Can you can? Sure you can

Dan Bolyard/courtesy photo Kiwis don’t seem like canning material at first glance, but the whole point of food preservation is working with what you have.

Dan Bolyard/courtesy photo When you fill your jars, remember to leave about 1/4 inch of headspace.

by Dan Bolyard Grant County Gourmet
| February 7, 2017 2:00 AM

Dan Bolyard/courtesy photo When you fill your jars, remember to leave about 1/4 inch of headspace.

Home food preservation has always been a big deal in our house, with both of our families having long histories of putting up foods. My wife has kept a list of all the things we put away last year, and it came to an impressive number of nearly 1,000 jars in various sizes. Can we beat that number this year?

We got started early this year by putting up various proteins, stocks, and jellies. One recipe came about after finding a good buy on kiwis at the local megamart. Recipe is courtesy of the Ball Blue Book.

KIWI JAM

3 cups kiwi, peeled and chopped (about 4-5 kiwis)

6 tablespoons Ball Classic Pectin

1 cup unsweetened pineapple juice

4 cups white sugar

1/3 cup rum

1/3 cup lime juice

Prep all fruit and water bath canning equipment including canning jars, lids, and rings. Combine kiwi, pectin, and pineapple juice in a large saucepot and bring to a boil. Add sugar and stir until it has dissolved. Stir in rum and lime juice. Return to boil for a hard minute and then remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary and ladle hot jam into hot canning jars leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Place the lid and rings on top finger tight and process in water bath canner for 10 minutes.