Jammen

For those of you trying to keep up, here's something else to add to your list of things to learn in order to be like Alisha: how to make jam. In all fairness, I think it's significantly easier in Austria because they have this lovely sugar that contains pectin, so that takes a lot of the scariness out of canning.

Let's start at the beginning. Last week, one of Amanda's neighbors invited her over to show her how to make jam. Now, this woman called it marmalade, but when I looked up the difference between "marmalade" and "jam", I realized what they made was actually jam. After a little more research, I discovered that the English word "marmalade" is translated to "Orangenmarmelade" in German. And the German word "Marmelade" is translated to "jam" in English. I also learned that "jammen" is the German verb "to jam". That's not really related to the food jam, but I found it amusing.

So, Amanda learned to make jam from her neighbor last week and she taught me how to make jam this week. Now I must teach someone how to make the jam within the next week. It's the David Watson method of jam-making. (I know that only a handful of people are going to get that joke, so don't worry if the last sentence didn't make any sense.)

Here goes... How to make strawberry jam.

Start with fresh strawberries. I bought some of these from the Naschmarkt and the rest from the grocery store. The ones from the Naschmarkt were definitely better (looking and tasting), so next time I'll make sure to get enough from there. And while I was at the Naschmarkt, I took a few photos for Almost Daily Vienna. They'll show up over the next few days.

Let's get started. (Have I said that already?) Wash the berries.


Next, hull and slice the strawberries.


Then, add a little water to a large pot (enough to cover the bottom) and toss in the strawberries. Bring to a boil over a medium high heat while occasionally stirring and mashing the fruit. The juices will be released as it heats up. When it becomes juicy, add gelling sugar.

I had never heard of gelling sugar before and I don't know if it's available in the U.S. It's sugar that contains pectin (to gel) and citric acid (to preserve). When I googled it, the first site returned was a store in the U.S. (German Deli) selling the imported German brand, so it may be hard to come by in the U.S.


After it cooks a bit more, pour the hot jam into sterilized jars. I washed my jars in the dishwasher and then popped them in the oven for a few minutes to sterilize them. Put the lid on, then let them set overnight. Amanda's neighbor's grandmother used to always wrap her warm jars in a blanket so they would take longer to cool down. Neither Amanda nor I knew the reason for this, but we did it anyways.


My 7 cups of sliced strawberries made 5 jars of jam. I think I may try to make jam with other fruits