Wine Country Jam Session

From FOLK Issue 1 | 2011 | Text by: Melissa McArdle Photography by: Sean Patrick McArdle

Making jam the old-fashioned way using local organic ingredients, inside a Mediterranean-style winery kitchen, and surrounded by others who share the same passion for simple, delicious living is exactly what happens when you gather a Southern-born and raised culinarian, wine enthusiasts, and harvested local fruit.

The wine country is filled with generations of families who have the ‘soil in their genes’, and whether it is growing grapes, farming fruits and vegetables, or growing flowers and herbs, these treasured people are one of the vital reasons this magnificent valley is known throughout the world. Everyone works together as a community to provide the essentials needed for living a good life. There is direct communication between the farmers, vintners and chefs not to mention the knowledge and friendly relationships built with the locals and the food and wine growers. It’s a formula that works because all involved are committed to a life filled with from the roots of simple living.

And should one not be lucky enough to fall from the genetic tree of a wine country family, there is always the option that happens to many: visit, fall in love with the valley, and never leave. The later is exactly what happened to me. I quickly became addicted to the bountiful beauty of the valley. A perfect example of a typical weekend includes: being able to go a short distance to a farm to choose and cut sunflowers for a jam and marmalade making class, walking to the bakery for fresh bread to use as a foundation for the newly learned sweet spread, and then pairing it with incredible wines from Silverado Vineyards.

Sherry Page, of Culinary Getaways, orchestrated a grand lesson in the making of old-fashioned jam and marmalade. Arriving with freshly picked Meyer lemons from her own trees and the end-of-the-season’s ripe as candy strawberries, eager class participants set out to make a few jars of mouth-watering sweet spreads. There is a nostalgic association with jam-making, for one normally recalls childhood memories of being in the kitchen as their elders can or preserve the summer’s harvest to carry them through the fall and winter months. These very dear-to-our-heart stories were the thread that seemed to connect everyone gathered around the boiling pots of fruits and the gasps of taste-bud appreciation that carried throughout the kitchen as we all tasted the culinary goodness of our labors. Of course, the wine pairings added a delightful unexpected twist to the entire experience. I guess that is what it is all about, taking those of the earth, essence of you memories, and stepping it up a notch with another simple pleasure from the community you now call home.

Meyer Lemon Marmalade

Recipe from Sherry Page of Culinary Getaways

8 cups Meyer lemons, thinly chopped

8 cups water

8 cups sugar

You will also need:

Chef’s knife
Large pot, such as a Dutch oven Large spoon
Skimmer
Candy thermometer
Large open pan for sterilizing jars 6-7 clean jars with new lids and rings Canner
Jar tongs
Kitchen towel
Canning funnel, clean and sterilized Paper towels
Regular tongs

Instructions:

Place the chopped Meyer lemons, water and sugar into a large pot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and cook at a medium boil, stirring frequently to keep from sticking. Skim any foam from the top. Continue to cook until the marmalade reaches 220F or until thickened. Meanwhile, put about an inch of water in the bottom of a large open pan. Add the clean jars, open top down. Bring to a slow simmer and let the jars cook for at least 10 minutes. Keep hot.

Put enough water into the canner to completely cover your jars by about an inch. Put it on a back burner and bring to a boil.
When the marmalade is ready, remove a jar from the hot skillet using the jar tongs and place the jar upright onto a kitchen towel. Place a funnel into the jar. Ladle the hot marmalade into the jar until it is almost full. Leave about 1⁄4‛ of space at the top. Wipe the rim of the jar with a paper towel (adamp paper towel works best).

Drop one of the lids into the skillet with the hot jars and leave it there for about 30 seconds. Remove the lid from the water with tongs and place it on top of the jar filled with marmalade. Place a ring on the jar and tighten it.

Repeat until all the marmalade has been ladled into the jars. Gently place each jar into the canner filled with hot water. Cover the canner and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat slightly and boil the jars for at least 5 minutes (typically 7 minutes).

Turn off the heat underneath the canner. Remove the jars from the water, dry them off and place them on the countertop to cool. You should hear the lids pop within a few minutes. If the jar is sealed, the lid dips slightly in the middle. If the lid sticks up in the middle, then the jar has not sealed and the marmalade should be refrigerated and consumed within a week. Be careful with the marmalade until it completely cools ” do not shake it around much.

Makes approx. 6 (8 oz.) jars of marmalade.

We spread goat cheese on a freshly toasted piece of bread, added a hefty dollop of Meyer lemon marmalade and paired with the Silverado Vineyards Miller Ranch Sauvignon Blanc.