Hot Pack Preserving, Jam and Pickles #fijchallenge

Hot Pack Preserving,  Blueberry Basil Jam and Pickles #fijchallenge

We are now in the seventh month of our year-long food preservation Mastery Challenge hosted by Marisa of the popular canning blog, "Food In Jars". This month we are focusing on hot pack preserving. While I thought I understood the difference between hot and cold pack preserving, it wasn’t until this month that I finally “got” the difference. Basically the more you heat your food the softer it becomes. So while my pickles ended up with great flavor; the texture was a little softer than a store bought one. Still loads of flavor but if you like a more crisp pickle, cold pack preserving is a much better choice. Now for jam making the hot pack method is perfect, it all depends on what you are canning and how you would like the end result to be. This month I made a low sugar blueberry and basil jam and a small batch of bread and butter pickles.

I've learning a LOT about preserving foods and most of it is due to Marisa’s well organized and informative website. Thank you Marisa!

For the blueberry basil jam I followed the recipe from the Sure-Jell box except I used the plate test to tell when the jam was done and ready to scoop into jars.

Blueberry Basil Jam

For the bread and butter pickles I followed Marisa’s recipe exactly except I omitted the sliced red bell peppers, recipe here.

Bread and Butter Pickles

Yield: 6 to 7 half pintsAuthor: Cheri

Blueberry Basil Jam

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 cups of smashed blueberries (you’ll need 8-10 cups of unsquashed berries to equal this amount)
• 4 cups cane sugar
• 1 box Sure Jell (the pink box)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• ½ bunch fresh basil
• Cheesecloth

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Prepare a canning pot and 6 to 7 half pint jars with lids and bring to a boil, let simmer at least 10 minutes.
2. Prepare cheesecloth by cutting a large square, place basil in the middle and then tie ends together, set aside.
3. Pour the smashed berries into a large wide, non-reactive pot, stir-in lemon juice and add basil packet. Combine ¼ cup sugar from the measured amount and 1 pkg of the Sure Jell in a small bowl, then stir into fruit. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Then add-in the rest of the sugar, keep stirring.
4. Now this is where I got confused, still unclear. But the directions on the Sure Jell box says to boil one minute longer and then start scooping the jam into jars. Instead I tried the plate test, (see link above). My jam needed more cooking time. When jam passes the test, remove pot from heat, remove basil bag and funnel into prepared jars. Wipe rims, apply lids and rings, and process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.
5. When time is up, remove jars from canner and set them on a dish towel to cool. You will hear the lids on the jars start to pop soon after. Test the seals by grasping the edges of the lid and lifting the jar. If the lids hold tight, the jars are sealed. If any of the seals are compromised, refrigerate and eat right away.

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