Talking About The Canvolution

Last weekend I set out to join the Canvolution. In one of those strange roundabout ways, I was already part of the Canvolution through my day job and some of my knitting foodie friends but I knew I wouldn't truly feel that I was a part of this movement unless I canned something.

On the Canning Across America site, they had a list of wonderful recipes. I selected the Lemon-Vanilla Jam from Falling Cloudberries, partly due to the wonderful smells I knew it would produce and also because of the simplicity of the recipe. I do have to say that Falling Cloudberries is now on my Amazon Wishlist because of this one fantastic recipe.

I set out my ingredients and began slicing up the lemons. I felt a bit like Julia Child with my knife in my hand and may have shouted, "Bon Appetit" around the kitchen. I technically know how to hold a knife but whenever I try to do it the proper way, I start to out-think myself and ugh! Once I got past my knife holding fear, I thinly sliced up the lemons and removed any seeds. My hands began to feel a bit pruned after the seed removal from the acidic lemon juice.

I next placed the lemons in a heavy-bottomed pan with water. I simmered the lemons for about an hour. I then added the sugar and vanilla bean to the now soft lemons and let that simmer for another hour.

It was at this point that I should have simmered the jam for another 30 minutes but I thought it looked firm enough. This is just a lesson learned for me. The "jam" is solid-ish but is better for a glaze than as a spread.

This recipe had an interesting way to seal the jars. You pour the jam into the sterilized jars, tighten on the lids and then turned the jars upside down to seal. It worked! I let the jars sit for a few hours and then turned them over to tap on the lids. No pinging!

I took a jar of the Lemon-Vanilla Jam to a friend who later told me that she LOVED it. I then made some blueberry-lemon bread for work and took in the jam as a glaze. They loved it! So the jam, it was a success and next time I make it, I'll just cook it a bit longer so it solidifies even more.