With Apologies to Mlle. Ferber

Over the years my jam and jelly making has become more intricate. There are some standard recipes, oft used and annotated, but there was also the time that I started making my own pectin. And I let fruit and sugar macerate for 24 hours before bringing to a boil. And there were the combinations, not just strawberry but strawberry-mint-black-pepper. I blame it all on Christine Ferber. Her book of jam recipes is so very european and elegant. Some of the recipes start with crazy things like "pick the fruit before the dew dries in order to preserve the full perfume."

Frankly it's a bit crazy. But so good! After dumping in powdered pectin for years...the fine control you can get with a pale green jelly, that homemade pectin from slightly unripe apples, it give a clear wiggle to the jam. The jelly doesn't thicken, it just pulls itself together. Like a yoga class where you are doing a simple pose and the instructor comes over and puts a hand on your spine and suddenly you shift just so and your body comes into alignment.

Anyway. Mlle. Ferber, I am sorry. Because I just discovered freezer jam. Raspberries are in season around here and they are always touted as awesome freezer jam candidates. I decided to try it. Let's see the comparison:

Regular jam:
- get great fruit, wash and drain and macerate with sugar for 24 hours.
- put a gigantic pot on the stove, fill with water. Bring to a boil, which can take upwards of 45 minutes. Add jam jars and simmer them to sterilize.
- bring the fruit/sugar to a boil, simmer, and add pectin.
- now is where you want to make sure you are not wearing shorts and a bikini top.
- boil that jam until it reaches 221 degrees. Boil boil boil, stir, boil, stir, boil.
- take out hot jam jars with tongs, two at a time. Fill with boiling jam. Cap and put back in enormous pot of hot water.
- when all jam jars are full, let boil for 10 minutes.
- remove with tongs, put on a cooling rack, listen to make sure that the lids Ping! and tell you that they are sealed.

Freezer jam:
- get great fruit, wash and drain and put in bowl. Smush up with spoon.
- add 1.5c sugar, one package of souped-up "freezer jam pectin" and a generous squirt of lemon juice.
- are you naked? Fine! Wearing a bikini top and shorts? No problem!
- spoon into clean containers.
- final options: put in fridge (2 month storage), freezer (1 year storage), or mouth (instantaneous satisfaction)

fresh raspberries, picked today from Kathy's yard. Sun kissed, though the dew had dried before picking

add pectin and sugar

one batch regular, one batch seedless for a friend with a delicate digestive system

Yes, the freezer jam is a blunt instrument of preservation. But it really lets the tart raspberries shine in all their hot pink glory. I'll still make the majority of my jam the traditional way but I am definitely sold on the freezer method as well.

the trick to seedless jam? A rocking food mill

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The "5 best kitchen items" comments have been marvelous! I want to add brewing equipment, a chapati rolling pin, more wine, a spice cabinet, and a dog to my kitchen. Keep the ideas coming!