond ripe.  So I made peach-cayenne jam.  Since I had the hot-water canner all heated up, didn't want to waste all that boiling water!  I made black plum-serrano jam too!!!

RECIPES

Black plum-serrano jam

3 pounds black plums, peeled and cut into eighths, seeds discarded

2 - 4 serrano peppers, seeded and finely chopped

1/2 cup water

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

7-1/2 cups sugar

1 envelope liquid pectin

 

I like to throw the plums and the peppers into the food processor to speed up the cooking process.  Combine all the ingredients except the pectin in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes.  Add the pectin and boil for 1 minute.  Ladle into sterilized 1/2 pint jars and place into hot water bath canner (water should be boiling) for 10 minutes.  Makes about ten jars of beautiful dark purple jam with a little bite.

 

 

Peach-cayenne jam

• 8 large peaches, skinned and pitted
• 2 large cayenne peppers, stemmed and seeded
• 5 cups sugar
• 1 cup honey
• juice of one lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 envelopes liquid pectin

Chop peaches and cayenne peppers into small pieces.  Combine all the ingredients except the pectin in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil and cook until the peach chunks are the size you want them.  Add the pectin and boil for 1 minute.  Ladle into sterilized 1/2 pint jars and place into hot water bath canner for 10 minutes.  Makes about 10 jars of delicious hot-sweet jam.  This is great for using in marinades - taste amazing on swordfish!

 

Pear-apple butter

• 6 pears
• 6 apples
• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 tsp ginger
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground cloves
• juice from 1 lemon (about 1 Tbsp)

Cut the fruit into large chunks, core or seed them.  You do not have to peel the fruit.  Throw everything into the crock pot and cook until it is the consistency you want (8 hours).  You may want to add additional sweetner like honey to taste.  I don't like mine too sweet.  Scoop the peels out and ladle into jars.  Place into the hot water bath canner for 15 minutes.  If you are having trouble getting it to thicken up, just take the top off the crock pot and cook for awhile that way.

Canning and bottling.

Yesterday was a busy day.  My dad brought me a big box of pears from his tree so I decided to take a stab at canning them.  I ended up with 6 quarts and barely made a dent in the box.  I decided to use light syrup (less sugar!).

Canned Pear Halves

 

To make light syrup, simply dissolve 2 cups of sugar (I use pure cane) in 1 liter of warm water.  I found that if I put the syrup in my teapot it makes it easier to pour it into the jars.  Just leave the teapot on a warm burner while you prepare the pears.

 

Lightly poach the pears in boiling water (30 sec or less).  Peel and core them, and cut off any bruised portions.  Cut the pears into halves and drop them into the jars.  I find that large mouth quart jars work best.  Really pack them in there to eliminate as much air space as possible.  Then fill the jar with syrup and seal.

 

Immerse the sealed jars in boiling water for 40 minutes.

 

If you want to be more adventurous, you can add spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, or anise.

 

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I also bottled my first Italian varietal last night, 27 bottles of Barolo.  Barolo is a grape variety that is derived from the Nebbiolo grape. It is produced in the Piedmont region of Italy. These grapes produce a lovely deep red wine with medium body and low acidity.  This was my first experience with Barolo, but it was quite drinkable after only 2 weeks of aging in the carboy.  This wine should improve with age, so I'll keep you posted!

Howdy

A friend suggested that I start a blog site talking about my cooking, canning, knitting, pets, and outdoor adventures.  I thought it sounded like a fine idea, but didn't really know how to get started.  So here we are!

I live in very rural Idaho on a small farm with 1 man, 2 mules, 3 horses, 4 rottweilers, and 5 Pekin ducks.  I work a full time job, but in my spare time I love to garden, cook, and play outside.  We live in the most sustainable way possible and try to preserve traditional ways of doing things.  We grow as much of our own food as possible and make our own beer and wine.

This blog is intended to be a place for sharing - I want to create a community where like-minded people can bring ideas or lessons learned.  It will also be a place to share those great hiking, biking, and skiing trails we all love to hear about.

So....enjoy!