#173_Easy Homemade Mango Jam

Mango Jam

Mango jam is my number one favorite jam,
but I have an issue with the sugar contents
in those commercially made ones.
I'm so glad I can make my own so I can control
the amount of sugar I can use in the recipe.
It is very easy to make and no pectin necessary.

This kind of mango is okay for jams.
When peeled and sliced, 6 mangoes makes about 7 cups

Peel mangoes and slice and chop into chunks.

To the sliced mangoes, add 1 cup water.
Bring it up to a boil over medium high heat
then lower heat to medium low
and simmer for about 30 minutes
stirring frequently to avoid scorching.
Add 1-1/4 cups white sugar ( more if prefer)
and juice of 1 lemon or lime.
Stir to mix the sugar well with the mangoes.
Continue to simmer on low heat for another 30 minutes or til thick
without disturbing the mixture the first 15 minutes
after you put in the sugar.
( I like my mango jam chunky so I don't put it through a sieve)

Ladle hot jam into hot sterilized jars
and process in water bath for about 10 minutes.
(Please refer to canning guides)
This recipe yields 10- 4 oz. jars

or yields 5-8oz. containers

Another way to preserve the jam
is to ladle them into freezing jars, then freeze.
Very good on buttered toasted bread and pancakes;
and topping for Biko, click here and here.

ENJOY!!

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#172_Peach Jam

Every year a good friend of mine, Erlinda, brings

me nice and sweet peaches from her peach trees.
Just like making lemonade when somebody gives you lemons,
I make peach jam when she gives me peaches!
Thank you, Erlinda! You're as nice and sweet as the peaches!


There are some peaches that the skins easily peel off,
but once in a while there
are some that are a little hard to peel.

If you run into some that won't easily peel off,
here's a little trick I picked up from some food gurus:

Cut an X on the stem side of the fruit then blanch them
by submerging them into boiling water for a few minutes.

Drain them in a colander


As you can see the skins come right off.

To make the jam:
Slice the peaches and discard the pits.

This is about 4 lbs. of peaches.

Put sliced peaches in a big pot.
Over medium high heat, bring it up to a boil,
then lower the heat to medium low stirring frequently.
Simmer for about 30 minutes then add:
1-1/2 cup of white sugar
1 pouch liquid pectin
juice of 1 lemon or lime
Stir to blend all of the ingredients together.
Continue to simmer, but do not stir for about 15 minutes.
Stir then simmer for another 15 minutes.

Ladle hot jam into hot sterilized canning jars
then process in water bath.

Canning is quite a process and requires much time.
This is why I prefer freezing my jams.
However, when I do some canning I refer to a method
that I printed off Recipezaar website about 2 years ago
(before I was into blogging).
It is a recipe of a Tomato Salsa, but the author
has a step-by step process for canning.
Go to Recipezaar and type in 39006 on the search bar.

Good on buttered toasts

ENJOY!!

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