Making Jam on TV

    I don't mean to disillusion anyone but there are many illusions created on/for/by television.  I should know, I worked in television for about 24  years.  Frequently, I made empty rooms look crowded, overweight people look less so,  boring meetings look as if Excitement itself, the malignant look neutral, and people I really didn't care much for look spectacular. But there are limits to the amount of magic one can create.  Have you ever watched a cooking segment on TV? Did you notice how the demonstrator had the same dish in about four different stages of finish?  With each instructional step, the next phase would be presented  instantly in its completed state. A meal that takes one and a half hours to prepare must be presented in this way--if given only 15 minutes to get from start to finish. 
    Recently I was asked, as an award-winning jam maker and competent public speaker, to demonstrate and talk about jam making on a TV program called The Couch - seen on Foxtel in Australia and New Zealand. In a heartbeat, I assessed this flattering request: jam making takes three and a half hours to do, the segment is 10 minutes, there is no hope of making a batch so I would just do a short fruit cutting demonstration and then turn to a finished pot of jam ready to be put into jars.  It's only 10 minutes. Some well placed questions (already written up by me, of course) would fill the gaps. I was confident.

A jam demo on The Couch

    Oh, the best laid plans of mice and men!   I had assembled everything I could possibly need or talk about (oops, forgot the ladle) on the set.  Very expensive apricots were used in this Dried Apricot Jam recipe--$32 a kg/$14.55 lb (this batch is going into show competition after all)--and it turned out beautifully. I liberated two lemons from my neighbors yard and set out.  And got lost. My nerves were rattled and I hoped it wouldn't show on air.
     I am calling Episode 496  a learning lesson.  I remind myself that I am not its producer or host so I don't get to call all the shots. Happy faces are a very good thing but perhaps I look a little manic. I blame the lighting for that. ahem.  And then there was the lemons.  I spent a fortune on dried apricots. Why not spend an additional 50 cents for a store bought lemon?  I silently asked myself this as I attempted to supreme one and then another dried and rotting liberated lemon on 'live' television. Supreming a lemon is an efficient way of extracting valuable citrus while leaving undesirable membrane and pith behind. Yeah, that lesson wasn't as clear as it could be.

Filling jam jars on The Couch

    Ten minutes can be an eternity if one has nothing to say. It is a mere heartbeat if there is much to tell. And this segment included a plug for my radio show, What's On Where. It was over in a flash. In fact, we went over time. I did get to keep my jars in a hot water bath for 10 minutes in the building's kitchen (the set had to be changed for the next guest) and I left a jar for the crew to try after the day's taping. Actually, I intended to leave them a mini-assortment but I forgot to do just that.  The episode went well enough in another's eyes.  Host Fred Mafrica has invited me back for up to five additional appearances of my choice.  The wheels of my mind are turning...

   10 Minute Instructions for Dried Apricot Jam

• Place 4 cups of finely cut-up dried apricots (use kitchen scissors) into a large, nonreactive pot.
• Add 4 cups filtered water and 2 cups of non-sweetened fruit juice, cover and sit overnight.
• In the morning, add more liquid if necessary (liquid should still cover the fruit) and boil pot on medium heat until fruit is soft.
• Mash to desired texture and consistency with a potato masher or hand-held stick blender.
• Add a 1/4 cup lemon juice (additional teaspoon of powdered pectin optional) and bring to boil for a few minutes. Stir often.
• Remove from heat. Add up to 2 cups sugar and bring back to a boil for a few minutes.   Stir constantly using a long-handled wooden spoon. It spits!
• When jam hits jell point (use spoon or cold plate method or check temp to 220F/103C) put into hot, sterile jars and cover with hot lids.
• Put half pint jars into a hot water bath for 10 minutes, pint jars for 15 minutes.

    The instructions may take 10 minutes but preparation and cooking will take closer to three hours. The hot water bath ensures a longer, mold-free shelf life. This can be made year round as it does not depend on seasonal fresh fruit. Feel free to experiment with your favorite fruit juices.