Tag: berries

Jeanetta Darley: Rolling with Jams and Jellies {Foodie Friday}

Celebrating the Summer Bounty

The summer heat is bearing down on us.  I know I’m sweating through every inch I have on when I’m out in the garden.  But it also means that our gardens are bursting!  And not only are our home gardens but there tons of local farms over flowing with the berries and fruits.  U pick farms are a great way to support your local agriculture system and they help educate our kids on where their food comes from and the hard work that’s involved in producing it.

Ripening blackberries

“But what do I do with a bushel of peaches or 5 gallons of blackberries?”

I hear this all the time.  Truthfully, I say this to myself often.  And one of my favorite solutions is to make jams and jellies.  When I suggest this to one not initiated in the art of canning, I can see a wave of fear cross their face.  

Blueberry on the bush

“That’s one of them old timey arts that MeeMaw use to witchcraft up yummy stuff with.”

Now I would never weigh in on whether your grandma was capable of using a broomstick for more than just sweeping floors but it’s not that scary.  It’s a delicious form of magic we can all achieve.

Bowl full of raspberries

To me the hardest part about making jam and jelly is just getting all your supplies out and making sure they are clean.  And, of course, making sure the kitchen is clean and clear because you do need a good area in which to work.  If you can wash dishes and follow a recipe, you can make jelly!

Let’s just go over some of the basics.  A jam is a fruit spread that utilizes the juice and meat of the fruit.  It’s thicker than a jelly.  A jelly is made from the juice of the fruit obtained from either bought juice or boiling the skins of the fruit and pouring it through a strainer.  Jelly is clearer than jam.  Both are delicious.

  • Basic Supplies
    Waterbath canner with a canning rack
    Funnel (optional)
    Jar grabber (optional)
    Glass preserving jars with bands and lids
    A few basic kitchen items
    Large heavy sauce pan
    Measuring cups and spoons
    Kitchen knives
    Cutting board
    Large spoon & ladle
    Dish towels & oven mitts
  • Basic Ingredients
    Fruit and or juice
    Sugar
    Pectin (powdered or liquid)
    Lemon juice

Jams and jellies set, or solidify, because of the perfect ratio between the fruit, sugars, and pectin.  When you are starting out, follow a tried and true recipe out of your box of pectin.  Once you get your “jamming jelly” feet under you, start to experiment with new flavors and combinations.  If you can boil water, set a timer, and don’t mind standing at the stove to stir you can make your own jams and jellies before you know it.  So give it a try!

And what’s the worst that can happen?  So it doesn’t set.  Well believe me you’ll have some darn good syrup to put on ice cream, waffles, or pancakes.  Or cheesecake.  YUM!

Jeanetta Darley sidebar photo

 

Jeanetta is an artist, blogger, and sometimes homesteader.  She’s addicted to coffee, her garden, and chickens. You can see her art and read more stories at JeanettaDarley.com.  Or follow her on social media @jeanettadarley.

 

Georgiaberry Mobley: Easiest Ever Berry Cobbler

 By Georgiaberry Mobley of Sunshine for Dinner

 
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You know, this time of year, when it is so hot you don’t go out to pick berries till 7:00 pm so you don’t fall down from heat exhaustion, and come dragging in with your berries at dark, then crave a cobbler but wild horses couldn’t drag you toward turning on the oven and releasing one more Btu of heat into the house? And so you make the easiest cobbler ever – so easy you can prepare and cook it outside in an old toaster oven you use for summer baking so you don’t heat up the house? No? Just me?
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Well, even if you don’t resort to setting up outlandish outdoor cooking areas to keep the house cool, this super quick cobbler will still simplify your summer. It has only four ingredients – flour, sugar, butter, and berries – and is yummy enough to satisfy this berry-snob family.
 
My sister and I grew up working at my grandparents’ pick-your-own strawberry, blackberry, and blueberry farm in Fouke, Arkansas. My grandmother had a variety of cobbler making techniques, and my grandfather’s favorite was a very complicated “berry roll.” Make a pie crust and roll it out, not too thin, into a long rectangle on a clean dishtowel. Then sprinkle with sugar and dot with butter, and top with a layer of fresh blackberries. Then, oh so carefully, use the towel to help you roll it up – wincing when the lumpy blackberries poked through the crust. Gingerly roll the whole thing off into a pan. Brush with cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until golden and bubbly. He loved this cobbler because it had lots of crust. The crust was his favorite part. Can you tell I miss my grandparents? I start to cry just thinking about the lunches we used to have…
 
Anyway – although I do love that blackberry roll and have made it from time to time, I don’t have the mile long sparkling white tile countertop for rolling out pie crust, nor the talent for putting out a hot cooked lunch with dessert every single day at noon sharp, like my grandmother had. I have a hot and very busy day to come, followed by about 150 more in succession, and if I wait till a cool day to bake a cobbler, then I will be waiting till the berries are long gone. So I will take my four ingredients and my toaster oven and run with it. Truth is, I made this cobbler many times for my grandparents and they thought it was fantastic.
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Easiest Ever Berry Cobbler
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Topping
  1. 1 cup flour of your choice
  2. ½ cup sugar
  3. 1 stick salted butter, softened
Filling
  1. 4 cups berries, fresh or frozen
  2. ½ cup sugar
Instructions
  1. This is a good proportion for a square baking pan. Butter the pan and pour in the berries.
  2. Sprinkle ½ cup sugar over the berries - feel free to use more or less sugar according to your preference and the ripeness of the fruit.
  3. In a bowl, mix flour, ½ c sugar, and one stick of softened salted butter with a fork or pastry cutter until crumbly.
  4. Sprinkle this topping evenly over the fruit in the pan. Shake the pan a bit to encourage the topping to settle amongst the fruit.
  5. Pop it in the oven at 375F and bake 30-40 minutes until browned and bubbly. I
Notes
  1. If you start with frozen fruit, it might take a bit longer.
  2. This topping works with all kinds of fruit - with peaches it is wonderful! Youcan use any kind of flour - I used whole wheat pastry flour with these cobblers and it is delicious. Gluten-free, whole grain, nut flours, plain old white flour - any of it should work.
Arkansas Women Bloggers https://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/
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Enjoy!  

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Georgiaberry Mobley grows veggies in her hometown, Fouke, Arkansas. Since 2007, she and her husband, Kandan, have been selling their locally grown food in the Texarkana area through their Sunshine for Dinner subscription veggie delivery service. It’s the farmer’s market that comes to you! In her spare time, she teaches their two kids at home, is an active La Leche League leader, and helps out with their landscape design/maintenance firm. Find out more about her market garden and farm life, and how to sign up for Sunshine for Dinner at http://www.SunshineForDinner.com. Join the conversation on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/SunshineforDinner. You can also find Georgiaberry on pinterest at http://www.pinterest.com/georgiaberry/ and Instagram at http://instagram.com/georgiaberrym.