Jam, Jelly, and the Great White Freezer

 It's funny seeing what feels like everyone else I follow who gardens just starting their harvests-- ours is wrapping up. Only the okra is still producing; everything else has been pulled up or tilled under. 

I got it into my head to can and freeze as much of it as possible this go 'round. Our grocery bill has definitely been lighter with how much we've been able to eat from our property, and I'd like to spread some of that through the year. 

Of course, it's going to mean eating a lot more jam, jelly, and pickles. I probably ought to focus more on stuff we can straight up pressure can for next year; that much sodium and sugar can't possibly be good for us. 

Here's the latest additions to the pantry...

Mustang Grape Jelly

Mustang grapes grow wild in Texas. My grandmother has some on her property, and I was able to forage some. 

They were kind of sparse this year, so I was able to get enough for a single batch only after 45 minutes picking and climbing up a dead tree.

Which, in retrospect, was probably not my most intelligent moment. 

I washed the grapes, took out most (though not all) of the stems, then boiled them with a little pre-packaged juice on the stove.

I then lined a colander with an old dish towel, put it on top of a big metal bowl, and then (with gloved hands) poured the steaming mess of grapes in, let it sit for a moment, then picked up the towel with the pulp and squeezed a bit. 

The juice was then mixed with sugar, boiled, mixed with pectin, boiled some more, then put in sterilized jars and boiled for ten minutes. 

There's a lot of boiling involved in canning. 

The final product...

To make things more interesting, hot water and dish soap has a weird chemical reaction with the juice that turns it ultramarine blue. 

Weird, but kind of fun. 

Cantelope Jam 

The garden went absolutely crazy with cantelopes this year. 

We've been eating as much fresh as we can, giving it away, and even feeding a fair amount to the chickens, but it's still absolutely overwhelming our counter space. 

So I decided to look up whether you can make jan with it. Turns out you can, but you need to add lemon juice to make sure it's acidic enough to keep in storage. 

The recipe also called for vanilla and salt, for some reason. 

The end result was surprisingly tasty. 

Unfortunately, it also only used up three melons. 

Apparently, I've got a lot more batches of this stuff in my immediate future. We've already got some in the freezer too, so I'm really scratching my head on how to avoid wasting it. 

Okra 

In addition to pickling it, I'm trying freezing it for the first time. 

Well, Chris is. I was getting the stuff together and Bitty Baby suddenly needed to nurse RIGHT NOW (been happening a lot since she started getting her molars in), so Chris took over. 

To freeze it, you slice it into half inch pieces, and then spread on a cookie sheet (we like to line them with flexible cutting boards for this step) and then toss into the freezer overnight. Then you transfer them to a gallon Ziploc bag. 

You supposed to be also to use just like fresh in cooking, or even frying. Time will tell. 

The figs are starting to ripen, so I might be making something with them in the near future as well. We'll see; I might be out of jars and patience by then.