Instead of throwing out the whole lot, I decided to can it. Not having any experience canning, I dug into whatever cookbook I could find in the kitchen to figure out fast.
Jesse, my sweet husband, put the kids to bed while I ran out for lemons, vinegar and honey, and joined me in the kitchen an hour later to help.
We were up until 11:30 that night, cooking and canning, and I think it turned out pretty well. We heard the pop of the jars, and with each successive batch, the process became easier.
The pluot jam was pretty tart. It was pretty tart because I picked them too early. Also, I really didn't want to put 3 cups of sugar in my jam. Isn't that kind of defeating the purpose of the fresh and healthy harvest?
I mixed about 5 pluots, with fresh meyer lemon juice, white balsamic vinegar, local honey, and fresh rosemary.
Second and subsequent batches included some cherries I had in the fridge. Slam dunk!
In case you're wondering how I had the supplies, I keep jars on hand all the time, because they're a low cost way to store food airtight and cleanly. Not only is plastic full of chemicals, but it's not nearly as attractive as storing food in gleaming glass jars. Not only that, but the food in the sealed jars stays fresh forever!!!
BPA? That's one chemical. BPA free jars? There are still chemicals in that plastic, endocrine disrupters identified by some other abbreviation, yet to be determined how they will affect us or the health of our children in the future. No thanks. I'll stick to glass.
That being said, these particular jars were for an upcoming pie recipe that I was planning. They were brand new in the box. I was pretty disappointed after turning over the sealing lid, to find plastic lining it.
So the next day I went to Portland Homesteading Supply to get a little more of an education on canning and to see what my options are.
Weck jars are all glass with a rubber seal. They weren't cheap, but knowing that they're a long term investment for years ahead of harvesting made the purchase a little easier. I plan to jam the plums this week at the farm. I'll let you know how it goes.
Feeling pretty good about the canning process, I decided to whip up a batch of granola for breakfasts. The kids enjoy the local granola from the bulk section of the grocery store, but the kind they like happens to be extremely expensive. It's peanut butter and chocolate granola, and it's AMAZING.
This batch didn't turn out as sweet as batches in the past, but isn't it pretty? The kids like it. Will have to search for the proper recipe and share it with you here when I find it.
Have you tried shopping the bulk section at the grocery store? The checker will weigh your jar or container empty (called the tare weight), then you can head to the bulk section to filler up. It's a bit of a burden in the beginning, but once you get the hang of it, it's no more time consuming than buying the boxed or bagged food. In fact, when I get home, all the jars go in the pantry, lined up neatly with a clear view of what we have and how much we have left. It feels clean. And no packaging to deal with later. I have some wax pencils that work great for identifying what's in the jar.
Did you know you can buy dish soap, detergent, coffee, honey, and cereal in bulk too? And some grocers will credit you for bringing your own bag? Sweet.
I also made some more green juice this week. I'm curious how the combination of kale, plums, greek yogurt and carrots is going to affect me. So far, so good. It's delicious.
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