A couple of weeks ago I went strawberry picking with two pals at Eatwell Farm in Dixon, CA (www.eatwell.com) and we seriously ate soooo many...
I ended up taking home 6 pounds (organic and amazing and only $1/pound--I know, right?) with intentions of freezing and attempting a batch of jam. I have been wanting to make jam without sugar for a long time and recently read about Pomona's Universal Pectin (www.pomonapectin.com), which comes with a bunch of recipes inside the package. The beauty of this stuff is that it uses calcium powder to activate the pectin rather than relying on sugar, so you can get away with using MUCH less sweetener. I chose to use agave and added a bit of rosewater at the end to make it a bit more fragrant. It turned out amazing...and all of a sudden I want to make jam out of everything in sight!
One of the many beauties of living in Northern California is the Meyer lemon, and how they grow pretty much everywhere. This time of year they start to dwindle in production, and you see trees all over the place busting out with nearly overripe fruit that people just don't use. A few scavenging trips later and I had 6 perfectly ripe lemons sitting on my kitchen counter. The next project became Meyer lemon marmalade! I am a huge fan of lemon-flavored-anything, and lemon curd in particular, which this stuff totally reminds me of. This marmalade turned out so good--no joke--seriously addictive. I also made this with agave so it is just sweet enough to complement the tartness of the lemons. Meyer lemons are less acidic than regular ones, and a bit sweeter. They are a cross between a lemon and an orange a have the most lovely scent when first picked off of the tree. A perfect choice for marmalade.
Now, I am daydreaming about all of the other fruits I will preserve this summer to store and give as holiday gifts. And next time I will try honey...
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