Puttin’ Up – It’s a Southern Thing!

There’s a thing in the south that I thought was dead. Or at least dying. Puttin’ up- perhaps that slang is that it’s a Southern thing…

My mother wasn’t a fan. And my sisters aren’t fans. Even my grandmother wasn’t good at it. But, somehow in my twenties, it made its way to my door.

It’s this thing called, “puttin’ up”. Have you heard of it?

Let me share it in a sentence. This year since the pandemic, I have been puttin’ up lots of vegetables and fruits. You know…Canning. Freezing. Drying. Making jams. Lots of it. It’s like someone turned my timer onto fast forward and I simply can’t stop. The English explanation might be to store produce for future use. Got it?

If you live in another part of the country or even the world, you probably have another phrase for it. But, for Southerners…it’s “puttin’ up”.

I have never had much luck for growing what I am puttin’ up, but boxes and bushels and pounds of produce found its way to my door. And hours of snapping green beans, shucking corn, and preparing the harvest for puttin’ up began in early June.

First, there was the bread baking.

Blueberries were tucked away in the freezer. Easy, peasy. Dozens of ears of corn were picked and hauled to the kitchen. Cut, cooked and put up in freezer bags.

Next, were the bushels of green beans in the pressure canner…

Pounds and pounds and pounds of tomatoes entered the kitchen. Canned. In various ways. Juice. With basil. Sauce. Whole and diced.

And when the peaches rolled in, they were made into jam, ice cream or bagged for the freezer.

Pepper jelly. Blackberry jam. Herbs dried and saved. Even herbal salts are being tucked away. But today, is a new one.

It stopped me in my tracks.

I love carrot cake and especially in the fall. The title on that Ball canning page said…wait for it…“Carrot Cake Jam”. What?!! Who knew this was a thing? Carrots, pears, pineapple, sugar, spices into jam. I’m in. I could envision it over a block of cream cheese when guests are in for appetizers or for a cookout. Perhaps a Brunch with toast. Maybe for Christmas with biscuits. Perfect.

I looked at the recipe and made a few changes that I knew would make it a better fit for my carrot cake loving friends.

Carrot Cake Jam

A great appetizer topping for cream cheese! or for brunch with toast or biscuits!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Servings 4 pints

Equipment

• 6-8 qt. Dutch oven
• water bath canner
• canning jars, lids and rings- half pint or 1/4 pint jars

Ingredients

  

• 1 1/2 C Carrots peeled, finely grated
• 1 1/2 C Pears peeled, cored, chopped
• 1 3/4 C Pineapple, crushed canned including juice
• 1 T Lemon Juice, bottled
• 1 t Ground Cinnamon
• 1 t Grated Nutmeg
• 1 t Ground Ginger
• 1 T Ball Real Fruit Classic Pectin, or more optional the more pectin, the more gel consistency
• 6 C Sugar

Instructions

 

• Fill the water canner and begin boiling. Heat jars in hot water until ready for use. Place clean bands in hot water until ready to secure.

  TIP: Do not boil lids.

  TIP: for this jam, I love to use the 1/4 pint jars so that the entire contents are used with an 8 oz. cream cheese. If serving for brunch with toast or biscuits, half pint jars are perfect.
• Combine grated carrots, chopped pears, pineapple with juice, lemon juice and spices in a 6-8 quart Dutch oven.

  TIP: I love to use my food processor for preparing ingredients. I also love to use my Lodge ceramic lined Dutch oven.

  Bring mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Reduce heat, cover and boil gently for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and whisk in pectin until dissolved.

  TIP: Pectin will give jam a more jelly consistency…and I want my jam to pour. Some recipes add a package or more and you may prefer that.

  Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, over high heat stirring frequently.
• Add sugar all at once and return to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam, if necessary.
• Ladle hot jam into hot jars leaving 1/4" headspace.

  TIP: I always just fill to the bottom where the glass rings for bands start.

  Wipe rim with damp clean cloth. Center lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight.

  Place jar in boiling water canner.

  Repeat until all jars are filled and water covers the jars. Place canner lid on and bring to a boil.
• Process jars for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude.

  Turn off heat; remove lid and let jars stand for 5 minutes. Remove jars and cool.

  Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

Notes

What a great recipe to “Put Up” for guests or give away for gifts! Enjoy!

Keyword appetizer, biscuits, brunch, carrot cake, cream cheese, gifts, jam, toast

And if you are new to this, “puttin’ up” process…check out where this recipe originated with LOTS of canning info here.

My favorite Dutch ovens when I make jam are always the Lodge ceramic ones. You can find them here.

This recipe is a great jam for toast, or crazy biscuits, or cream cheese with crackers…a great cinnamon fruit blend that is like no other recipe I have “put up”.

So…allow yourself to be a southerner and try this one. Invite a few friends. Gift a few jars.

And then pat yourself on the back for being a true southerner and for putting (puttin’ up) things away for the winter or a time when sharing laughter and food around a table doesn’t require a mask, Facetime, or 6 ft.

Enjoy, friend! My water bath is ready–to finish “puttin’ up”…Applesauce is next!!