Summer has just ended and the fig tree is bursting with its fruits. Anything free is so rare these days. Surely I cannot and will not live to see these figs ripen and drop to the ground. So I put those tree climbing skills learned during my boy scout days to good use. Having a low tree helps too. 30 minutes later, together with 2 kg of figs, I got patches of rashes (due to skin allergy from the leaves), a few ant bites and a torn in the pants. At least I don’t need to pay for the figs.
What to do with them? They perish fast. Someone suggested “figs jam”. Yeah, just as I was making a list of 20 interesting things to do on a lazy afternoon.
At this point, Google came to the rescue. With some recipes in hand, I start to make fruit jam for the first time in my life. There is a problem. Is it REALLY necessary to stand over a hot boiling pot stirring and getting splattered by hot jam until all vitamins is cooked out in order to get the final thick consistency? It is the 21st century. There should be some micro chips invented for making easy home cook jam. Google again. The search result came out: No chip for that, you idiot. Alternatively, you can try Pectin.
Pectin? What is that? Some kind of pesticide, I reckon. Google again.
Result: Pectin is a naturally occurring substance. When heated together with sugar, it causes a thickening that is characteristic of jams and jellies.
The one that available in the nearby supermarket is a kind of ready mix of pectin with sugar. Well it should be the same anyway. So I proceed with the science experiment. One hour later, my pot resembled some kind of deep red watery sticky gravy, not different from a tomatoes pasta sauce. Another 30 minutes more on the fire. Nothing change. Hmmm…maybe because I wanted a low sugar jam, I put less pectin/sugar mix. So the jam just does not set. By now, my enthusiasm is all dried up. I just have to learn to live with syrupy jam.
Soon, it is the harvest period for apples. Syrupy apple jam anyone?
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better try to make Apple pie.
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