The task this week for Sweet Melissa Sundays was to make preserves. I've never made preserves, but it seemed simple enough when reading through the recipe. Though they didn't turn out quite as I expected them to...
I decided to make these without refined sugar, so that my 2 1/2 year old could partake. I was pretty much out of agave, so I used what I had left, along with some maple syrup for the sweetener. I sweetened to taste, but there was no more than 4 tablespoons in all.
Things seemed to be going well at the outset, everything was bubbling along nicely, her it started thickening but the apples were still rather firm, and the strawberries weren't breaking down much. I mashed everything as best as I could, and kept on cooking. Pretty soon, there was hardly any liquid left, so I added some water and put a lid on it to cook it more. I stirred it every couple of minutes, but it started to scorch a but, so I decided it was done enough, and I put it in a jar. I think this is probably a result of not using sugar, as it brings out the juices in fruits, and mine was not nearly as liquidy as other peoples'. Also, it didn't make much. Everyone said this recipe made a ton of preserves, so I cut it in half, but I didn't even get a pint...
It was delicious, however! We ate it this morning on some biscuits (which I'll get to in a second) and my son couldn't get enough. He said "I love your home-made jam, mommy", and gobbled up 2 biscuits.
These biscuits are amazing. They are the sweet cream biscuits from Baking From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan, and they don't have any butter in them! I'll admit, I was a skeptic - what is a biscuit without butter! - but I decided to have faith in Dorie and give them a shot. I am so glad I did, because they take about 3 minutes to put together: mix flour, baking soda and salt, stir in heavy cream, roll, cut and bake, and they are delicious. So delicious! They are light and fluffy and melt in your mouth. The only change I made was to omit the sugar. I will certainly be making these over and over - I've already made them twice in 3 days...
Thanks to Margot of Effort to Deliciousness for picking the preserves recipe, which you can find here. Take a look at the SMS blogroll for more sweet strawberry goodness!
Your jam looks so thick and delish. I love a thick jam, mine was quite runny.
ReplyDeleteKatie xox
I'm glad the jam was such a hit! I'm pretty fond of it as well. And those biscuits look great, I'm surprised as well that they still turn out flaky without cutting in butter.
ReplyDelete-Jen
Thanks for preserving with me this week. Your preserves look great and it's so cute that your son liked them so much! I love seeing all the creative uses the bakers have come up with for jam, the biscuits sound like a lovely breakfast treat. I'm sorry the jam gave you trouble; I guess it was probably the lack of sugar (which I would consider cutting back on a bit next time).
ReplyDeleteI'll have to try the biscuits. They look and sound amazing. Great job on the preserves!
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah!
ReplyDeleteThat is so sweet of your son to compliment his Mommy's jam- I had an "awww!" moment as I was reading. Great job on your preserves- my Dad really enjoyed them as well. And thanks for sharing that biscuit recipe... I'm definitely gonna have to give it a try!
I saw your comment on the SMS site, and I must admit, I'm super jealous of your recent cookbook acquisitions. A bunch of the titles you listed are currently on my wish list! You'll have to let me know when you start baking from them, which you think is a "must-have," and it'll go to the top of my list.
Hope to hear from you soon :)
-Joy