I love raspberries. I shamelessly order a raspberry mocha latte whenever I go to starbucks. My co-workers always laugh at me. Apparently I don’t sound very manly shouting raspberry mocha across the store… Anyway, anybody that’s ever eaten with me very much knows I love creme brulee with raspberries for dessert. Jordan and Tirza came for dinner during raspberry season, so I made a batch.
I used Michael Ruhlman’s book Ratio for the recipe. Surprisingly simple, 4:1:1 dairy:yolk:sugar with whatever flavorings you want. I used a quart of dairy that was mostly raw milk and cream with a bit of store bought cream to top of the quart. I used egg yolks from my guests aunt and uncle to keep it a family affair. For flavoring, I put in a couple teaspoons of vanilla and a couple tablespoons of Grand Marnier. Every other time I’ve made creme brûlée, I’ve used all cream and no milk and much less egg yolk. The texture of this creme brulee was hands down the best I’ve ever made. I’m sticking with the ratio and with cream/milk blend. Oh, and back to the theme… I topped it with fresh picked red raspberries from the garden.
I managed to pick another couple of quarts of red raspberries and decided I’d try my hand at preserves. I’ve made grape jelly for several years and I made a raspberry sauce a couple years ago that blended raspberries and orange juice, but I’ve never made preserves. The first question I asked my self is “what’s the difference?” Turns out that jelly is from juice, jam is from pulp, preserves are from chunks. Marmalade is citrus preserves, at least here in the US. My european friends call my grape jelly “confit.” Random trivia curiosity satisfied, I could proceed with what I now know is jam rather than preserves.
It turns out there were ratios before Ruhlman wrote his book. In the Putting Food By book I’ve mentioned in a previous post, there are a couple of gems worth repeating. First, if you have raspberries in your garden you should remember to take a basket of fresh picked raspberries to old person who can’t get them anymore. Why don’t they write books like that anymore?! Second, jam is made with equal parts berries and sugar by weight – a 1:1 ratio. Slowly boil the berries to turn them to pulp. Add the sugar and slowly boil until it thickens. Pour in jars and seal. Simple and absolutely delicious. I mean really really really absolutely raspberrylicious. Who knew jam was easier than jelly? Philosophical rant… We used to live on family farms with multiple generations in a house at any given time. These things were a matter of necessity rather than eccentric hobbies and were passed down from generation to generation by repeated exposure rather than any intentional effort. So, if you’re reading this… go ask your mom how to make something that her mother taught her how to make… Ok, I’m off my soap box… back to the raspberries… a few pictures of my 7 1/2 jars of raspberry jam from my own little raspberry patch…
And my other favorite kind of Razzberry…
Fitting that a dog really named Razzberry by her breeder would find her way from her original owner, a retired military dog handler who eventually passed away from illness, to me through Karmen and her friend Barb who had one of Razz’s siblings. I love all my Razz- and rasp-berries.
