I'm Jammin', I hope You Like Jammin' Too...

That's making jam of course!  This was my very first time making jam!  I used Pomona's Universal Pectin, which is made from citrus fruit peel, and honey!  For my first batch of jam ever, it was delicious!  I gave some away so we didn't have much to enjoy for ourselves but I did freeze some apricots (processed in the food processor and lemon juice added to help retain color) so I can make more when needed!!!

Making jam seemed daunting at first.  I had the pectin on hand for about a month, pulling it out from time to time to read the directions, only to fold them back up and put the little box back into the pantry.  Our plethora of apricots were just the thing to muster up the momentum I needed!  I didn't want any apricots to go to waste so I quickly took care of them by splitting them to take the seeds out and chopped them in my trusty food processor and made jam!  The process included mashing four cups of fruit mixed with 1/4 cup of lemon juice, and 4 tsp of calcium water (sounds complicated, I know - the calcium comes with the pectin and you add it to water via the directions - easy) then heated to just boiling.  Add 1/2 to 1 cup of sweetener (I used 3/4 cup of honey), 3 tsp of pectin mixed into sweetener, then added to the fruit/lemon juice/calcium water mixture,  stirring constantly for about two minutes until the pectin is dissolved.  Bring to another boil then pack mixture into jars of choice (the directions call for eight 8oz jars but it only filled six)!   Next, boil jars to seal the canning lids for about 10 minutes - time specified for jar size.  And you are finished!  Total time to make six 8oz jars of jam was approximately 30 minutes - WAY easier than I thought!

Have you made jam before?!  What flavors?!  How about any good "jammin'" stories?  Now that I am confident that I can produce delicious jam, I am looking forward to making all sorts of flavored creations!

Summer's Bounty: Apricots

Eli's hand reaching for the gold...

After months of seeing the beautiful apricot flowers turn into little green balls which then transform into golden, redish-orange balls of delicious wonder, our apricots are finally ready to be picked. 

While historians are not completely sure where apricots originated, most of modern American production of apricots is from California with some in Washington and Utah.  In the world, apricots are grown in continental climates and Mediterranean climates like Turkey, Persia, and Australia (not excluding many other areas where they are grown). 

Apricot trees depend on a cold winter to allow for proper dormancy and a drier spring to allow their early blooms to come into their mature fruit stage.  Areas with late frosts have difficult times growing apricots (as we had this year - snow in April!).

Aren't they pretty : )

• The mineral content in apricots is high, which makes them helpful in overcoming disorders like anemia, tuberculosis, asthma, bronchitis, etc.
• The high copper and iron content in apricots increases the hemoglobin in the blood.
• The vitamin A content in apricots is high and helps in reducing skin disorders like pimples and zits. Vitamin A also aids in improving eye-sight.
• A certain substance called lycopene is present in apricots, which helps in the prevention of cancer and also protects the body from high cholesterol, thereby preventing heart disease.
• Eating apricots helps in removing gallstones and also destroys intestinal worms. It also aids in digestion, since it reacts as an alkaline, breaking down food particles.
• The fruit is considered to be a laxative and consuming it regularly will help you get rid of constipation. It is very helpful in getting rid of the waste in the body, due to its high fiber content.  (Source)

Now that we know a little bit about apricots, it's time to pick some!  That person in there is my husband, Eli, diving in (he's not afraid of the spiders like I am!).

We ended up with a huge basket full of them (apricots! - not spiders!).

Here they are all washed up and ready to be dried. Organic and NOT treated with chemical preservatives.  Perfect just the way God made them!

This batch is going to go to my friend in Minnesota - Brandis and her family :)

There are plenty more on the tree for us here in California!

What do you think about apricots?  And were you even aware of how good these sweet-somethings are for you!?

(Disclaimer: Eating too many in one sitting can cause flatulence and loose bowels so either eat a ton when you are with a trusty mate or when you are hangin' low for the day : )