Suzie The Foodie

Food Writer, Photographer and Product Reviewer

Follow Suzie the Foodie

Facebooktwitterpinterestinstagramby feather
  • Home
  • Contact
  • Recipes
  • Product Reviews
  • Older Posts
  • Instant Pot
You are here: Home / interview / Interview with Jam-Making-Guru: Sarah B. Hood

Interview with Jam-Making-Guru: Sarah B. Hood

October 9, 2011 by Suzie the Foodie 2 Comments

We Sure Can's Rhubarb Strawberry Jam Photobucket

Sarah B. Hood, author of We Sure Can! How Jams and Pickles Are Reviving the Lure and Lore of Local Food which is published by Arsenal Pulp Press, was kind enough to answer some questions we had on making preserves. She was also sweet enough to give me a ton of advice as I was in the process of making her Classic Apple Jelly (which you voted for!). You can see the photo bellow. It ended up being pink!

Did you grow up making preserves in your family’s kitchen or is this a new passion?

Except for some neighbours who made their own horseradish, I don’t remember being exposed to anyone who preserved food when I was a child. I thought they were intriguing but peculiar (they did it in the backyard, wearing gas masks). Since no one else had taught me, about 15 years ago I decided it was time to teach myself the traditional household crafts, just because I think it’s something people should know how to do. So I taught myself about making jam; I also made some quilts, figured out how to knit something other than the endless scarf, and began to hone my kitchen gardening skills. I’m still working on bread baking.

Sterilizing Jars

Do you have any advice for those attempting to do jam making for the first time?

The standard advice is to do it with someone else who already knows how, and, while I agree, that’s not what I did myself. I got a well recommended book and read through the part about food safety three or four times, until I was sure I understood the basic concepts. But the other key thing would be to give yourself lots of time. You shouldn’t have anything else big planned the first day you ever try it, and you shouldn’t wait until bedtime to get started, if you can possibly help it.

Are the steps to canning jam the same as canning savoury foods like relishes?

Yes, as long as the mixture that ends up in the jar is a high-acid recipe meant for water-bath canning (as opposed to pressure canning). There are two aspects to canning: making the recipe, which you might call “cooking”, and putting it up for future use: “canning”.

I know it is hard to choose but what is your favourite jam to slather over toast in the morning?

Raspberry, no contest, always and forever.

We Sure Can's Classic Apple Jelly

I am planning on making the Classic Apple Jelly recipe, do you have any advice? Also, is there a way to make the jelly ahead of time and then preserve it later?

Use tart, underripe apples if you can get them; they have the most pectin. You can extract the juice from the apples, then leave it in the fridge with no sugar added for up to about three days. In fact, that’s recommended, because then you can use a turkey baster or pour carefully to get the last of the sediment out of the juice. If you leave it too long, it will start to ferment. If it seems fizzy when you taste it, find somebody who can tell you how to make alcoholic cider, but don’t try to make jelly.

Canned Peach Jam

Would you mind sharing a kitchen disaster with us just for fun?

So many to choose from; I’ve probably made every mistake there is! So I’ll tell one that has a message. When I was testing recipes for my book, I was working all day at the computer, then making as many as three batches of preserves after dinner, so I got pretty worn out. One night I was working at the stove when a good friend dropped in unexpectedly. She and my husband were chatting boisterously in the kitchen, and I let myself get distracted: while the canner was boiling away vigorously and jetting out steam, I reached past it without thinking, and gave myself an instant searing burn about four inches long on one arm. I was really lucky; it hurt like crazy and took several weeks to heal, but I don’t have a permanent scar. Now I know that if I can’t remove a distraction, I should just stop cooking.

Question from reader Midge:

“I make something called Tomato Butter. SOOOOOOO Yummy. Slightly sweet, with a kick of heat from cayenne pepper. We serve it with almost everything, eggs, pork, pasta, rice etc. This year when I made it I obviously overcooked it and it is quite thick and sticky. I will eat it no matter what state it is in.

My question is, how do I know when to stop boiling a jam/chutney like this? My recipe from my mother tells me to simmer it 3 – 5 hours! Never reached the 5 hour mark yet! Would really like to make it to the correct consistency (like strawberry jam — not soupy, but not sticky/gluey either) in every batch.”

That tomato butter sounds great! There’s a rule of thumb for chutney: when you stroke the spoon through it, it should leave a clear line through the mixture; the two sides shouldn’t join up again.

Thank you Sarah for answering our questions! The interview was super helpful and fascinating. Glad I am not the only one with a ton of kitchen disasters to share although getting hurt is never a good thing. I agree, when you do this type of cooking, do nothing else and banish distracting influences. As my dad always says, safety first!

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
Share

Filed Under: interview, preserves

Comments

  1. SarahBHood says

    October 11, 2011 at 2:34 am

    This past week I rendered down some apple juice and some grape juice, then had a brain wave and canned it so I can make jelly (or something else) later!

    Thanks for this lovely piece!

    Reply
  2. AvaDJ says

    October 11, 2011 at 3:27 am

    Awesome interview Suzie. One of these days when life slows down a bit I would love to give making home preserves a shot. I’ve been seeing Sarah’s book everywhere and I will definitely invest in the book when I work up enough time and nerve to make my own jam, jellies and salsas.

    I love the pink Apple Jelly, it looks sooooo good. Can’t wait to see how you use it. I love using apple jelly as a fruit glaze on cheesecakes and flans.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Product Review: President’s Choice Ascolana Fried Olives Stuffed with Cheese

Product Review: President’s Choice Ascolana Fried Olives Stuffed with Cheese

Sweet! First 2022 Holiday President's Choice Insider's Report product review is up! Olives and cheese? Yes please!

Search Suzie the Foodie

I Am Alive!

I Am Alive!

It has been over a decade and my time as Suzie The Foodie is over! Thanks for all the love and support and remember, do not NOT feed the trolls. ~ Suzie The Foodie

Save $25 On A Magical Butter Kit!

Save $25 On A Magical Butter Kit!

Not only can you save $25 on a Magical Butter Kit with this coupon you help support me and my site when you purchase one!

Want a big discount on your purchase? Use the coupon code "SUZIE” when you check out!

Instant Pot Spicy Peanut Soup with Sweet Potato And Kale

Instant Pot Spicy Peanut Soup with Sweet Potato And Kale

Super fast and delicious soup made in the Instant Pot and saved my bacon!

My WordPress Guru

Special thanks to my WordPress Guru and long-time friend Mike D. Without your help, this website would not have been possible.

Copyright © 2023 · Metro Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in