Sean > In a Jam!

That's right! I was "In a Jam" this week. The phrase "In a Jam" means: A person who is in a difficult situation.

I went to a friend's house to help pick Loquat (枇杷), or in Japanese "Biwa". Her grandfather was too old to do it himself and needed help. After we finished picking the fruit, he gave all of it to me- about 2 bags full!

What on earth could I do with 2 bags of loquat... they would go bad (腐る) before I could eat them all!

I had a great idea, I could make jam out of them...but...how do I make jam...?

I checked the internet for a good recipe(レシピ) and found a few good ideas. Finally I made my own recipe, try it if you like!

Ingredients (材料):

16 Cups of unpeeled (剥ける) loquat
1 Cup of water
1 Cup of lemon juice
20 grams of gelatin (ゼラチン)
3 cups of sugar (糖)

You will need:
2 large pots
A electric mixer or potato masher
A plastic or wood spoon to stir (混ぜる) the jam
Glass jars (ジャー, 瓶) for storing the jam
A Plate

This recipe will make 2 jars of jam (about 900cc total)

Ok, now how to make it.
1) Put the water, lemon juice, pectin and sugar in 1 of the pots.

2) Put the plate in your refrigerator (冷蔵庫).

3) Peel (皮) of the fruit and remove the seeds (実). The seeds can make you sick, so make sure to remove them all! Place the fruit into the second pot with a lot of water to keep them fresh.

4) Heat the sugar-water with LOW heat!

5) Drain (干す) the fruit and use a mixer to break the fruit into small pieces, or use the potato masher.

6) After the sugar is all melted(溶かす), add the fruit to the mix.

7) Turn up the heat to medium and cook slowly, letting the water and lemon juice boil (沸かす) away.

8) Keep boiling and stirring. Take that plate from the refrigerator and put some of the jam onto the plate. If the jam turns hard quickly, you know the jam is ready!

9) You're finished! Put the jam into jars or whatever you want.


After you make it, keep it in your refrigerator.

If you plan to keep the jam for a long time (more than 2 months), you should read about canning.

Vocabulary: In a Jam, Loquat (枇杷), Go bad (腐る), recipe (レシピ), ingredients (材料), unpeeled (剥ける), gelatin (ゼラチン), sugar (糖), stir (混ぜる), jar (ジャー, 瓶), refrigerator (冷蔵庫), peel (皮), seed (実), drain (干す), melt (溶かす), boil (沸かす)