We have been getting a lot of calls and questions about problems with jams and jellies in the last few weeks.
We do have directions for remaking jams and jellies and often give this information to callers. The remade jam or jelly will be a slightly different flavor and texture as the directions call for adding more sugar and pectin but no more fruit or fruit juice. These directions will allow you to save the jelly or jam and still have a spreadable product.
Other callers have been concerned about jam that was too stiff to spread without breaking the bread. Their jam may have been overcooked or they may have chosen too much under-ripe fruit. The under-ripe fruit contains more naturally occurring pectin than ripe fruit and the extra pectin could make a stiff jel.
Jelly or jam containing many bubbles may actually be fermenting in the jar. This product may not have been heated enough before filling jars or it may have been under-processed during canning.
If you find crystals that seem like glass, especially in grape jelly, it would be tartrate crystals. Letting the juice stand overnight in the refrigerator and then straining the juice before making jelly can eliminate this problem.
Jam that appears to have a layer of jelly on the bottom and then floating fruit in the rest of the jar is a common problem. We often see this in strawberry jam. Floating fruit is due to a difference in density between the fruit and the liquid. If this your problem, try cutting the fruit into smaller pieces and using only ripe fruit to make jam.
We love to help callers with jam and jelly problems, please contact us and we will do our best to help.
It is time to stop pulling rhubarb and picking asparagus. We often have callers asking if rhubarb is poisonous after the middle of June. Actually, it is safe to pull rhubarb all summer long but we stop in mid-June for the health of the plant. Rhubarb plants will feed their roots while growing the rest of the summer. It is safe to pull a small amount of rhubarb for an occasional pie or crisp throughout the summer as long as the plantings are well established. You should pull the thinnest, most tender stalks when harvesting later in the summer.
I have gotten a few calls lately from callers that needed to wash a quilt. We always need to get a bit more information when giving washing directions. It is important to know the age and condition of the quilt along with how the quilt was constructed and quilted. In addition, is the quilt actually soiled or does it need to be freshened?
We are starting to get calls about freezing and blanching fruits and vegetables. We often explain to callers that blanching is a quality step and not a safety step. Blanching vegetables will kill the enzymes present that will continue to soften the food even in the freezer. Blanching will also protect the color of the vegetable. The directions for blanching are often confusing for callers.
Parking your car underneath a tree can actually do permanent damage to the finish of your car. It seems that we have all experienced parking under a tree and discovering some sap on the hood or trunk of the car. I always thought this was just a minor inconvenience in life and never worried too much about removing the sap. According to Consumer Reports magazine, “Heat accelerates how sap sticks to the paint. The longer you wait, the harder it is to remove.” Sap left on the car can actually eat through the paint.
I have been seeing strawberries in the grocery store since mid-winter. Before we know it, strawberries will begin bearing in our area. When strawberries are ripe, we get many calls asking for directions to freeze strawberries. So, if you need directions and AnswerLine is not open now, read on.
We had some nice warm days around Easter and then we have had a bit of cold weather this year. Some places even had a bit of snow. I’ve had five calls about rhubarb already this morning so I thought that I might repost this blog post from two years ago. This information is very timely.
Spring seems to be starting slowly this year. We have had some beautiful warm and sunny days and I realized that I need to get back into the habit of applying sunscreen. One of our favorite pastimes, when my grandsons visit, is walking down the hill to the bridge over the creek and tossing stones into the stream. The boys could do this for hours. It is so easy to just head outside without a thought to how long we will be standing in the sun.
