27 November 2006


a potful of cooking rubies. GORGEOUS! cranberry jam in the making! i'll definitely buy more cranberries to do it again (though that also means i'll be getting lighter in my wallet *cranberries are a little bit on the expensive side here in sg; $6+ for a pack of 340g* and heavier on the weighing scale). this is the first time i've gotten my hands on fresh cranberries. i was quite surprised by the taste of the bouyant little crimson fruits. i wouldnt say they're extremely pleasant to eat raw because of their tart nature. my mother, for one, couldnt take the sour burst in her mouth cavity when she sank her teeth into one of them. but i like them! very refreshing. i've used them in my lunch salad today. and they look very pretty on both the inside and the outside(the perfect candidate for the fruits pageant).

cranberry jam making is so fun! because of the air inside the tiny morsels, they give a "pop" sound(doesnt this sound like chemistry? *burning splint extinguishes with a "pop" sound*) when they are slowly cooked. so the liquid that you add together with the berries when you first cook slowly change a bright ruby red! and so far, cranberry jam is the only jam i've made that gels up enough, probably due to the fact that they're much more tart-y, and hence with much more pectin(chemistry again! food chemistry!), than other fruits that i've tried making jam with.

i totally love the result! bright crimson jam with a slightly tarty flavour and tang from the infused lemon zest and lemon juice. i bet it'll be great with nice warm toast, or even better, scones!


given the fact that i'm a total sucker for reducing wastage, i made some tea in the jar which i blended the cooked cranberries in(so that i could utilise all those bits of cranberry product on the blades and the jar!) and added a little more jam and sugar into the drink. i'll probably have it for breakfast tmr!

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