The Good Table at Home: Wildfire Season & Plum Jam
In Our Community
Wildfire season is upon us, as evidenced by the Mineral Fire in Coalinga and other smaller fires around the state. What can we do, both individually and communally, to prepare?
Are you signed up for the Contra Costa County Community Warning System (CWS)? If you register your cell phone here you will get important information in an emergency situation, such as a wildfire event. The site also has excellent preparedness materials and videos. You can also follow them on twitter @CoCoCWS. Pastor Melinda also invites you to attend meetings of the El Sobrante Municipal Advisory Committee (now online!) on 2nd Wednesdays of each month at 7p. Send an email to: James Lyons in Supervisor James Gioia’s office to be added to the email list to receive an agenda and meeting details.
Prepare Your Family & Your Home for Wildfires
Make a disaster supply kit and have a family emergency plan
Design and landscape your home with wildfire safety in mind: select materials and plants that can help contain fire rather than fuel it
Use fire-resistant or noncombustible materials on the roof and exterior structure of the dwelling, or treat wood or combustible material used in roofs, siding, decking or trim with fire-retardant chemicals evaluated by a nationally recognized laboratory, such as Underwriters Laboratories (UL)
Plant fire-resistant shrubs and trees (for example, hardwood trees are less flammable than pine, evergreen, eucalyptus or fir trees)
Regularly clean roof and gutters
Inspect chimneys at least twice a year. Clean them at least once a year. Keep the dampers in good working order. Equip chimneys and stovepipes with a spark arrester that meets the requirements of National Fire Protection Association Standard 211. (Contact your local fire department for exact specifications)
Use 1/8-inch mesh screen beneath porches, decks, floor areas and the home itself. Also, screen openings to floors, roof and attic
Install a dual-sensor smoke alarm on each level of your home, especially near bedrooms; test monthly, and change the batteries at least once each year
Teach each family member how to use a fire extinguisher (ABC type) and show them where it's kept
Keep handy household items that can be used as fire tools: a rake, axe, handsaw or chain saw, bucket and shovel
Keep a ladder that will reach the roof
Consider installing protective shutters or heavy fire-resistant drapes
Clear items that will burn from around the house, including wood piles, lawn furniture, barbecue grills, tarp coverings, etc. Move them outside of your defensible space
Identify and maintain an adequate outside water source such as a small pond, cistern, well, swimming pool or hydrant
Have a garden hose that is long enough to reach any area of the home and other structures on the property
Install freeze-proof exterior water outlets on at least two sides of the home and near other structures on the property. Install additional outlets at least 50 feet from the home
Consider obtaining a portable gasoline powered pump in case electrical power is cut off
In the Kitchen
It’s plum season! My plum tree is thick with fruit around this time of year, and if I get a bumper crop, it’s prime time for making and canning plum jam! I always thought canning was hard, but with the right tools, it’s absolutely not — basically, you make the jam while sterilizing the jars in hot water, then fill the jars, and pop them back into their boiling water bath to process.
Kelly’s Plum Jam
Note: my tree makes these amazing golden plums, but you can use any kind. Plums are a medium pectin fruit. Some recipes call for no pectin, and over time you may want to play with the amount of pectin to get the right level of “gel” or thickness.
Golden Plums
Ingredients
6 cups prepared fruit (washed, pitted, and chopped, don’t peel) — you’ll need about 4 lbs fully ripe plums
1/2 cup water
1 box pectin (I like the SURE-JELL or Ball brands — look for specifically fruit or jam pectin)
8 cups sugar, measured into a separate bowl
Jars: You’ll need about (10) 1 cup jars, with rings and new flat lids.
Instructions
Fill a big stock pot with water, enough to cover all the jars, bring to a boil. Wash jars and screw bands in hot soapy water; rinse with warm water, then place in the boiling water in the stockpot. Take some of the boiling water and pour over flat lids in a separate saucepan off the heat. Let stand in hot water until ready to use. (The flat lids just need to be clean and their seals a little sticky. Everything else should be boiled to sterilize it before canning.) Drain well before filling.
Pit plums. Do not peel. Finely chop or grind fruit; place in saucepan. Add water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 min. Measure exactly 6 cups prepared fruit into 6- or 8-qt. saucepot.
Stir pectin into fruit in saucepot. Bring mixture to full rolling boil (a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 min., stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off any foam with a metal spoon.
Ladle immediately into prepared jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two-piece lids. Screw bands tightly enough to keep on the jar, just before airtight (this gives things a little room to expand/contract as they cool).
Place jars on an elevated rack in the boiling water stock pot. (Water must cover jars by 1 to 2 inches. Add boiling water, if needed. Keep them off the bottom of the pot, or they’ll scorch) Cover; bring water to gentle boil. Process 10 min (meaning, let them sit in there).
Remove jars and place upright on a towel to cool completely. After jars cool, check seals by pressing middle of lids with finger. (If lids spring back, lids are not sealed and refrigeration is necessary.) Tighten the rings on the jars as necessary and label with their amazing contents. Then give yourself a pat on the back for making something that will last through the winter and bring a little zing to your toast, scones, and pancakes!
Kelly’s Golden Plum Jam
Notes:
Having some canning tools can make this process easier. I like this canning set from Ace Hardware — I find the jar tongs, canning funnel, and lid lifter especially helpful. The jar tongs help you move jars around in the boiling water to keep them on/around the rack. The canning funnel gets jam into the jars really well, without having a ton of drips where you don’t want them (a drip on the jar rim makes for a bad seal — you want those jar rims clean!) And the lid lifter means you don’t have to touch hot metal — you use it to grab the lid from the water and place on the jar without touching anything, which is also good for keeping everything sterile in the jar.
If anything goes wrong during this process, no worries! You can always turn your jam into refrigerator jam, which doesn’t have to be sterile, just clean. In the fridge, the jam will last a couple of weeks. Canned, it should last a year.
Happy Jamming!