The Kiwi Jam Experience
A lot of simple situations at my house turn into full fledged experiences. And so it was with the kiwi jam.
Most of the recipes I found were pretty similar. The one I used went a little something like this:
3 cups chopped kiwi fruit
1 packet powdered pectin
1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
4 cups granulated sugar
Combine kiwi, pectin and pineapple juice in a large pot. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Return to a rolling boil. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Ladle into hot jars, leaving 1/4″ head space. Adjust lids. Process 10 minutes in boiling water canner.
Yields 8 jelly jars or 4 half-pints.
Simple enough, right? It would be, unless your stove top burner had something on it left over from the previous cooking encounter. It would be simple enough, unless that something on the burner would not quit smoking. The recipe would have been simple enough, if both smoke alarms in my house did not keep beeping at a kajillion decibels each. And, oh yea, Jacob the wonder kid was sitting at the table absolutely distraught at the loud sounds, which doesn’t make too much sense since he makes enough loud sounds of his own.
So, my point is this: I’m pretty sure that recipe would’ve worked just fine, IF I was able to stick to the boiling/stirring/boiling/stirring instructions. Instead, I was running around the house with a stool and a towel and a screwdriver trying to swat away the smoke from one smoke alarm with the towel, then running back to the other to try to unscrew it from the ceiling to make it Shut! Up! so I can get back to the dang JAM! And running back. And forth. And back. And you probably get the idea by now.
Here’s how the jam turned out: it’s delicious, but it doesn’t have the emerald color I was hoping it would. Also, it didn’t gel correctly. We have a very thick syrup type consistency in a bunch of jars.
Serving suggestion: use the jam to top cream cheese covered wheat thins. Absolutely delicious. My friend suggested pouring the jam over filo-covered, baked brie. That sounds pretty darn yummy, as well.
Bottom line: the husband loved it, I loved it, and next time we make it (I will definately make it again) I’ll probably make sure the oven burners are clean first.