november can jam!

how honored i was to be asked by the tigress herself to choose the secret ingredient for the november can jam. what a great month/time of year for canning – such transition! here in texas, we can be slightly ahead of much of the country due to our, ahem, warmer weather. today a few jackets and sweaters have come out of summer’s hiding due to a ‘cold’ front that blew through last night: it is 78 degrees today and it’s got me dreaming of chili. go ahead and laugh – we’re used to it. just remember that when you take a trip to texas in august and it’s 95 degrees with 99 percent humidity, there may be a snicker or two if you complain about it.

but today it’s a chilly 78 degrees and i’ve got fall fruit on my mind. mostly fall pie-type fruit. namely………..

apples, pears, and quinces!

yes, ladies and gents, the november pick for the can jam includes these three beauties, anyway you like ’em! with herbs or warm fall spices, all jellied up, au natural or even pickled (gasp!). these three fruit are related, kinda like second cousins really, in that they all produce fruit called a pome. if you want to know more about the exocarp, mesocarp, and endocarp of this type of fruit, feel free to click here. it’s very interesting reading, but after awhile my eyes started glazing over. there has always been some confusion or another between whether the quince was an apple or vice versa. like the apple and pear, quince has been used for centuries in the making of wine and other liquors, for medicinal purposes, and for just plain ol’ eating out of hand.

remember the rules, folks and be sure to post your november can jam recipe between sunday november 14th and friday november 19th at midnight. i am so looking forward to each and every post to expand my canning repertoire.

good luck!