Jam Exchange 2012

SIGNUPS CLOSED:

It's that time of year again! Time for the fourth annual steph chows jam exchange!

Want to be part of an awesome international jam exchange? It's easy! All you have to do is be willing to be paired up with a stranger and send each other two (1/2 pint) jars of home made/ fully processed jam!

The rules:

• You must send two 1/2 pints (or the equivalent in size: 4-1/4 pints, 1-pint) of jam or jelly to your partner. (they can be the same type of jam or different types, your choice)
• Your jams must be canned properly, no freezer jams/unprocessed jars allowed. Learn more how to can properly here.
• You must properly pack your jams for shipment. AKA fully wrap your jars separately in bubble wrap and pack the box full with packing peanuts, newspaper, whatever you have, just make sure when you jiggle the box you don't hear ANYTHING moving around. If you drop it off the kitchen table will they break? If the answer is yes you need to pack them better :)
• Unfortunately shipping can be expensive, nothing I can really do about that one but this is just a warning that it will probably cost you a good $10 (maybe less maybe more) to ship your package.
• Fill out the form below by July 31st to be added to the list.
• I will contact you/your partner by August 5th.
• You have one week to respond to your partner and confirm your addresses (if you don't get a response I will pair you with a new partner).
• All jams/jellies/yummies must be in the mail by September 1st. You can mail as early as you like though, so if you have your jam ready to go when I email you... go for it and mail it! Or if you are a procrastinator... wait till the 1st to mail it... either way works :) Just please make sure to mail it so no one is left out!
• Life happens, if for any reason you wont be able to make/send your jam just let me know and I'll make sure your partner gets hooked up with someone else.

After some great feedback from last years crew I'm going to make sure to send out more reminders on when you should be sending your jam, that way no one will forget. I also had requests for more posts about jam so I'm hoping to document any new recipes I try this year! I'm a bit worried since our early spring/then frost ruined a lot of crops here :( but I'm hoping to still hit up the pick your own farms and make something!

Oh, and I love seeing what you all come up with so make sure to add your pictures of what you send to this flicker group! Don't worry I'll remind you to do this again later once you actually make your jam!

Need some ideas of flavors to send? Check out the roundups from previous years:
2011
2010
2009

Do you still want to join? Ok then! Fill out the form and cross your fingers I didn't code this wrong :)

Sorry signups are now closed:


Want a cool badge to show your jamming pride? Feel free to grab it, and link back to this post so more people can join the fun!

Your email will never be displayed publicly, so don't be scared to comment! :) Oh and make sure you type in your blog link so I can click over to you! There is a spot you can type it in.

Jam Exchange Roundup!

Wow, I want to say a very special THANK YOU to everyone who participated this year. We hit a new record with over 100 people shipping jam all over this country, Canada, and one jammer exchanging with someone in Portugal! I know this takes a lot of trust blinding sending your hard work to a stranger across the country, and for the most part everything made it where is was suppose to with only a few hiccups. Thank you again for putting your trust in me and in each other to make this jam exchange possible and special. It really is a joy for me to put together and worth every minute of time spent organizing it.

Onto the jams! I've only included people who wrote me with what they sent/received. If you want to be added to the list just email me and let me know! Links are to the people's blogs if they have them (and sometimes the recipes!) If I messed up the order of images or what you sent just let me know and I'll update it :)

Jeanne sent Peach Jam and Everything but the kitchen sink Jam

Lindsay sent red currant and raspberry jam

Cathy sent Mango Raspberry Jam and Spiced Wine Peach Jam

Graham sent apricot blueberry, strawberry rhubarb, and apple butter


Nicole sent dandelion jelly and red wine-onion jam

Andrea sent Peach Vanilla Bourbon Jam and some Strawberries and Wine Jam

Amy sent Strawberry Mango Jam and Grapefruit Pineapple Marmalade

Angela sent Chocolate blueberry, blackberry dragonfruit, ginger honey lemon marmalade and strawberry meyer lemon marmalade

Rachel sent fig jam and a peach jam

The redhead sent Ginger Vanilla Peach and Blackberry Peach

Beth Anne sent Blueberry Lime Jam and Piña Colada jam

Christie sent plout jam - a savory one at that!

Evan sent champagne pomegranate jelly

Janae sent Peach Marmalade, and a jar of Organic Vanilla Strawberry Jam

Samantha sent Apricot Peach Butter, and Black Raspberry Jam

Katie sent Peach Bourbon Jam w/Vanilla and Chipotle Plum Jam


Celeste sent Mulberry and one of Peach Jalapeño

A different Samantha sent spiced blueberry compote and a strawberry lemon marmalade.
Her partner Celeste sent grape jelly, mulberry jam, peach and jalepeno jam, quice jelly, vanilla pear butter, and plum apple jam.

