From Smucker’s to the little packets at IHOP, I’ve never been a huge jam or jelly person. They’re too sweet for me, too processed, and too fake. I never liked peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (I know) and I don’t spread any jam on my toast.
I have had family in Montana who made homemade raspberry jam from homegrown berries, and huckleberry jam from wild berries. Those jams, I could get behind. I’ve used premade apricot preserves to make homemade hamentaschen. That’s about the extent of my enjoyment of these condiments.
But on July 15, I attended and covered a Moishe House Northern Virginia event: Jewish Jams, Jellies, and Preserves. While I was there, I also got to make my own jar of lemon preserves – but they take at least a month to mature into the preserves we can eat. I thought it would be fun to document that process.
So, I’m going to take you through my jar’s journey from simple lemon juice, rind, and salt to a tasty treat I can eat and cook with!
The process
As I explained in my article, we first cut two lemons into quarters (without cutting all the way through). Then we covered each exposed side in a mound of kosher salt, pressed the lemons into a jar and squeezed the juice out until the lemons were submerged.
After that, we close the jar and wait a month. Abby Newburger, who was hosting the event, explained what we need to do in that time:
- Every day for the week after canning, shake the jar.
- Leave it upside down one day, and right side up the next. This is so the salt and juice can mix around without settling for too long.
- After a week of this process, put the jar in the fridge.
- Keep the jar in the fridge for 3-4 more weeks before opening.
- After the month, the preserves should be ready to eat and cook with.
My jar
Here is what my jar looked like immediately after canning:
So far, I have been shaking and turning my jar. On Monday, at the one-week mark, I will post my first update in this scintillating blog series. Stay tuned!
This blog is part of a series documenting the progress of my lemon preserves, which I created at a Moishe House Northern Virginia event.
To read the Week 1 post, click here.
To read Week 2, click here.
To read Week 3, click here.
