Wait. I mean marionberry, not that corrupt politician guy.
You'll love marion too.
1 flat of marionberries equals 10 jars of jelly and one to-die-for marionberry cobbler.
I like to run the berries through my grandma's chinois. She always used it for making apple butter, but I find it works perfectly for pulping the berries.
Marionberries are fairly seedy characters (and Marion Berry too), so a true jam would probably not be that enjoyable for those of us who hate seeds between their teeth.
However, a true jelly would involve a jelly bag, but I just use that for the "guts" that are left over inside the chinois. I am in no way a perfectionist, so "cloudy" jelly works just fine for me.
I held the jelly bag up by placing it in a quart size mason jar. It worked really well, until the time came to remove the bag from the jar.
Have you ever removed someone heart from a gaping hole in their chest? Me neither. All I can say is that marionberry juice looks remarkable similar to blood, including being somewhat viscous, and it spatters all over the place. Now, not that I've ever considered being a serial killer, but now I KNOW I couldn't be, because blood splatters would totally be what gets me arrested. That stuff splatters all over the place. Add in the disgusting sucking sound when you remove the jelly bag and pretty much my serial killer days are over before they start.
Tell me, doesn't this look like a heart hanging from my kitchen cabinet? Ewwwwwww.
Anyway, 5 jars of jam are done, I have 5 more to go and I'm a happy camper.
You're a happy camper too, because I'm going to give one of the baby jars away. Yup. Another fabulous Meadowlark Giveaway!!!
A couple of things you should know. DO NOT ENTER if you want you prize within a reasonable time frame. I think FullFreezer JUST got her package from the last giveaway a couple of months ago. I'm slow. That's just the way it is.
DO NOT HOPE TO WIN if you've already won something. Which only leaves out like 3 people, so probably not a big deal.
DO NOT ENTER if you're a mean person and will make fun of my marionberry jam, or worse, if the dang stuff doesn't jell and you refuse to use it as syrup.
Please do not enter if you've never been here before and you found me thru some search of "giveaway". Sure, if you found me at somebody else's house, that's cool. But I swear... the "giveaway" searchers just don't get to win. I'll check and see where you came from or if you've been here before. I AM THAT MEAN. :)
Most important: (I got this from another blog and it makes sense). You will be eating a home processed food. Eat at your own risk. I have never poisoned anyone but there could always be a first. If you are afraid of home canned jam, DO NOT ENTER.
There, that's all the legal stuff and the rest of the odds and ends.
To enter, comment and let me know if you've ever tasted marionberry jam, if you make your own jam, and why I'm your favorite blog. (Ok, the last won't necessarily increase your chances of winning, but it could. Lie to me, babies!)
Peace out!
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15 comments:
I have never tried the jam. But just to comment on my favorite bloggers blog is the highlite of my day, no, make that week, no, make that my whole life. Did that work?
Well, we have to see how much sucking up others do, but it's a great start. :)
Oh, you're funny! I don't remember how i found you, but i'm so glad i did. :)
I've never won anything but a baby give-away (well not a BABY, that would have made me happy; it was baby stuff) & i don't have one. But i don't blog or peruse blogs to get stuff. I'm happier knowing people.
Your comment on using it for syrup reminded me of a story. I grew up in Montana from age 8 on. I love it there, but they are very skimpy on fruits available. They do have chokecherries, which are very sour & very small. But if you press out the juice they do make good jellies. The first year my mother tried it would not set up (i think chokecherries need extra pectin or something) & so for months & months we ate chokecherry syrup on pancakes.
I THINK I've tried marionberries but I'm not sure. I love all things berry.
Of course you are the greatest! The bestest of the best, Farm Girl!
Of course I want to win. I'll send you a chicken as a bribe. hehe
Nope. Never had the berry--to the best of my knowledge. Mulberry relative? But I would love to try some. Seriously. And you know I'm just now wading in to this whole canning process...
Sorry...not my favorite blog. Don't be sad. You're *this* close. But there's a certain gun totin' *hot* Browncoat that holds that honor on my list. :D
Let's see, I don't care when I'd get my prize. I've never won anything here (or anywhere else for for well over a year). Damn, I AM a mean person (it's not like she wasn't aware of her problem...) but I would never make fun of someone's jam and I adore fruit syrups. I totally hear you on the giveaway whores. If I get your jam and die from eating it, well then, I will have died happy.
I have never had marionberry anything, in Mayoral or jam form, but I've read bloggers raving about them (the fruit, not the person). Yes, I do make my own jam; actually I prefer jellies because I hate seeds between my teeth, too.
You are definitely a favorite blog because I never know what to expect when I come here. You're all over the place and that's a good thing!
Did I suck up enough? Because if I didn't, I can keep pouring it on. I can pour it on so thick you'll need a shovel to free yourself from the computer. Now where's my damn jam?! ;-)
I have never tried it and I am willing to risk it :)
LOVE YOU - MEAN IT - YOU KNOW I DO :)
Pearls
Ooooooooh...I LOVE marion berries too! We have a beloved aunt who has some vines in her back yard and for every birthday in the family she bakes and gives a marion berry pie to the birthday person. So we get 3 pies a year! Used to be 4 when our son still lived at home...now HE gets one for himself and his family.
Does is make me greedy to try to win this, even though you just sent me two amazing jams?
Regardless, I don't care. I hope I win.
Erin - for the record, yes that DOES make you greedy. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
But have you TRIED the jams? That's really the question. And did I send sunshine jam? My brain doesn't work very well. You may only have a couple of strawberries. let me know.
Hi! Marionberries - have never tried them. But I'd love to, I've never met a berry I didn't like. Jam - why yes. I just made a double batch of black raspberry jam today. (and blogged about it, of course.) I enjoy your blog because I feel like I totally get your sense of humor and I have fun not only reading your blog but following your links and followers to other blogs. There is so much out there I can learn from everyone!
Oh, and for the record, I did scrub in on a organ harvest while in med school. By "scrub in" I mean, "held the retractor and tried not to pass out" while the team removed the donor organs. I didn't look when the heart team took the heart. (Is that too gross? You can delete if you want...)
Oh no Donna... these are EXACTLY the types of comments I love to leave!!! :)
Remember: Cop family = discussing dead people at dinner. "Too gross" doesn't really fit in my vocabulary.
Ooooh, that looks yummy and I cannot say whether I have ever had marionberry jam before. They look like blackberries.
Your powers of creativeness leave me speechless.
I haven't had enough caffeine to suck up more.
Hey Meadowlark.
You left a comment on my blog (insearchofpie) so I thought I'd mosey over to see what's up. Imagine my surprise...
My wife and I made some strawberry jam but it didn't seem as hard, or messy, as making marionberry.
We put in our garden this spring and plan to do some dehydrating and canning too.
I'm a city boy so this is all new to me, although when I was a kad I used to help grandma can veggies and work in her garden. She went thru the last big depression and I'm hoping to invoke her spirit to help us thru this one.
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