Customer Reviews

The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm giving this book three stars because I can't do what I'd really like to, which is to give it both five stars and one star at the same time. It is a beautiful, well-written yet disempowering, inspiring and infuriating collection of recipes and information.

Full-page photographs occupy nearly every other leaf of this massive volume; open it anywhere and you're almost certain to be assaulted by an intoxicating obscenity of color and texture that will tweak your salivary glands into involuntary action.

Less attractively, The Blue Chair never stops working very, very hard to sell you a particular fantasy lifestyle. In this respect it's evocative of early Martha Stewart, because the author herself is packaged in a panoply of pretty poses along with the fruit spreads. She appears over and over again -- picking fruit, holding fruit, cutting and stirring fruit. Always her clothing is impeccably matched to the fruit she is picking or the blossoms she is snipping. Always her hair is perfectly coiffed. Never is there a hint of effort or haste or dissarray. These images are so brazenly fantastic that I can't help feeling manipulated.

But perhaps I'm just in a sour mood? After all, isn't there a place for fantasy? Must I ascribe such dark motives? Might it all have been meant in good fun?

Maybe. But what most seriously damages this book for me is the sheer impracticality, often bordering on impossiblity, of so many of the recipes. The author runs her jam company in an affluent city, in one of the best areas of the country for fruit growers. It makes perfect sense for her to base her company there and to make the best of the amazing ingredients she has access to, but she does not seem aware of how fortunate she is to have such resources. Out of perfectionism or mere obliviousness, she's written a book the browsing of which is an exercise in frustration. If your local grocery or farmers' market doesn't offer bergamots, pluots, apriums, green almonds, olallieberries, boysenberries, elderberries, geranium blossoms, fresh currants, citrons, crabapples and quinces, then broad swaths of the recipes will be impossible to carry out. Others will come withing range only as compromised approximations, unless you can obtain preciously specific varieties of fruit like Rangpur limes, Flavorella plumcots, Santa Rosa plums, Montmorency cherries, Flavor King Pluots and Tempranillo grapes.

This is definitely not a bad book. The first forty-odd pages convey a nuanced understanding of the differences between various sorts of jams, jellies and marmalades. Jam-making techniques and processes are described in sensual terms that prepare the reader to understand and react to what they'll be seeing and hearing and smelling if they should actually decide to make some jam. Those early pages alone make the book worth a serious look. But my primary expectation of any cookbook is that it be empowering, that it help me prepare and enjoy foods that I couldn't have enjoyed without its help. In too many ways, this book provides the opposite experience. Browsing the recipes is like being teased on a playground, taunted with visions of fun that is largely out of reach.

Who can resist the honeyed taste of jam? Certainly not one of Lewis Carroll's characters who laments, "The rule is, jam to-morrow and jam yesterday - but never jam today." Not to worry with the wonderfully comprehensive guide, THE BLUE CHAIR JAM COOKBOOK, we can have jam every day in an apparent endless variety of that sweet spread. Whether your preference is for a plain lemon marmalade or strawberry jam you'll find variations of these and so much more in this 364 page tribute to preserves.

Founder of the Bay Area jam company Blue Chair Fruit Rachel Saunders has a passion for fruit which is evidenced in every recipe and mouth-watering illustration in this remarkable collection. She presents a loving, detailed discussions of various fruits, a technical section and, of course, her incomparable original recipes organized around the seasons of the year.

Okay, I admit it - initially I was intimidated by the thought of making jam. But soon happy memories of my grandmother's kitchen filled my mind, and I could see her stove covered with kettles and glistening jars of jams covering the kitchen counter. This is one of those "If I can do it, anyone can" comments: For me, the directions found with the recipes are step-by-step clear and precise. As in the recipe for Early Summer Peach Jam with Green Almonds, which begins with Day 1 and the preparation of the peaches. (To be placed in sugar and lemon juice and left to macerate in the refrigerator overnight.) Then on to Day 2 and the final steps. She specifies the type of utensils to be used ("...a copper preserving pan or two smaller rnonreactive kettles.") No need for guess-work when following her directions - even individual yields and shelf life are included. Clearly, this is someone who is dedicated to her craft and is happy to share the joy and fun of jam preparation with all.

