If you don't follow the directions e x a c t l y...jelly won't set.
And "following the directions exactly"? Well, that literally spelled out is: LOTS OF SUGAR!
And "lots of sugar" equals "not good for you". Therefore, I've never been interested. Some in my family don't like it and won't eat it at all. The rest of us eat it maybe once a week. And that's on a good week.
BUT....
My dad babied the 3 little plum trees on his farm this year.
And the plums are looking so great...and he is so proud of them.
So I? Decided I simply had to get into the world of jelly-making this year.
They are beautiful, aren't they?So, after several hours (ok, almost 5 hours) spent in my kitchen on Thursday afternoon doing this...
...and this...
...and lots of this...
...and even with LK sneaking in to do this....
...I ended up with this:
And despite all the very good warnings against PRIDE in the Bible...
...and this...
...and lots of this...
...and even with LK sneaking in to do this....
...I ended up with this:
And despite all the very good warnings against PRIDE in the Bible...Proverbs 11:2
When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but with humility comes wisdom.
but with humility comes wisdom.
Proverbs 16:18
Pride goes before destruction,
a haughty spirit before a fall.
...I just really don't know when I've been so proud of myself!
I. made. plum. jam.
It worked! And it's pretty! And it's YUMMY!
And looking at those 12 half-pint jars and 12 4-oz. jars just makes me grin every time I glance that way!
I. made. plum. jam.
O.k., technically speaking - if you want to get down to the nitty-gritty - I think you should really call this "Plum-colored, Plum-flavored Sugar".
It has an obscene amount of sugar in it.
And I didn't even use my "less-bad-for-you" sugar (a.k.a. Evaporated Cane Juice) I get through the co-op. I didn't want to waste it on jelly...especially if it didn't work!
But, anyway...
I. made. plum. jam.
I don't know what I was thinking (overly-optimistic, I suppose) but I planned to roast chicken for supper that night (two chickens, actually), but with starting the jelly-making at 1 p.m., I was elbow-deep (no joke) in sticky stuff when it was time to start the chicken.
It wasn't happenin'.
Regroup.
What can I make for supper?
We had PB&Js for supper:
Using our new, beautiful, yummy "J" - of course!
Plum jelly--yummy, yummy! We made it one year at our home in Texas--AFTER we found out that the "berries" that my boys picked off the tree the year before would become plums if you let them grow. :)
ReplyDeleteI want a taste!!!
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