03.29.23

Around The Farm

By Dan Cook, UW Farm Community Volunteer and Seattle home gardener. 
 

Jamming! Part Two

In last week’s newsletter, I started talking about making fruit jams, one of the easiest and tastiest ways to get started with preserving food. I provided you with one of my go-to recipes for making blackberry mango jam, and discussed the various ingredients (fruit, sugar, pectin, citric acid) that make up the recipe. This week, I’m going to talk about the equipment and process I personally use to make my jam. I will give you some options if you do not have some of these tools. Finally, I will give you a list of awesome books you can refer to in order to dive even deeper into jam-making.
 
Here again is my recipe:
 
Dan’s Black Mango Jam
 
Blackberries                  1800 grams (4 pounds or 64 ounces)
Mangoes                        500 grams (1 pound or 16 ounces)
Sugar                               800 grams (1.75 pounds or 28 ounces)
Pectin                              80 grams (0.175 pounds or 3 ounces)
Limes                              2, juiced
 
As a reminder, this will make roughly 6 pints of jam. For your first attempt, you might want to cut all the quantities in half. Below is a picture of the equipment I use when I make jam.
 

 
Using a Bread Maker for Making Jam

OK, I cheat. “Serious” jam makers cook the ingredients in a large saucepan, preferably of the non-stick variety. I used to do that myself in my first few attempts. However, it was so tedious standing over the saucepan, stirring the mixture regularly to ensure it didn’t stick or burn until it thickens to the desired consistency. It can take 30-45 minutes for the jam to thicken, and it was making me so anxious, as I knew that if I looked away for just a moment, it would scald. Arrgh! I’m exaggerating but I’m sure you know what I mean.
 
However, one day I noticed that my trusty bread maker has a jam cycle, and I never went back to the saucepan. The Cuisinart bread maker (see link below) that we have sells for just over $200 on Amazon, which is not the cheapest bread maker out there. However, it is very rugged and reliable. We have had ours since 2019 and never had a problem with it. And since it is a bread maker, you will have homemade bread to smear your tasty homemade jam on!
 
Canning Jars

In the picture, on the left is a half-pint jar, on the right is a pint jar. It makes no difference whether the manufacturer is Ball or Kerr because they are actually the same company (Ball). The lids are interchangeable. A case of 12 jars is about $15 at Fred Meyer, they are reusable, and you can decorate them with cool labels when you give them to friends. These days, for jam, I tend to go with the half-pint jars, unless I have a serious amount of blackberries on hand, when I use the pints. By the way, when you give your jam to friends, many of these jars will be returned to you. I often find a few empty jars on my front porch with a note saying “Thanks so much for the tasty jam!”
 
Canning Supplies

If you intend on giving all your jam away immediately to friends, or if you eat lots of jam by yourself, you can skip most of these items. However, if you want to be able to store your jam for an extended period of time, you will have to process the filled jars in a hot water bath.
 

• First, you need a big pot with a lid, at least 20 quarts in volume. If you get a large, stainless steel pot like the one shown, you will end up using it to cook many other things, so it is a good investment not matter what.
• Second, a canning rack. As you fill the jars with tasty jam, you will place them on the rack, inside the pot, over boiling water. When all the jars are full, you will lower the rack into the boiling water to seal and sterilize the jam. It helps if the rack has insulated handles, but this is not necessary.
• Third, a funnel. I tried to fill jars with jam without a funnel one time. It was a huge mess. Use a funnel.
• Fourth, a magnetic lid lifter. To sterilize the lids, you will keep them in a bowl of boiling water. You do not want to use your fingers to get the lids out of the bowl.
• Finally, a bubble remover/head space tool. You use this to do exactly what the name implies: remove any air bubbles which might be trapped in the jam when filling the jars, and measure how much head space is left between the jam and the lip of the jar. Too much or too little head space can cause the lid to blow off, wasting the tasty jam.

 
For next week…

I am all out of time, so next week I will give a detailed, step-by-step description of how I cook and process my jam. Here are links to handy references which I promised earlier.
 