Steve sent White, Peach, Bing Cherry, Spicy Ketchup and a few surprises.


Val sent Blueberry-Lemon, Plum Wine-Berry, Pear-Rosemary, Tomato-Ginger, Sour Cherry, Peach-Hot Pepper and Peach Rum. (I know that's way more than 2, but Steve and Val ended up sending each other 8 and 7 varieties! WOW!)

Kris sent Low Sugar Strawberry Jam With Balsamic Vinegar and Fennel Seeds

Judith sent plum (made with fruit her brother grew) and candied jalepenoes

Meg sent Strawb/Rhubarb/onion which is her idea of heaven as chutney got her jammin' in the first place, and peach/blueberry

Liz sent low sugar mixed berry, and pluot.

Gina sent peach-lime jam, and one of peach preserves with pinot noir and cinnamon

Elizabeth sent pluot jam and a mixed berry jam. Leslie sent a blueberry lime (that lasted all of 3 days maybe), a salsa and a peach blueberry jam.

Lisa sent Strawberry Syrup (email me if you want the recipe she sent it to me) Mixed Berry Jam - From the Ball Pectin Box (strawberries, raspberries, cherries, and blueberries). & Pirate Peaches

Tracy sent strawberry-vanilla bean jam and bread & butter pickles to my partner. And, I received white peaches & saffron jam and a gorgeous strawberry jam with dark chocolate and cocao nibs!!

Doug sent white peaches with saffron jam!

Stephanie sent Microwave Citrus Marmalade and Wild Quebec Blueberry jam, and received from Betty Blackberry and Peach-Cherry jams as well as some candied jalapeno slices and tomato jam!

Kelly sent Strawberry habanero jam and raspberry chocolate sauce.

Amanda ended up getting a jar of Ginger Blueberry and a jar of Strawberry Rhubarb!

Connie sent Apricot Pineapple, Strawberry and Rachel-Berry Jam! And I sent to three peeps!




Michelle had two partners
Partner #1:
I sent Brandied Fig Jam and Ginger-Peach Jam to Carla V. in Maryland
And I received savory Onion Marmalade and luscious Ginger-Pear Jam from her.
Partner #2:
I sent Brandied Fig Jam and Strawberry-Pineapple Jam to Jeri in Alaska. (due to a family illness her partner hasn't been able to send jam back yet)



Carolyn sent Blueberry Bourbon Jam

April sent Lime curd and Strawberry Jam made with Apple pectin


Michelle sent peach habanero chutney, cherry jam, and a plum jam

Yossy sent Mixed Berry, Apricot, and Plum jam!

Danielle sent Cherry Vanilla Bean Jam and Yellow Tomato Jam

Your email will never be displayed publicly, so don't be scared to comment! :)Oh and make sure you type in your blog link so I can click over to you! There is a spot you can type it in.

Jam Exchange Sign Up Time!!!

Thanks to the over 100 people who signed up this year! If you missed the deadline make sure to come back next year!!

It's that time of year again, jam making time!!!! I've gotten a few emails from previous entrants and a few newbies who want to join in on the fun! I'm so excited to host this again and can't wait to see what people come up with this year!



Here are the "rules"

1. You do NOT need to have a blog to participate! Everyone is welcome to join in!
2. You must be willing to mail two 1/2 pint jars of any kind of jam your little heart desires to your given person. (yes they can both be the same kind of jam)
   
3. You must sign up with me so I can make sure to pair you with someone! Email me at stephchows (at) gmail (dot) com with the following:
   Your name and mailing address
   Blog URL if you have one (see rule 1... you DO NOT need one)
   If you would be ok with mailing internationally (most likely just to Canada) or if you want to stick domestic (USA) (totally ok either way you choose) I figure if you agree to ship international, I'll pair someone international to send back to you so it's a fair trade.
   
4. If you would like your jam included in the final roundup email me a picture of it and a link to a blog entry if you have one up, or just email me to let me know what you sent/received.

Deadline to send me your info: August 11th (my birthday!)
I will contact you with your jam partner by August 22nd
You have until September 10th to mail said jam to said person. You can mail as early as you like though, so if you have your jam ready to go on the 22nd when I email you... go for it and mail it! Or if you are a procrastinator... wait till the 10th to mail it... either way works :) Just please make sure to mail it so no one is left out!

What's that? You've never made jam before? Well then this is a darn good excuse to learn right? Read more about my adventures in jammin' here.

