Jam and Bread Crust and Crumb Color
I've been making as many things as I can with oranges to try to use up this past years crop before donating the rest to the food bank. So I've been making orange marmalade. Several years ago I forgot that I had marmalade on the stove and it nearly burned but it was just darkly caramelized like a flan. So marmalade in this house now comes light, medium and dark just like the bread crust and crumb does. No wonder jam and bread go so well together. I think it was MiniOven that said when you think the bread is done, leave it in the oven 5 more minutes - same goes for jam - let it cook 5 more minutes or even 10 or 15. I've now carmelized strawberry, apple, pear. prickly pear tuna, raspberry and blackberry jams too. Changes them completely.
Comments
That's great that you donate your extra fruit to the needy.
I wouldn't mind trying some of your marmalade and jams as they sound and look fantastic!
or I wouldn't do it. I like to experiment with odd concoctions jam wise like you do with bread. I'm still afraid to break into the dragon fruit and prickly pear tuna one though. Got to have good butter and jam if you are crazy about bread.
I try to coax my neighbor to donate his. They will actually come out and pick it for you if you want or can't - but I haven't managed to get though to him. I got a big ladder and a cool orange picker on the end of a 6' pole to get to all of mine. The food bank will get their share but I will pick them. When I was in the food distribution business we donated tons and tons of close dated food we could no longer sell every year, all over the country - the right thing to do. It just isn't right to throw food away with people going hungry everywhere - kids especially. I don't even throw scraps or trimmings of any food away. Veggies and bones go to stock. The stuff they call stock in the store is........something but not stock .
When frozen turkeys go on sale for cheap at the store at Thanksgiving time you can pick up extras cheap and donate them. Food banks really appreciate frozen turkeys.
What a cool, cute (and part Persian ?) cat you rescued. Cleopatra, near Persia I suppose, is the perfect name for her.
I wish there were more good people like you and your family. The world would certainly be a better place if people would take the time to think and act like you. I don't have the climate in New York for fruit trees unfortunately. I agree with your assesment regarding the stock. I make my own when I can but sometimes I have to break down and use a store bought version when I have run out.
Cleopatra is actually a Ragdoll breed (I keep typing bread by force of habit), which is part Persian and part Burmese. She has adapted very quickly to our now 5 cat home and we are glad we made the decision to rescue her.