Trials and tribulations of a jam maker

"The Quangle Wangle said
To himself on the Crumpetty Tree,--
'Jam; and Jelly; and bread;
Are the best of food for me!"
- Edward Lear

How did I ever get into making jam? To begin with, I really had no clue of what I wanted to do, though I was certain, it had to be food related because cooking was one of my passions.

One day I had this Eureka moment, why not preserves? This thought was also fuelled by the abysmal quality of preserves that were available in the market. There was something missing in them- they were cloyingly sweet and the taste of real fruit just wasn't there. 

Also processed food has never found favor with me so the thought of making a preservative and pectin free jam, seemed just so right.

That was also the time when I read about the artisanal food movement sweeping across America and the idea of producing something handmade and in small quantities appealed a great deal.The mass produced edibles can never match up to a small batch, handcrafted product which oozes flavor and freshness.

But I knew next to nothing about jam making. My previous foray had been eons back when I was living in Melbourne. The Chinese oranges (kumquats) growing in the backyard had tempted me into making marmalade.

What I remember of that experience was that apart from me, the only other person who took to it was my husband's friend ... and now at hindsight I cannot help think that maybe he was just being polite.

 Anyways, I was quite set that this was what I wanted to try my hand at.

One of the first jams I made was with oranges. I followed the recipe to the T. The marmalade was boiling along nicely and then ... I made the cardinal mistake, of attending a call and not keeping a watchful eye on the jam.

That minute or two of distraction made all the difference. The marmalade had taken a lovely caramelized color and looked great, tasted also yum ... only one glitch!  It had reached the hard ball stage and needed some warming up to make it spreadable. My sister came over to taste my first fruits of labor - the orange marmalade and tomato chutney that I had freshly made. Very forthrightly she told me as only sisters' can, that maybe I should forget about making fancy stuff like jam and stick to the more desi familiar chutneys. The kids cheekily suggested that the labels on the jar could have instructions like please microwave before use. 

There was a fleeting thought that maybe it was not my cup of tea, but I wasn't going to give it up tamely.

My next attempt was at making lemon marmalade. But what the heck? What were these Meyer lemon that all the jam makers spoke about in reverential terms? Apparently these are popular in the culinary world for making lemon marmalade as they are known for their juicy pulp and exotic aroma.

I don't get them where I live so instead of fretting on it I settled for the normal ones. The marmalade looked lovely with specks of the rind floating in it. I could not wait for it to set, to taste it. Slathered on the toast it glistened and I swelled with pride at my handiwork. One bite into it, yum! and then it hit - the marmalade had great looks and texture, had  a perfect set but well its one and only flaw... it was amazingly bitter.

The marmalades were proving to be my bane; I needed a break from them. After taking a short hiatus to recover my lost confidence I again plunged into other jams - mango, which thankfully turned out fine. Then the stone fruits – peach, plum and other summer bounty. That's not to say that all of them turned out perfect there were always slight hiccups on the way, the plum tasted sour, the peach (being low in pectin) didn't set too well.

But all these were minor aberrations and as I kept on making, my confidence grew and from tentative and unsure beginnings, to the point where I now thoroughly enjoy the whole process. The gleaming jars give me a sense of accomplishment - all my naysayers have turned around and simply luv the stuff that I now churn out. However when I tell people that I make preserves they look very lost, so then I have to explain in plain terms that it's actually jam, as in 'Kissan' jam.

Lots of learning, but foremost was not to multi task, to keep the focus on the jam when its cooking. Then a lot depends on the produce and each batch will have slight variations in taste. Judging a jam's set is always guesswork in the beginning. It’s mostly after a couple of tries that guesstimate starts giving way to more surety of its doneness.

My tribulations in making the jams have come to an end ... however, a new one has emerged ... people think of jams as a sure recipe for becoming diabetic ... yes, provided you have the typical market processed stuff, otherwise they are no worse than your ice creams and gulab jamuns!