• Blackberry with Fresh Rosemary Jam 

• Thickening Your Homemade Yogurt 

• Yogurt-Jam Breakfast Popsicles

Wild blackberries, along with so many other delicious fruits, grow abundantly in Maine in the late summer.  But at this time of year? Well…..not so much. It’s been a very cold and wet spring here, even by Maine standards, and the first locally-grown fruit of the year (strawberries) likely won’t be available for at least another few weeks.

For a jam-maker, this can be a bit of a bleak time of year, so I was delightfully surprised by the delicious, cultivated blackberries I found last week at the grocery store. I have to admit that, living in a place where wild blackberries are abundant, I’ve never really given the cultivated version much of a chance, and now I see that I have been missing out!  These berries were big, juicy, sweet, and–most importantly in my mind–with far fewer seeds! I made a delicious jam with them, and for something a little different, I added some fresh rosemary. The rosemary flavor is subtle but present, nicely balancing the sweetness of the berries and giving the jam a little more depth.

In making this recipe, be sure to mince the fresh rosemary very, very finely so that the rosemary flavor spreads evenly throughout the jam, and so that you avoid having any noticeable pieces of rosemary in the jam, as they are not particularly appealing to bite into. Additionally, for reasons of canning safety, be sure to use the amount of lemon juice indicated in the recipe, and do not increase the quantity of rosemary, as it can impact the pH of the final product.

 

Blackberry Jam with Fresh Rosemary

Yield:

4-5 half-pint (8 ounce) jars

To do ahead of time:

Prepare the calcium water.  To do this, combine 1/2 teaspoon white calcium powder (included in the Pomona’s Universal Pectin package) with 1/2 cup water in a small, clear container with a lid. Shake well before using.  Note that you will have more calcium water than you will end up using in this recipe; simply store it in the refrigerator for later use.

Ingredients:

• 2 ¼ pounds sweet blackberries (this is approximately 8 cups of whole berries)
  2 ¼ teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary
  ¼ cup lemon juice
  2 teaspoons calcium water
  1 ¼ cup sugar
  2 teaspoons Pomona’s Pectin Powder

Directions:

1.) Wash and rinse jars, lids, and screw bands.  Set screw bands aside until ready to use. Place jars in boiling water bath canner with a rack, fill at least 2/3 of the way full with water, and bring to a boil.  Boil jars for 10 minutes to sterilize (add 1 additional minute of sterilizing time for every 1000 feet above sea level), then turn down heat and let jars stand in hot water until ready to use.  Place lids in water in a small pan, bring to a low simmer, and hold there until ready to use.

2.) Rinse the blackberries, then place them in a mixing bowl and mash them.  (A potato masher works well for this.).

3.) Measure out 4 cups of the mashed berries. (If you have any left over, you can use it for something else).  Pour the measured mashed berries into a large saucepan. Add the finely chopped rosemary, lemon juice, and calcium water, then stir to combine.

4.) In a separate bowl, combine the sugar and the pectin powder.  Mix well and set aside.

5.) Bring the berry mixture up to a rolling boil over high heat. Add  the sugar-pectin mixture, then stir vigorously for 1 to 2 minutes, still over the highest heat, to dissolve pectin. Return jelly  to a boil, then remove from heat.

7.) Remove hot jars from canner and fill jars with jam, leaving ¼  inch of headspace. Remove trapped air bubbles, wipe rims with a damp cloth, and put on lids and screw bands, tightening bands only to “fingertip tight” (until resistance is met, and then just the tiniest bit more).

8.) Place jars in the hot water, on the rack inside the canner.  (Make sure jars are upright, not touching each other or the sides of the canner, and are covered with at least 1-2 inches of water).  Place the lid on the canner, return the canner to a rolling boil, and boil for 10 minutes. (Add 1 minute additional processing time for every 1000 feet above sea level.)

9.) Turn off heat and allow canner and jars to sit for 5 minutes.  Then, remove jars from canner.

10.) Allow jars to cool undisturbed for 12-24 hours.  Then, confirm that jars have sealed. Remove screw bands from sealed jars, rinse off outside of jars if necessary, label  jars, and store for later use.

Recipe by Allison Carroll Duffy

 

Thickening Homemade Yogurt with Pomona’s Pectin

Yes, Pomona’s Pectin can be used to help thicken homemade yogurt!

We are not yogurt makers and cannot give you advice on making the yogurt– but if you are a yogurt maker and are trying to thicken your homemade yogurt, consider giving this method a try.

Directions:

1. Using the calcium powder that comes with Pomona’s Pectin is not necessary if the milk has calcium in it naturally or is calcium fortified. If your milk does not have calcium, we recommend adding 1 teaspoon of calcium water per cup of milk. Add the calcium water to the milk before you heat it. Stir well. Make the calcium water according to the directions that come with Pomona’s Pectin (front side of recipe sheet, lower left corner).

2. When you have heated the milk to its hottest point, take a cup of the hot milk and put it in a cup for an immersion blender or in a food processor or blender.

3. Add the appropriate amount of pectin. We recommend using 1 teaspoon of pectin per 1 quart of lowfat or full fat animal milk. For non-fat animal milk, or non-animal milk, you may need up to 2 teaspoons of pectin per quart. It is very important to vent the lid (if there is one) to let steam out. Don’t use an enclosed blender that can’t be vented. Run the machine for a good solid minute. Lift the lid and look for undissolved clumps of pectin stuck to the sides. Push any clumps onto the milk and run the machine until there are no undissolved clumps of pectin and the milk is perfectly smooth.

4. Add the pectinized milk to the rest of the milk and stir to get the pectin well distributed throughout all the milk.

5. Proceed with your yogurt recipe.

 

 Yogurt-Jam Breakfast Popsicles

Yields:

10 Popsicles

Prep Time:

5 minutes + 4 – 6 hours of freezing time

Ingredients;

• 1 1/2 cups plain homemade yogurt
• 1/2 cup milk, or milk alternative
• 1/4 cup homemade jam
• 1/2 cup granola or favorite cereal (optional)

Optional Mix-ins:

• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• 1/4 cup fresh blueberries
• 2 kiwis, peeled and sliced
• 1/4 cup fresh strawberries, sliced
• 1/4-1/2 cup of any fruit of choics

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, combine yogurt, milk, jam, and any mix-ins you choose.
2. Sprinkle granola or cereal in popsicle molds.
3. Spoon yogurt mixture into popsicle molds. Add additional granola or cereal on top for extra crunch.
4. Insert wooden sicks into molds, or place on lids. Freeze for at least 4 hours until popsicles are solid.
5. Popsicles will keep in the freezer for up to two weeks.

 

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