Chestnut Jam

            I make jam, lots of jam: apricot, strawberry, raspberry, quince, blackberry, red currant, black currant, and chestnut.  Yes, chestnut jam, and it’s my favorite.  It is also the most time consuming and painful jam to make.  It takes about 2 hours to make each jar, and by the end of the process, my hands are nicked and burned in several spots, but it’s worth it.

            The nuts have two shells that need to be removed separately.  The inner one clings to the nut, which is as craggily as a walnut and only come off when the nuts are boiled.  This is the step that makes anyone cringe who has ever made chestnut jam.  It’s laborious and the nuts have to be handled hot to remove the shell, hence the burned hands.  I’ve searched for any method that might work better, but I’ve come up empty handed.  The Joy of Cooking explains the nuts can be steamed in an oule or cast iron pot and then rubbed and the inner shell will just fall off.  I tried it, no luck; the shell clung as tightly as before.  I found another method that microwaved the nuts.  It worked – once, and only once.  It appears that boiling them is the only way to go.

            Once the shells are finally removed, the nuts are cooked, ground, and then added to sugar and cooked again.  If this mixture is cooked too long it crystalizes and becomes uneatable, making all the previous work for nothing.  It’s a make a break moment, so it can be somewhat stressful.

            A few years ago, I decided to make chestnut jam as Christmas presents and sent the jars back to the United States.  It was the first year I tasted chestnut jam and was so enamored with it I thought my friends and family disserved to try it.  After 12 hours of work, I had 6 jars that were wrapped and sent.  One jar broke in the mail and the others were received with reluctant hesitation.  I doubt they even eaten.

I don’t regret my attempts.  Christophe is happy; he loves chestnut jam, and if I’m lucky, we’ll have enough until Christmas.

           

Meet the lineup!

We have a lot of tomatoes in the garden, and sadly for the season, many of them are still green.  Due to the summerless summer, our tomato count is extremely low; normally, I’ve given up counting at this point of the year.  Each year, we plant our usual stock of tomatoes and each year we try a few new varieties.  This year’s lineup consists of eleven different varieties, ranging in color from white to purple, most of them are heirloom.  This year, we planted 70 different plants.

The Usual Suspects

Gardener’s Delight:  (heirloom) Most people assume these are cherry tomatoes when they see them, but they are not.  They are not acidic and teeter on the edge of being candy they are so sweet.

Noir de Crimee: (heirloom) So far, this is my favorite tomato.  The purple color throws you at first since it will never turn red to signal ripeness.  Thin skin, lots of meat, and best raw.

Prince Noir: (heirloom) Yet another purple tomato, but smaller than the Noir de Crimee.  It is sweet, rich, and also has a thin skin.

Great White Beefsteak: (heirloom) A large tomato that ripens to a golden yellow color.  Mild and sweet and we ate one yesterday that had a melon-like flavor.

Caro red: (heirloom) Big, round, and orange.  I like this tomato because it is very versatile and makes a complex sauce.

Cornue des Andes:  (heirloom) Shaped like peppers, these tomatoes turn bright red and can be pretty heavy.  An excellent sauce and cooking tomato, but a little too mealy to eat raw.

Voyager: This is a gnarly tomato that is a bit too acidic for my tastes.  It was tried last year and again this year for good measure, but will not be rejoining the line up next year.

Beefsteak: Classic round, red, and meaty tomato that is very productive.  Not as tasty as many of our other tomatoes, so I use it as volume in sauces.

The Newbies 

Roma: Well-known Italian tomato use for sauces.  Curious plants that don’t grow very high and fruit that grows in clusters.  Better for cooking than eating raw.

Russian: (heirloom) Our friend brought us one a few years ago and we kicked ourselves for not saving some seeds.  This is a very large tomato, very tasty and juicy. Has earned a spot on the “Usual Suspects” list for years to come.

Beefmaster: These are supposed to get huge, but they are nowhere near ready yet.  I do like the smooth, pale green skin they currently have.

And that our lineup this year, but as you can see, we’re still holding out for some sun and high temps to get them to where they need to be.  If not, I fear we’ll be swimming in green tomato jam all winter.