Finally hauled out everything to jam over the week-end! Blueberry rhubarb from the Pomona Pectin cookbook… using frozen blueberries.
6 Likes
5 Likes
Half batch of rhubarb ginger chutney . No idea where the recipe is from: it’s a random photocopy in my file. Very good though!
4 Likes
I hit up the farm for raspberry u-pick this evening; came home with an easy 7 quarts (could’ve picked twice that - very abundant.) Hardly anyone was there because it had stormed just before opening time.
I didn’t make raspberry jam last year because I still had some from the year before and Mom won’t eat it, but I’m making some this year, mostly for baking. The majority of these berries will be for ice cream, though 
5 Likes
Envious. My grandparents had a huge raspberry patch at their place in Westchester County, and when we’d visit as kids, my brother and I went picking very much in the “one for the bucket, one for my mouth” tradition.
2 Likes
What a sweet memory
1 Like
My mother’s a June baby, and she told me her b-day cake growing up was always strawberry shortcake (the layer cake kind with vanilla sponge cake) because the berries were just coming in for their fleeting season — but she never thought of raspberries as anything all that special because of that backyard berry patch, Until she moved out of her parents’ house and discovered how dear they are in grocery stores.
3 Likes
Agreed…I grew up with wild raspberries and blackberries growing in the hedgerows…that was our snack when we got hungry while we were playing!
I had no idea how much I’d miss them as an adult, or how pricey they would be.
1 Like
I was gifted some rhubarb from a friend, so made a rhubarb compote from Preserving by the Pint. Very hands-off: you just roast the rhubarb with a tiny bit of sugar, vanilla and lemon. Makes two jars.
4 Likes
Love that book.
1 Like
Tiny batch of raspberry with the last of the u-pick raz. I de-seeded about half the batch by pushing it through a sieve. The berries macerated for a full three days til I got around to making this. Batch was small enough that I made it in a big frying pan, first cooking down the liquid by itself, then adding in the solids. No pectin.
5 Likes
Made some liquid gold this morning, a/k/a
apricot jam…this jam is golden in color and taste, I added a splash of Barack apricot brandy from Romania, a little bit of fire water. Hope the FM has some apricots next week!!
7 Likes
Every few months I make a batch of salsa. My recipe hasn’t changed much over the years, but since I was getting the tomatoes directly from the field (long story involving petty larceny), I was limited to seasonal salsa production. In recent years, though, circumstances have forced me to acquire the ingredients honestly, so I make salsa when I start running low, rather than when tomatoes are in the fields.
This is context for my problem. I have noticed that the peppers I use vary substantially in their heat level. I use mostly jalapenos, with some poblanos in the mix for variety, but the quantity is the same from batch to batch. Unfortunately, the heat of the resultant salsa varies substantially. My last batch is pretty hot. I like it, but it’s a little too hot for Mrs. ricepad. The batch before was on the milder side of medium, and the only variable was time.
What factors influence the heat of jalapenos? Soil? Temperature? Cultivar? Anybody have any insights that would help me make salsa that is more consistent from batch to batch?
I think we talked about this before, so I will look but I think it’s mostly cultivar. And unless you grow your own, it is hard to know. Where I shop, Fresnos are much more predictable for jalapeno heat, and Serranos when more is more.
ETA Some discussion here
1 Like
Thanks. I had heard that the rise in popularity of jalapeno poppers had growers breeding for milder peppers for a wider market. I don’t know where I heard that. Coulda been HO, CH, NPR, or through Mrs. ricepad’s Master Gardener pipeline. I guess it’s going to remain a crapshoot except for the batches I make with home grown jalapenos where I can assess them myself.
1 Like
It’s a well-known phenomenon. The tam (that is, Texas A&M, where it was bred) was developed specifically to have a low Scoville rating, and has become the dominant green jalapeño available outside Latino markets in my experience. If you see especially large jalapeños they’re usually tams.
2 Likes
I’m waiting for the local apricots to come in. The ones in the grocery store right now are flavourless.
1 Like
I hear you! Even the FM apricots are not what they were previously, it’s a bit of a crap shoot. This batch happened to be delicious, hope you get some good ones!
1 Like
Ah, maybe that explains what I’m seeing at the grocery the last few years. I hadn’t bought any jalapeños for a very long time. When I went to get some I was surprised at their size. They were humongous compared to what was available years ago.
1 Like
There are dozens of Jalapeño varieties now. Size is not a reliable indicator any more. Your best solution is to take a small slice from the cored peppers, maybe from 2 or 3, and taste these before removing the septae “veins”. If they are hot, remove more septae. If mild, remove less. If they are still too weak, you can add cayenne powder.
You likely know this, but for the uninitiated: protect your hands if dissecting chilies! They can cause agonizing pain if the capsaicins soak into your skin.
1 Like