While certainly precise in her recipes Saunders is far from a stickler for her preferences - she encourages cooks to prepare their own unique jams by following their preferences and tastes.

THE BLUE CHAIR JAM COOKBOOK is the ultimate definitive guide for preparing jam and marmalade throughout the year.

And, Blue Chair Fruit Co. is the ultimate place to find the fresh and distinctly flavored jams and marmalades prepared by Rachel and her team. We've been fortunate enough to try Damson Jam and Strawberry-Blood Orange Marmalade with Rosemary. Made from organic plums Damson Jam has a just-picked distinctive flavor and is filled with whole pieces of fruit - this is jam at its finest. The Marmalade glitters with colors of deep gold and orange slivers, while the flavor is robust, hearty, distinguished by a hint of rosemary - in a class of its own. These delights and many more may be found at www.bluechairfruit.com.

Highly recommended.

- Gail Cooke

The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook is a wonderful book filled with great ideas and recipes. The Crabapple Marmalade for instance is great tasting recipe. Despite the ideas the major flaw in this book is that it has not been translated for a home caner. The recipes which im sure are scaled down versions of the large batches that are use by the author for her company are still too complicated. Most home caners have maybe a weekend to do a recipe and providing recipes that take 3 days is far too long. Many of the wonderful accents used to add flavor to the jams are either hard to find or too expensive, pine code bud syrup for example costs 30 bucks for a small container. Despite all this I still recommend the book but dont by it expecting simple recipes that you can do in a weekend by purchasing products at the local farmstand.

My wife and I just got our copy. We are both cooks and we thought this might be interesting. Well, it's much more than I anticipated. First of all it's one of the most beautiful food books I've seen. It has every recipe you might need for working with fruit as well as some approaches I had never even considered. But it's also filled with facts and information that reads more like a book than just food recipes. It's the type of book we'll enjoy curling up with on a winter's evening long after there's no fruit left to process.

I haven't made jam for over 20 years, back when it was very difficult to find interesting pectin-free recipes, but when I saw this book, I knew I had to have it. While I can get Blue Chair jam locally (like the author, I live in the San Francisco Bay Area), the price makes me hesitate to throw a jar into my grocery cart, even though I'm well aware of how much labor goes into that little jar, and as much as I *love* Rachel's fig jam with ginger.

I was initially put off by all the full-page photographs of the author looking fey in her jammy wonderland--Rachel with vintage accessories, Rachel wandering through a misty orchard, Rachel caressing airbrushed fruit--I would have preferred, say, a photograph detailing how to skin a green almond. It's a gorgeous book and I wondered if its target audience was the folks who like to lie in bed and look at the pictures in cookbooks, but actually eat takeout much of the time.

My first recipe (strawberry-Meyer lemon marmalade) was a qualified success. The recipe specified covering lemon slices in a "medium" saucepan with one inch of water, but I think I used too large a pan, and ended up with too much water to cook off. I also couldn't get the hang of Rachel's method of testing when the jam is done, which involves putting a specific number of spoons in the freezer, and checking the texture of the jam as it sets up on a cold spoon. I omitted the rose geranium cuttings (there's a limit to the produce I can come up, even in the Bay Area). It was a very good marmalade, but a little tight in texture, as I'd overcooked it a bit.

For my second recipe (strawberry-kiwi jam), I went back to my tried-and-true method of testing the jam on a saucer in the fridge. Rachel's description of when the jam is done was spot-on. The jam was so delicious, I found myself repeatedly going to the fridge to eat a spoonful.

I've made kiwi marmalade before, but it was nothing like this. And I've made fig jam, but it was nothing like Rachel's. Now I've got the recipes for success. And now that I'm convinced Rachel's a goddess, I'm no longer irritated by the cookbook's adulatory images. In fact, I might frame one and put it up on my kitchen wall.

