This three ingredient fig jam is designed for canning and uses just fresh figs, sugar, and lemon juice. It’s bright, flavorful, and so easy to make. If you find yourself awash in figs every year, keep this recipe handy! Hello friends! I realize that it has been an absolute age (more than a year!) since I’ve posted anything new here. I have desperately missed sharing my canning practice with all of you, and while I can’t promise anything like my old regularity, I very much want to show up here more often. So let’s dig back in. I’m kicking my triumphant return off with a recipe for the simples ..read more

Looking for a sugar free peach jam recipe that is spreadable, satisfying, and bursting with summer fruit flavor? You’ve found it! This post is sponsored by Mrs. Wages. For years and years, there have been a subset of people who have written to ask me about making jam with sugar substitutes. I tried a handful of times with stevia and monkfruit, but I never liked the results enough to share them here. But the folks from Mrs. Wages recently sent me a box of mixes and pectins that included a couple packets of their Sugar Free Fruit Pectin Home Jell and I was inspired to try again. This time, I t ..read more

It’s hard to believe, but the first time I partnered with Fillmore Container was nearly ten years ago. Over the last decade, I’ve teamed up with them a number of times to offer giveaways, product reviews, and even in-person classes. Today, I’m delighted to be working with them again to offer up $100 credit for their online store to one lucky winner. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Fillmore Container, they are a family-owned container and closure distributor based in Lancaster, PA. They work with commercial producers and home canners alike and offer a hugely vast assortment of jars ..read more

I get a lot of emails every summer (particularly during peach season) from people who have canned fruit for the first time and they’re wondering if their sealed jars are safe to be tucked away on the shelf. The reason they’re worried? The finished jars are sticky on the outside. Friends, this is an entirely normal thing to experience when canning fruit in liquid like syrup, juice, or water. Raw or lightly cooked fruit flesh contains air. During the canning process, that air escapes from the fruit and pushes its way out of the jar (this is why we only tighten the canning rings to finger tip ti ..read more

Hello friends! Goodness, it sure has been a long time, hasn’t it. Between the pandemic, parenting, and burnout from all those sponsored posts last year, I forgot how to show up here. But after a little break, and the blessed addition of a regular babysitter, I’m finding myself itching to reclaim my identity and role as a canning blogger/writer/teacher. I knew it was time to get back to work when I started composing blog posts and recipe headnotes in my dreams. Part of my motivation in returning to this space is that I’m seeing a big uptick in people looking to learn how to can. And I get tha ..read more

Strawberry hibiscus butter. Smooth and spreadable, this low sugar preserve gets an added boost of color and brightness from the dried hibiscus blossoms. We are smack in the midst of strawberry season here in the Philadelphia region. I picked up a flat on Saturday and the boys and I (they are nearly three years old!) met some friends out in Bucks County yesterday for a round of picking. I am still trying to find my way back to the blog after a quiet winter and spring, so while I dust off my rusty recipe development skills, I thought it would be nice to share this recipe for strawberry hibiscus ..read more

Make a batch of mulled apple cider syrup to keep in your fridge. You’ll be ready for festive sparkling drinks all season long. This post is sponsored by the makers of Ball® home canning products.* Between fertility treatments, being pregnant, and time spent nursing, it’s been over than four years since I’ve had more than a tiny sip of alcohol. In that time, I have developed a deep appreciation for syrups, shrubs, and other flavorful mixers that can bring easy interest to a glass of sparkling water. When my friends at @ballcanning asked me to come up with something festive for the holiday ..read more

Sweet, crunchy spiced nuts are simple to make and win raves from everyone who tastes them. Add them to a cheese board or add them to a hearty winter salad. This post is sponsored by the makers of Ball® home canning products.* My list of to-make holiday treats is ever evolving. Every year, I start baking thinking that I know exactly what I’m going to make. And then I spot a new recipe and am overcome with the urge to try it out. This is doubly true if said treat can be gifted in a festive Ball® Snowflake Keepsake Jar. You all know how I feel about jars! Last year, at the very moment when I th ..read more

Cleaning and reorganizing my spice shelf using a whole bunch of Ball® Mini Storage Jars has left me with a storage solution that is beautiful and easy to use! This post is sponsored by the makers of Ball® home canning products.* The week before Scott and I got married, my dad cut a hole in my kitchen wall and built a massive spice shelf into the space he carved out. As soon as he put the final shelf into place, I filled up those shelves with jars of spices and never looked back. That was a little over 12 years ago now. I’m embarrassed to admit that in the intervening years, I’ve never ta ..read more

Attending an autumnal potluck? Have a friend in need of some care? Fill a Ball® Quart Jar with butternut squash soup and take it to go! This post is sponsored by the makers of Ball® home canning products.* This time of year always awakens my urge to make a huge amount of food and gather people around a table. There’s just something about the cooler days of fall that makes me long for the coziness of a small (or not so small) party. Before kids and the pandemic, I was known among my friends and family for my willingness to host or be hosted, always with plenty of delicious things made for ..read more