On Thu 07 May 2009 04:31:57a, George Shirley told us...
> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>> On Wed 06 May 2009 01:45:10p, George Shirley told us...
>>
>>> Wayne Boatwright wrote:
>>>> On Wed 06 May 2009 12:16:20p, George Shirley told us...
>>>>
>>>>> Wilson wrote:
>>>>>> sometime in the recent past George Shirley posted this:
>>>>>>> Wilson wrote:
>>>>>>>> sometime in the recent past Julie Bove posted this:
>>>>>>>>> "Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in message
>>>>>>>>> ...
>>>>>>>>>> In article >,
>>>>>>>>>> "Julie Bove" > wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> "Melba's Jammin'" > wrote in
>>>>>>>>>>> message
>>>>>>>>>>>> Julie, if your only issue with sugar in jam is how sweet it
>>>>>>>>>>>> tastes, have
>>>>>>>>>>>> a look at this link featuring Cook's Illustrated's
>>>>>>>>>>>> Christopher Kimball
>>>>>>>>>>>> making jam:
>>>>>>>>>>>> http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/...how/saturday/m
>>>>>>>>>>>> ai n5 21954.s
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> html
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> or here's the TinyURL: http://tinyurl.com/d5g3gq
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> This method makes about a pint-and-a-half, is not processed,
>>>>>>>>>>>> and should keep in the fridge for a couple weeks.
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> If you try it, please let us know how it tastes for you.
>>>>>>>>>>> Thanks! I doubt I would try it though. I only eat jam about
>>>>>>>>>>> once
>>>>>>>>>>> every month or so. And nobody else in the house eats it. So
>>>>>>>>>>> I only buy the small jars.
>>>>>>>>>> You're welcome. It would be easy enough to make half a recipe
>>>>>>>>>> of it. I
>>>>>>>>>> know what you mean about not eating much jam; I rarely eat it
>>>>>>>>>> myself. HWSRN has it daily on toast with peanut butter.
>>>>>>>>> Now there's one thing I can't do. I don't know what it is. I
>>>>>>>>> like toast. I like peanut butter. But... The combination of
>>>>>>>>> the two just makes me sick to my stomach. Something to do with
>>>>>>>>> the warm peanut butter I think.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> We like to nuke a bit of peanut butter for about 20 sec. and then
>>>>>>>> pour it like syrup over ice cream. Works like a charm, but then I
>>>>>>>> like it on toast too and sometimes on toast with a little
>>>>>>>> sprinkle of cinnamon.
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> When I was a young lad I liked to coat a piece of bread with
>>>>>>> peanut butter, put it under the broiler in the gas oven, toast it
>>>>>>> until the peanut butter was well-softened, add some blackberry or
>>>>>>> dewberry jam to it and then have it for breakfast. Haven't done
>>>>>>> that in about sixty years, may have to do it for breakfast
>>>>>>> tomorrow but with some fig jam on it.
>>>>>> Sounds like it's about time then! I've heard you talk about figs -
>>>>>> we never see them fresh here in my end of Maine, but my sister
>>>>>> brought some from NJ last summer, I think they were white figs if
>>>>>> that sounds right. Very nice for someone who has only had dried
>>>>>> figs before.
>>>>>>
>>>>> We put up fig preserves and fig jam every year. Our tree is a root
>>>>> scion from a tree our neighbor used to have and has been frozen to
>>>>> the ground at least twice. It is about eight feet tall and about ten
>>>>> feet in spread. It produces enough figs for us to eat fresh and
>>>>> preserve every year, as long as we can keep the birds out of it,
>>>>> which we do with bird netting. I think we still have fifteen or
>>>>> twenty pints of fig preserves and jams in the pantry now and the
>>>>> tree is currently loaded with baby figs.
>>>>>
>>>>> We're going to Houston this Friday for eldest granddaughter's
>>>>> graduation from the Community College. Will take six to ten jars of
>>>>> figs with us as all the descendants like them a lot. Along with the
>>>>> figs will be several jars of kumquat marmalade as they also like
>>>>> that delicacy.
>>>>>
>>>> Are those the brown turkey figs? I would kill to get a load of
>>>> those! No where to be found anywhere near here.
>>>>
>>> Don't know for sure but think they are Wayne. Small, no bigger than
>>> the first joint of your thumb, sweet but not overpowering, firm
>>> reddish flesh with a brown skin. There are so many of this type of fig
>>> around here people just call them "that old brown fig." I prefer these
>>> for jams and preserves because they hold their shape well. I have to
>>> mash them to make jam. We often add slices of lemon to the fig jam to
>>> give it that extra kick.
>>>
>>> A pint of the fig jam makes a killer fig cake with chopped walnuts. I
>>> try to make three or four a year as we like them so well.
>>>
>>
>> Sounds like the same type of fig tree my grandmother had. I loved her
>> fig preserves better than anything. The figs were left whole, and she
>> usually put slices of lemon in. Occasionally she would add a couple of
>> whole cloves.
>>
>> The only kind I can make are from dried calimyrna or smyrna figs.
>> They're acceptable, but not like fresh. The only fresh figs I can find
>> locally are usually very light green or white and not really
>> appropriate for preserves, as they're too big and too soft. They also
>> cost an arm and a leg.
>>
> Do you have room for a tree? They do require about 35 gallons of water a
> week when bearing fruit but otherwise require little care. It is nearly
> always hot and humid here and they grow well, I know of at least a dozen
> within a block of our house.
>
Yes, we have the space. I wonder how long it would be before it would
fruit. Also, for our desert area, 35 gallons of water is a lot, and it
might need more here since our humidity is usually in the single digits and
the summers are often between 110-118 degrees.
--
Wayne Boatwright
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The poets have been mysteriously silent on the subject of cheese.
~G.K. Chesterton