• Ball Blue Book – Guide to Preserving. This is an essential reference for anyone who wants to get serious about canning food. Currently in its 37^th edition, you can get it at Amazon for $20.
• The All New Ball Book of Canning and Preserving. This book has more information on fermenting (think pickles), drying, and curing. It also has a ton of new recipes which you can use straight out or as inspiration. We used the Dilly Bean recipe last year when we were being overwhelmed by our green bean harvest. It was awesome!
• Cuisinart CBK-200 Bread Maker. This is the same one we have had for 4 years with no problems. New these are running just over $200. A week or so ago, I saw some reconditioned models on Amazon going for ~$140.
• Canning Kit including pot. We bought one of these when we first started canning because we were not sure if our existing pot was large enough. We still have it and use it occasionally but mostly I use the pot in the picture above because it has a glass lid.
• Canning Kit, no pot. Here is an Amazon link to kit if you already have your own pot. One thing to note is that the racks come in different sizes, so make sure the one you purchase will fit in your existing pot.
• 12” Canning Rack. This is the rack I use. It will hold 7 quart jars and I think 10 pint jars.

Celebrating Women's History Month:
 

News and Noteworthy:

Incredible Edibles: Food Gardening Made Easy (online)

Tuesday, April 4, 2023 6:30-8:00pm

Growing your own organic food is a delicious way to garden in the Pacific Northwest, but where do you start? This class will cover what you need to know to grow a fabulous edible garden for years to come, whether you’re creating an “urban farmstead”, gardening in a small city lot, or in patio containers! You’ll learn simple design techniques to maximize production, soil building, planting, attracting pollinators, crop rotation, and other strategies that you can use now to prepare for your upcoming growing season. Vegetables, berries, and fruit trees do need special care to thrive, but your time and energy will pay off in abundance, great taste, and nutrition!

Taught by Emily Bishton

Cost: $25
Financial aid slots available.
Register Online 

All times are Pacific Time.

Accessibility: Closed captioning (through Zoom) is available for all of our online classes.

Opening Night Friday, March 31, 5 – 8 pm (reservations here)
Public Sale Saturday, April 1, 9 am – 3 pm

Thousands of gently used books for sale on gardening, plants, ecology and related topics. Enjoy the company of fellow plant lovers while shopping for unique horticultural books.
 

Spring Plant Sale!

Saturday, April 8, 2023
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Graham Visitors Center
Free parking and admission

online checkout system

What you can Find:

• A good selection of classic garden perennials.
• Spring-blooming plants, including trillium, trout lilies, and primroses.
• A nice assortment of shrubs.
• Potted hardy succulents.
• A unique selection of young camellias, rhododendrons, and hydrangeas propagated from Arboretum collections.
• Japanese maples, mountain ash, and other small trees for the urban garden.
• Lots of unusual perennials.
• Many compact conifers.
• And much more!

Career Opportunities in Agriculture & Food Systems:

• Kirsop Farm hiring for multiple positions
• EarthCorps – multiple job opportunities 
• Pike Place Market – Season Farm Program Assistant
• Red Dog Farms – Multiple positions available
• Rogue Farm Corps – Multiple positions available
• U-District Food Bank – Development Coordinator 
• WA Farmland Trust Development Coordinator
• Tilth Alliance – Environmental Stewardship Specialist

Food Access Resources

The UW Farm donates regularly to the UW Food Pantry. During peak season we also donate to nearby food banks. The links below are resources to help you or someone you know with food access.  

• UW Food Pantry: The UW Food Pantry | Any Hungry Husky (washington.edu)
• Northwest Harvest Food Donation sites: Public Drop Sites – Northwest Harvest
• University District Food Bank: Donate Food and Items – University District Food Bank (udistrictfoodbank.org)
• Food Lifeline: Volunteer – Food Lifeline

Help The Farm Grow!

Every year, we have the capacity to grow more food and increase our educational and research program at the UW, but not without your support. Every contribution goes to work immediately, helping us better serve students. Your support can sustain our momentum and help seed new opportunities for student internships, academic work, and future growth. Please consider making a gift to the Farm online

Copyright © 2023 The UW Farm, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
The UW Farm
3501 NE 41st St, 
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