In article >, Dieter Zakas
> wrote:
> In article , Melba's
> Jammin' at wrote on 1/14/05 11:50:
(snippage)
> Crabapple jelly? Interesting.
Never heard of it? Dolgo crab apples make *gorgeous* red jelly -- and I
can get the crabapples free -- my locak KFC has a tree on their property
and the manager is thrilled for me to take as many apples as I want.
Then his folks don't have to pick them up off the ground. The Dolgos
are ready in about early-to-mid-August around here -- just in time for
my Fair antics.
> >> I'm interested in doing it chiefly for personal growth
> >> reasons...besides, it would be an interesting alternative to
> >> flowers and chocolate on a date.
> > Only if you're planning to smear it on her and lick it off once you
> > have. IMNSHO. "-) (Oh, I'm teasing, for Pete's sake!) At
> > holiday time, my gifts to friends and neighbors are usually a
> > couple 4-oz jars of homemade stuff accompanied by a small loaf of
> > homemade bread. They stack very nicely in the tall gift bags made
> > for presenting a bottle of booze or wine. Or if no bread, a few
> > jars stack nicely.
>
> That was cute...but I think you knew what I meant. :-) Rather than
> present my date with flowers, imagine the impact a jar of jam I made
> would have on her? "You MADE this? How sweet!"
Give her flowers and keep the jam in your back pocket for later. :-)
> <snip>
>
> >> I could probably borrow some of the needed tools from my mother, who
> >> lives about an hour away. However, if I do it more often, I'd want to
> >> invest in quality equipment for myself, and not deprive dear ol' mom
> >> ("I NOT old!") from her own.
> >
> > Sure. After a wonderful story about me in the MN Women's Press
> > this summer after my Fair coup, I was contacted by a woman who
> > wanted a lesson in jammin'. I would say that the two things that
> > couldn't be faked from an otherwise moderately-well equipped
> > kitchen were the jar lifter (the canning tongs) and the
> > wide-opening canning funnel.
>
> When my mother made her plum jam, she used a pair of metal tongs to
> extract the sterilized jars from their bath, and used the improvised
> canning funnel I described in an earlier post.
Yup. Whatever works. I'm still lobbying for the jar lifter, though.
VOE -- it's easier to keep the jars perfectly upright with that tool vs
standard kitchen tongs. I use them on the jar, not the ring. I don't
like to disturb the ring until I've heard the ping of the seal.
> <snip>
>
> >> High heels and pearls? I would look a bit strange wearing
> >> those...I'm a guy,
> >
> > Not at all, Dear. If you're going to pretend to be June Cleaver,
> > you have to dress the part. :-) Here's a quote from one of
> > George's posts on June 30, 2004: "My wife does most of the
> > gardening but I figure out what to plant, get to run the tiller,
> > and do most of the harvesting and preserving. I still can't get her
> > to let me wear her pearls and high heels in the kitchen though.
> > B-)"
> >
> > Did I not mention that George is, um, different?
> That's...putting it mildly. (And I thought I was different.)
>
> <snip>
>
> >
> >> Wow...you certainly provided a lot.
> >
> > Helpful, I hope.
>
> Heaps.
>
> > I think others have mentioned this, too, but I'll chime in: Get
> > yourself a good paper text to have at hand. The USDA Guide is
> > available bound and in electronic bits on various websites; my
> > personal favorite is the Ball Blue Book; others gotta have Putting
> > Food By by Hertzberg (?) and Greene. The BBB gets updated every
> > other year - last year was one such edition. And the NCHFP site is
> > a must -- the University of Georgia is the only place currently
> > doing research and testing for the USDA according to my local
> > university food science weenie. Brian Nummer at NCHFP sometimes
> > lurks here and usually straightens us out if someone posts bad info
> > that another of us doesn't catch. And the folks at NCHFP have been
> > very generous in answering emails, too, IME.
> Since money is tight, I'll continue to give my library card a workout :-)
> I'll also keep in mind those resources everyone's suggested.
Library is a fine idea -- just make sure you've got a relatively
recently published book. I don't think PFB has been edited in maybe 10
years, although I've not seen anyone hear criticize their times.
>
> > Looking forward to having you join us on r.f.p., Dieter. Welcome.
> > -Barb, in Minnesota (southern Canada to SOME smartyboots) where the
> > temp is currently -12 degrees and it's sunny and bright. "We love
> > it here, we love it here, we love it here."
> "Smartyboots"? Interesting term.
That's polite talk for smartass. And we are nothing here if we are not
polite.
--
-Barb, <www.jamlady.eboard.com> Trip Report and pics added 1-13-05
"I read recipes the way I read science fiction: I get to the end and say,
'Well, that's not going to happen.'" - Comedian Rita Rudner, performance
at New York, New York, January 10, 2005.