i wanted to title this post ‘fall!’ but as any good blogger knows if there’s a recipe in the post you gotta name the recipe in the title or your peeps will never know its there after the post disappears from your homepage, their feed, your facebook timeline, etc.
basically, i just want to say, fall is here mo%*erFU@(Ker$!!! i really, really hope you can get out there and enjoy it. if it’s not fall where you live, then get out there and enjoy whatever season you’re in. and make something with whatever you gotz growing on in your neck of the earth, will ya? …here let me try this again:
fall
blue apple jam with fennel & bay
- 3 pounds apples, peeled, cored and chopped into 1/2 inch dice
- 4 cups blueberries (i used frozen from my garden)
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1/2 tablespoon each fennel seeds and black peppercorns
- 4 cups sugar
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- pint or smaller mason jars
yield: approximately 4 & 1/2 pints
- prepare jars for hot water bath canning. sterilize jars. place two small plates in the freezer for testing the set later.
- place prepared apples and 4 & 1/2 cups water in a wide bodied pot. add bay leaves and cinnamon stick. place fennel and peppercorns in a small piece of cheese cloth or metal tea ball and add to pot. bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer on low for 10 minutes.
- add blueberries, sugar and lemon juice. turn up heat and bring to the boil. boil until set, approximately 15 minutes. you can check the set by adding a small spoonful of jam to a frozen plate. place plate back in freezer for 30 seconds, then slide your finger right through the center. if it wrinkles slightly underneath your finger, it’s set. you’ll find tho, that the pulp and natural pectin of the apple can thicken this jam up with a less than jel like consistency. be careful not to overcook, keep the set soft and ‘buttery’, with chunks of apples and a blueberry here and there somewhat intact.
- remove spices. fill sterilized jars to 1/4 inch. hot water bath process for 5 minutes.
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Big, luscious post! Happy fall to you, and it’s so nice to have you back here.
thanks shae! it’s good to be back!
Do you know, I completely missed blueberries this year? Sigh. This looks fab, I love, love bay: it’s very overlooked, IMO.
(And how did I miss this post when I get your RSS, FB, & Twitter?? Crazy.)
hey you! i guess being ‘connected’ isn’t what it used to be, is it?
i love bay also, i grow a little plant every year and pluck off all of the leaves just before i lose the whole thing to the cold N.E. winter.
blueberries are the only berry i managed to get this year. no strawberries, raspberries or even cherries for me this past season. i think this would work well with blackberries if you managed to snag some of those.
I made this yesterday, I love it. It is a wonderfully flavor combination. I’m not a huge fan of bay but in this recipe it works wonderful. The only problem I had was the amount of water, I had to cook it down for a while and still have a syrupy jam. But the flavor makes up for the consistency.
there is something about this flavor combo. i have been eating it like it is going out of style since i made it. sorry to hear about the less than perfect consistency. perhaps the type of apples you used added more water content than the macs i used. that is the thing about jam making – it often varies depending on the fruit used. but i am very happy that you love this jam regardless!