OH and feel free to grab the image above and blog about the exchange to get the word out there and more peeps involved :) Just link back to me :) Or you can tweet about it... or facebook... or do smoke signals... whatever floats your boat :)

Ready... set... GO!!!!

Your email will never be displayed publicly, so don't be scared to comment! :)

2nd annual jam roundup!

Thank you everyone for joining this years jam exchange! Jams and jellies were made, sent, and devoured!! As for the stats, 34 participants hailing from the US, Canada, and the UK! I haven't heard back from everyone involved so if you aren't on the list comment to let us know what you sent or what you got! Thanks again for the huge success!!

The first person to sign up for the exchange was Val from Good Morning Sussigkeit so I had to pair myself with her! She sent me a cherry preserve (YUMMM) and a blueberry lemon grass infused jam (haven't opened it yet but I bet it's amazing!) I sent her some apricot jam, blueberry jam... and one other which I'm blanking on.. whoops!


Tanya sent out Rhubarb BBQ sauce, Pirate Peaches (those sound amazing), and Blueberry Syrup YUM!!!! Her partner Betty of Scrambled Hen Fruit sent her Blackberry Jam with Apple Pectin, Habanero Gold Jelly, and also some Spiced Apple Butter.


Lori of Finding Radiance sent rhubarb ginger jam and a pear cranberry jam! Her partner Dina of Known by Name sent her blueberry jam and a marion berry.

Beth from The Seventh Level of Bordom sent "Blackberry Shiraz, and one of my Mango Habañero. After making the Blueberry Lavender, I couldn’t resist including a jar of that as well"

to Cathy from The Bread Experience who sent her Cantaloupe Preserves with Cinnamon.

Anna of Blondies Cakes sent vanilla bourbon peach jam and watermelon jam.




She was partnered with Evan of Sweete Bakes who sent her Three Pepper Jam and Blackberry Blueberry Port jam!

Mireya of Pearls & Such sent Strawberry Jam and Tayberry jam

to Leslie of Spilling Buckets who sent her Cinnamon Peach Jam, Spiced Blueberry Peach Jam, and a BONUS can of Salsa!


Steve sent Mulberry and cranberry jelly, ginger plum, and apple jelly! And according to Jeanne he also sent her some green fig preserves!
Jeanne of The Wrong Century sent him "Pear jam, peach jam, blueberry jam and cucumber sula. (Cucumber Sula is a family recipe that makes a relish. I don't love it, but the rest of my family does...)" AND she made him a nifty dish cloth!

Lindsay from uncanny sent Rosemary Apple Cider Jelly and a jar of Sour Cherry and Walnut Conserve. Avalee from The Wooden Spoon sent her Blueberry Thyme Jam and Bittersweet Marmelade.

Danielle from One Green Tomato sent homemade grape jelly and organic strawberry jam

Denise and Melissa LaCaille from Twin Tables sent her blueberry, strawberry and peach jam.

Brenna had this to say about what she sent and received "Drunken Fig jam recipe I found online, but altered just a tad. The second was a Strawberry Fig jam. The figs were grown in my garden. Figs like to ripen on my tree all at once, so each year I am bombarded with several pounds of figs, and not enough people to give them away to. This year I decided to can them, and the result is fabulous. My partner (Krystal of Special K Treatment) sent me some tomato ginger jam, which she recommends spreading on warm pita with baked brie. I've had it as a dressing on a muenster and portabella sandwich, which was very tasty indeed. "

Steph (aka my old roomie) sent apricot jam, cherry jelly and strawberry rhubarb to Christie of Sandwichhoss who sent her Peach Butter, a jar of my overly-vanilla-y apricot jam, and a jar of the hopelessly seedy peach-raspberry jam!

Joy of Joy's Misadventures sent Fig Jam and homemade nutella!!!

She sent them to Brandi of Bran Appetit who sent her two jars of blueberry jam, one made with sugar and one made with agave!

Mike from Food Muse sent apricot and blueberry jam. Beth sent him raspberry jam and a red pepper jelly!

Doug from Javaholic sent strawberry lemongrass jam.

Kimberly who is currently going through the craziness of starting law school (congrats!!) will be sending him some home made maple syrup!! YUM!

To the 6 others who joined in but I didn't hear back from, I hope you had a fabulous experience and a great time!

I've also had a request to make the exchange a little later in the season so more people have time to pick different fruit, sounds like a good idea to me, what do you all think for next year??

I've also had requests for a cookie exchange around the holidays (last years was great!)... anyone interested in doing another one this year??