So I thought I'd get all domestic and can something.I think you can already see where this is going. I was inspired by the blog Chicken Fried Life. The blog author , "Chicken Little", cans just about everything...and casually. She'll be like, "Got home from work today and canned 24 jars of pulled pork". I have no idea what that even is, and I've always been afraid to can meat...botulism.She had a recipe for lemon jelly, more of a marmalade, which didn't even require pectin. I've made jams before (as well as sauces like tomato sauce) So I thought I'd give it a whirl.
I changed a few things in the recipe, which is on her site, http://chickenfriedlife.blogspot.com/.
I'm allergic to sugar, so I used honey. And I wanted to can twelve jars, so I doubled the recipe. Not such great ideas...but wait, it gets worse. So I'm stirring well past the point where the jelly should, well, jell. And nothing is jelling. I realize that the sugar was what made it gel, like making hard candy and stopping before it hardens all of the way. It was late by then, so I turned off the burner and let it sit overnight, then ran to the store in the morning to get pectin. By the way, it smelled incredible.
Our region is cursed by swaths of wild blackberries. An enterprising soul set their beehives out when the blackberries were in bloom and made an amazing blackberry honey. The combination of that honey and the lemon could induce olfactory hallucinations, it's that good..
I made my jam and all was right with the world. The jam still didn't gel, but I figured that it was just that the honey was still warm. Then I went to wash out my pot, my favorite 8" copper pot which is tin lined. The bottom tin was scratched, just from the wooden spoon, and copper was showing through.
I immediately realized that I had let an acidic solution sit overnight on the tin plating. I am often more clever than this. I've checked on the Internet and it will cost over a hundred dollars to get my pot re tinned. And, the jam still hasn't jelled.
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I think you might want to pitch it, what with sitting in metal overnight. Otherwise, it would not have been unredeemable.
ReplyDeleteWhen your honey-fruit mixture is bubbling hot, pour it into sterilized jars, seal with sterilized 2-part lids, then put in a boiling water bath. Since you tinkered with the recipe, I'd suggest 20 minutes. Then take them out and let cool at least 24 hours before storing. It probably won't jell, but so what! You can use it on waffles or cake and ice cream. Or make something like fried chicken nuggets, warm up some of the sauce with a bit of hot pepper, and then you've got oriental lemon chicken.
Things don't always have to be exactly like what other people make or what's in the store.