Jam/Jelly
Kudzu Jam/Jelly
4 cups kudzu blossms
4 cups boiling water
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 pkg powdered pectin
5 cups sugar
Wash kudzu blossoms in cold water and place them in a large bowl. Pour
4 cups of boiling water over blossoms and refrigerate overnight. (Water
MUST be boiling or kudzu will take over your refrigerator before
morning.)
Strain liquid over a colander into a Dutch oven, discarding blossoms.
(If you see sprouts, water wasn't hot enough.)
Add lemon juice and pectin; bring to full rolling boil over high heat,
stirring constantly.
Stir in sugar; return to full rolling boil. Boil stirring constantly
for 1 minute. Remove from heat; skim off foam with a metal spoon.
Quickly pour jelly into hot, sterilized jars, filling to 1/4 inch from
top. Wipe jar rims. Cover at once with metal lids. Screw on bands.
Process for 5 minutes in boiling water bath. Cool on wire racks. Makes
6 half pints.
Note: Blossom liquid is brownish grey until lemon juice is added.
Source: Southern Living, 1998
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Someone must have asked about 'kudzu', there were two replies:
One anonymous.......
Kudzu is a vine native to Japan which was introduced to the southeastern United States in
1876. It was first used as an ornamental shade plant and later as an erosion control ground cover.
Due to its' rapid growth, it can quickly overrun anything in its' path. In 1948 it was estimated
that kudzu was growing on 500,000 acres in the Southeast. By 1948 the acreage in Georgia alone was
480,000. Under ideal conditions, kudzu can grow 1 foot per day and up to
100 feet in a single growing season.
Here is a picture:Kudzu
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....... and one from Blake
I thought you'd never ask. It is a vine , native to Japan, that was
imported to US in the 30's to try to stop erosion. It grows 10 feet a
day and covers telephone poles, trees, houses, barns, livestock if they
stand still, roads, and anything else in its path. Nothing kills it.
Nobody knows what to do with it. Probably killer bees will help
pollinate it when they get here, and fire ants will build nests in its
roots.
Scientists have tried to find some use for it. Cooks are doing the same.
Wanna try some?
Blake