Have some time off for the holidays! Good. Pomegranate jam is a great thing to make during autumn to get your kitchen smelling amazing and get some of those gifts knocked out for the holidays. We happen to have a pomegranate tree in our yard, but you can get them in large quantities at the farmers market. I used between 20-25 to make a double recipe of jam. This made about 15 small jars full. You can also use many other fruits to make jam, and the process is really the same.
Here is the link to the recipe and more directions. Recipe
Here is the link to the recipe and more directions. Recipe
You need to be a bit careful with pomegranates, because the juice is festively red, and likes to spray, spatter, and stain. Because of this, I set all my materials up prior to opening any fruit, and I did it outside.
Kitchen aid and all, out we went! I had a bowl of water to rinse, a knife to cut, rubber gloves, the juicing attachment, a bowl with a strainer on top, and a bucket for the empty shells.
Kitchen aid and all, out we went! I had a bowl of water to rinse, a knife to cut, rubber gloves, the juicing attachment, a bowl with a strainer on top, and a bucket for the empty shells.
The first step is to extract the juice from the pomegranate. There are really two methods for doing this. You can pick out all the seeds and then put them in the food processor to cut off the flesh of the seed and then juice it. If you do this, I recommend scoring the pomegranate into quarters and pulling it apart rather that cutting through the middle. This will avoid cutting many of the seeds and making a mess.
The other option is to go outside where everything can get good and juicy, cut the pomegranate in half, and shove it on the juicer!
I have done both. The first produces the best flavor a pomegranate can make. It is sweet, tart, and rich. However, it took me a whole day to get enough seeds out to make a batch of jam. This fall I decided to go with the quick and dirty. It only took about an hour to get the juice out. However, the taste has a bit of the bitter, nuttiness that the pomegranates have when you eat the berry with the seed.
I also admit, but juicing station looked like the scene of a murder when I was done.
The other option is to go outside where everything can get good and juicy, cut the pomegranate in half, and shove it on the juicer!
I have done both. The first produces the best flavor a pomegranate can make. It is sweet, tart, and rich. However, it took me a whole day to get enough seeds out to make a batch of jam. This fall I decided to go with the quick and dirty. It only took about an hour to get the juice out. However, the taste has a bit of the bitter, nuttiness that the pomegranates have when you eat the berry with the seed.
I also admit, but juicing station looked like the scene of a murder when I was done.
Once you have all the juice you need, take respite from the great outdoors and head back inside. You have to prepare your jars by boiling them for a few minutes to kill any bacteria. Then pour boiling water over the kids to do the same.
The process of actually cooking the jam is fairly fast so make sure the sugar and pectin are ready to go, and have a timer on hand.
Follow the recipe to cook the juice, pectin, and sugar. I stirred with one hand and kept my other on the stove knob, because the juice can boil out of control very quickly.
The process of actually cooking the jam is fairly fast so make sure the sugar and pectin are ready to go, and have a timer on hand.
Follow the recipe to cook the juice, pectin, and sugar. I stirred with one hand and kept my other on the stove knob, because the juice can boil out of control very quickly.
Very carefully fill the jars. I would recommend gloves because this stuff is hot!
The last step is to boil the filled and sealed jars for five minutes so that they can stay on the shelf unrefrigerated. Be very careful lifting these in and out of the boiling water. My tongs slipped on a big jar which splashed boiling water and burned my arm pretty badly. I conveniently wasn't wearing sleeves or one of my 10 adorable aprons!
I definitely plan to eat a few of these jars. But I also plan to give them as gifts. I like giving homemade gifts that are a labor of love. People will appreciate it! In order to enhance the appearance a bit I printed little gift labels that I got at Office Depot. Project done! Gifts prepared. Time to enjoy Thanksgiving break. Have a wonderful week and make sure to tell those you love how thankful you are for them!
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