Freezer Jam

MCP vs... Sure.Jell

What is the difference?  High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Seems like every year when I make jam I have to decide which box of pectin to buy.  I can't ever remember what I liked better from the previous year.  So here it is for future reference.

MCP no cook Strawberry freezer jam asks for 4 1/2 cups of sugar AND 1 cup light corn syrup to 3 1/4 cup fruit
Sure-Jell no cook Strawberry freezer jam asks for  4 cups sugar to 2 cups fruit and you have to mix pectin with boiling water before adding it to the fruit.  An extra step that MCP avoids by using the corn syrup.  but corn syrup has HFCS. I prefer just plain sugar.

On comparing the set of the 2 jams when used separately with their own recipes, I believe MCP has a more firm set and Sure-Jell was a bit more runny.  I like the recipe of the Sure-Jell, but the set of the MCP. Soooo...I made a batch with 1 box of each pectin and used the Sure-Jell recipe. It turned out great and set up nice and firm! I discovered this years ago as a teenager experimenting with jam and just rediscovered it this year.
I'm going to stick with MCP pectin but use the Sure-Jell recipe.  Oh, and Strawberry Peach is my absolute favorite!  Perfect blend of flavor without feeling too sweet.

Eat Your Greens!

Recently I found a way to eat my greens more consistently. I love salad, but don't like to compile it every day. I found that if I use my food processor to grate a few cups worth of carrots and just keep them in the fridge in a container, I can quickly make any amount of lettuce into a salad. After all, in my books the main ingredients for salad are carrots and greens, all else is delicious, but optional. If you exclude things like cucumbers and tomatoes, you can also keep salad in a zipper bag for at least a week in the fridge. The carrots do go bad eventually, if I discover how long, I'll put that here.

Yummy Salad Additions:
Any additional greens, spinach, cabbage, endive, etc
Small croutons
mandarin oranges or pineapple
grated parmesan cheese
thin sliced small zuchini

Also, I've abandoned store bought dressing for the home mixed variety, SO much better! Delicious. These shaker bottles are ideal, I got them from Tupperware (no affiliation), the only place I could find good ones. Don't bother with the imitations.

My 2 favorite vinaigrettes:
Balsamic
Red Wine Vinegar