jammin'

I started out with making strawberry jam and a few combined flavours like strawberry banana and strawberry rhubarb. Nuno was even thoughtful enough to take some time and create this illustration for my jam lid's. Pretty cute, eh? But, one of my main goals this summer was to make Apricot Jam.

It's my favourite type of jam because it's so versatile. I had no idea when I decided this just how simple it is. You wash, pit, chop and preserve! No straining or removing of the peel, which is really nice.

I made three batches. The first and last were the jam recipe supplied by Certo pectin and the second batch was from Fresh. Anna Olson's Apricot Preserves recipe was quite a bit more involved, but I wanted to make a special batch. I had no idea just how involved it would be until I realized I had to track down some lavender. As fate would have it, I was shopping at Harvest Barn looking for lavender when I discovered that up the road was a lavender cultivator.

This is Lavender Boutique located at the Great Mountain Centre on Niagara Stone Road and the people who run it are fantastic! I had no idea that I couldn't use ordinary lavender (like the kind that's growing at the side of my house), but they snipped me some culinary lavender and sent me on my way. No charge! Pretty nice, eh?

I am so happy with the result of Anna Olson's Apricot Preserves. It set up perfectly and the taste is so fantastic for special occasions like on a cheese plate or topping on a special dessert.