Are her produce lists esoteric? Yes, indeed. And she doesn't hesitate to call for esoteric and expensive liquors, as well: does your local liquor store even carry St. Germain elderflower liqueur, and would you be wiling to fork over $30 for a bottle to perfect your White Nectarine Jam with Elderflower and Green Almonds? There are ingredients in the book I've never even heard of, despite living in an affluent, food-obsessed area (what IS "pine cone bud syrup," anyway?) You can certainly adapt her methods to whatever produce is available in your area, and your jams will be infinitely superior to the pectin-stiffened ones in the Cooperative Extension recipe pamphlets, but you might still find the preciousness of some of the book overall to be off-putting.

My copy arrived today! What a very pretty book,but I must admit some of the recipes are intimidating at least to me. I've been canning a long time,making simple jams and jellies,I thought I'd step it up a notch by trying the recipes in the book,the trouble is finding some of the ingredients,like the flower waters,rose geranium sprigs,stemmed red currants etc.Most of the recipes call for ingredients that this country girl can't find locally..But all and all it is a beautifully done book,with some amazing recipes,guess I'll have to order the ingredients I can't find.

I've been making jam, jelly, marmalade and chutney for over 50 years! Some summers I've made over 1,000 jars! But here I am, only on page 9 of this fabulous book, and already I've learned so many things I didn't know, like straining for jelly twice; once through a coarse strainer and then, only then, through the cheesecloth. Up to now, I've only done the cheesecloth strain. This ways makes so much more sense.

I'll Post-It flag the pages with useful hints and refer back to them in future.

I love this HUGE book!

Now to find some winter quince!

.Kathy, Portland, OR

I love this book. After having many preserves/jam books, this one really interested me. I've made both the Concord Grape Jam and the Early Girl Tomato Jam. They are both super delicious and out of the box. I've never seen a concord jam recipe that KEEPS the grape skins in, and boy, was this the ticket! This is by far, the BEST concord grape jam I've ever tasted or made! I'm not lying here! Try it! The Tomato Jam was the bomb! Who'd think that tomato jam would be so killer??? I gave both jams to friends and neighbors, and every comment I got was on the "wow" factor! I even was told by one neighbor that I'd "miss my calling" and should make jams for a living. But I owe the credit all to the book and it's wonderfully inventive author! Buy this book. You won't regret it, and it will become one of your favorites, for sure!

I am a huge fan of blue chair fruit, and was a frequent customer at the farmer's market in Oakland. Because I loved the jams so much I took a class on jam making from Rachel and the jams I made were amazing, which I was really excited about since I had never made jam before. I really appreciate that there is no need for additional pectin... it's just fruit, sugar, lemon, and whatever additional herb or liqueur you wish to add to for something a little extra. Sterilizing the jars in the oven made the whole process a lot easier than the traditional water bath method. I also happened to have a copper pot that I purchased in Mexico that worked great... so if you don't want to fork out the money for the french version, the Mexican copper pot worked great (Caso de cobre... traditionally for making carnitas, I believe). I am really looking forward to trying the recipes in the book!!!

I confess I love the idea of jars of homemade jam lining the pantry shelves and this book motivates me to try some of these recipes by Rachel Saunders, owner of Blue Chair Fruit, a San Francisco area artisan jam company.

Filled with colorful photos (always appreciated), this book includes recipes for jams, jellies, marmalades, preserves, conserves and even pie fillings. The recipes are divided into chapters based on the seasons, and each chapter is organized by month and type of fruit. There are classic recipes for things like strawberry jam along with unique offerings such as Strawberry Jam with Aged Balsamic & Black Pepper, Brandied Red Cherry Conserve, Italian Prune and Cardamom Conserve, Rhubarb and Red Cherry Jam, and recipes using a fruit called Aprium which is a cross between plums and apricots, something I had never heard of. The recipes are definitely artisan in nature and may require ingredients that aren't easily found in all areas which may make them impractical for some readers.

Each part of the preserving process is covered and the recipes include an approximate yield and suggested shelf life. It should be noted that some measurements are given by weight rather than volume to ensure reliable results so a kitchen scale is needed.

The author's focus is on picking your own local, organic fruit which is always nice to think about but not always practical depending on location and cost. The author lives in an area known for easy access to all kinds of fruit that can't be as easily found in places like rural Indiana. That said, there were recipes in this book that I can find ingredients for and will try.