Homemade Jam

Growing up, my mom made freezer-jam a few times. I don't remember making any other kind, therefore the whole canning thing is new to me. A lot of my friend's families canned and I saw all their supplies, but I've never done it myself or had my own supplies.

This year I set out to can my own strawberry jam so that I could use it in truffles. (Truffle secret: jams work better than purees.) I currently use a homemade jam that I pick up at the Farmers Market, but using homemade jam by me just seems more neat! I like to know where all of my ingredients come from, that is the #1 important thing for Zest as a business and me as the owner. So knowing that I picked the strawberries and I made the jam myself, just satisfies me to the core. As business grows I won't always be able to do that, but for now I plan on it. (Speaking of jams...it's blueberry season!!)

I discovered this great place that not only sells all the supplies needed for canning, but they are also friendly and give out great advice too. It is the Rockingham Co-op. I love it, it is my new favorite store! When Andy and I plant a garden next spring, we will probably spend all of our time there.

When canning my strawberry jam, I opted not to use pectin. I know that pectin is not bad, but it is a substance that I don't know much about, therefore I don't need it in my food or chocolate. I found a great non-pectin recipe, so that's what I used. (I doubled the recipe.)

• 2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled
• 3 cups white sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

For the most part, the recipe worked. Unfortunately the jam didn't set up the way it would have if pectin were used. Next time I think I may just try the pectin...after I research it more of course. Luckily for me though, I don't need a solid jam to use in my truffles. The jam gets melted down anyway, so a more liquid jam will work just fine.

My first canning pot! I am so proud of this piece!

I am very excited about the strawberry jam that I made! Now I can use it throughout the seasons and always know where it came from. Next time I think I'll experiment with more flavors and pectin!

What jams do you make? Any great recipes that I should try, or tips I can use?

Ganache Icings

As a chocolatier who's main product is truffles, I use a lot of ganache. I mean a lot! Ganache is wonderful, I love it. It can do and be a variety of things AND it tastes delicious. What is not to love?!

Lately I've been playing around with whipped ganache. I have always been afraid to whip my ganache because of how it might set up. Even though ganache is wonderful and can be used for a variety of things, it is also finicky and moody. I have had enough problems with it in the past, that I have decided not to chance going the whipped route. That is, until I became super curious. So one fine day I took my ganache and gave it a good whip! What do you know, it actually worked, nothing funky happened to it. So now I am a believer in a good whipped ganache icing.

When making a cake/cupcakes, regular icing is always a tasty and safe route to go, but why not try using ganache next time? It is a rich chocolatey alternative to a sugary icing. You can easily make one ganache and have two different icing types. There is the glaze type, and the whipped type. Both are very easy.

When making a ganache icing, there is usually a 1:1 ratio of chocolate to cream. This makes it nice and pliable for pouring onto cakes, or whipping into a texture that can be piped onto cakes. Below is a good recipe for ganache icing:

Ganache Icing:
(makes about 4 cups)
-2 cups bittersweet chocolate (chopped finely)
-2 cups heavy whipping cream

Place the finely chopped chocolate into a bowl. Bring the cream to a boil and take it off the heat. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and let it sit without stirring for a few minutes. Then, stir with a whisk until smooth. (Be careful not to stir too much or too fast.)

At this point you have a glaze ganache. You can either pour it over your cake/cupcakes, or you can go the whipped route instead. For a whipped ganache, you will need to put the completed ganache into the refrigerator until it has cooled, but not solidified. (about 45 minutes) When the ganache is cool, whip it with a mixer until soft peaks form. Now it is ready to be piped onto your cake/cupcake, or you can use a knife or spatula to wipe it on for a different look.

And there you go, two different ganache icings from just one recipe!

Strawberry Picking

I look forward to strawberry season all year. Who doesn't? So this spring I counted down the days until the local strawberry farms opened. When they finally did open I found myself too busy to go. Week one of May went by and I was too bogged down with chocolate orders to make it strawberry picking. Week two went by and the days that I was free it rained and rained. Week three went by and the day that I could go picking was picked out by the time I called. I was beginning to fret that I wouldn't be picking strawberries this year. Finally the last week of May I made it!

It was a beautiful day at Middle River Farms when I arrived at 8am. They said to come early, since they are normally picked out by noon. (Good to know for next year.) I boarded the tractor ride with my two pails to fill and we headed out to where the berries where. When we got there it was row after row of gorgeous green strawberry bushes. I started slow mainly because I was sure that if I picked too quickly I would be finished before I was ready. I wanted to thoroughly enjoy my experience. After the first pail though, it became hot and sunny and my legs were aching from squatting while picking. All of a sudden I wanted to be done, but I still had another pail to go! The last pail was picked with less diligence, but I still got a good bounty. My end of picking total was 20 pounds, cool!

One large plan I had for the strawberries was to make jam out of them to use for future truffles. It is very important to me that my ingredients are as fresh and local as possible. Strawberries may not be fresh in November, but they will be from a local farm and made into a jam by me that will then get used in the truffles. I am excited to be using my own homemade jam in upcoming truffle recipes! My thoughts for truffles are maybe a white chocolate with strawberry and lime, or maybe dark chocolate with strawberry and port...the options really go on.

Of course, a lot of strawberries were just dipped into chocolate and consumed right away. Only the best way to eat a fresh strawberry as a chocolate lover! Strawberry crisp was also made to be enjoyed with chocolate ice cream. There are also some frozen strawberries that will come out later in the summer. Oh how I love strawberry season!

Make your own flavor extracts!

Obviously I am a big fan of flavor. Chocolate on its own has a strong flavor, so adding flavors to it can sometimes be a challenge. This challenge causes me to be on the forever lookout for new and natural flavor enhancers. Which is why I have just discovered how to make my own extracts!

You wouldn't believe how simple it is. Sometimes I pay up to $7.00 for a natural extract, but after discovering how to make my own I will NEVER pay that again. ...and I hope you don't either.

What you'll need:
-mason jars
-plastic wrap
-vodka, any kind will do
-fruit or herb that you want to extract the flavor from
-cheese cloth
-(optional) amber glass bottles

So here's how it is done. First you pick the flavor that you want to make into an extract. I chose a few flavors that I regularly use such as blueberry, raspberry, rosemary, cilantro, and bacon. Yes, bacon! For the fruits and the herbs it is quite simple. You take your flavor, raspberries for example (about 2 cups), and mash them up really good, into a pulp. I used mason jars, but you can use whatever jar you want. Fill the jar about half way with your mashed fruit or herb. Then fill the rest of the way with vodka. Put the lid on the jar and shake it well to get everything mixed together. Take the lid off and place a layer of plastic wrap over the top of the jar and put the lid back on. This prevents the lid from rusting. Let this mixture sit in a dark place for about 3-4 weeks. (If you can remember to shake it every few days, that helps too.) With herbs you may have to fill the jar with more vodka over time as the herbs will absorb the liquid. After 3-4 weeks use a cheese cloth to strain out the fruit or herb and you'll have your extract! The optional amber glass bottles help to keep the extract for longer, but that step can be left out as long as you keep your extract in a cool dark place.

For BACON! extract you do something slightly different. Cook some bacon and keep the bacon grease. Pour about a half cup of bacon grease into a mason jar along with a few pieces of bacon. Top it off with vodka and shake it well. Leave the jar in a cool dark place for 1-4 days, then place it in the freezer for 1-2 weeks. When you take it out of the freezer the bacon grease will have solidified making it easier to separate it from the flavored vodka. When the vodka is separated from the bacon and frozen grease you'll have your extract. Store it in a cool dark place.