Instructions: First, I ran across an article specifically discussing the Thimbleberry, its scarcity, and how Michigan Keweenaw Peninsula residents are cashing in on it. In particular, there is an inset article on how to make Thimbleberry jam. Not a recipe, but a quick primer! Among other things, the article notes that the Thimbleberry, unlike other berries, contains a natural pectin and thus pectin is not added when making jam.

How to make Thimbleberry jam

Too fragile to be washed, the berries are cleaned by a tedious, painstaking task. Spreading a layer of berries onto a cookie sheet, Perrault carefully picks through them looking for undesirable berries, insects, leaves and debris.

It takes you as long to clean them as it does to pick them, quips Barb, as she carefully examines each tray a total of three times before the berries are mashed in the next step of the process.

The mashed berries are allowed to sit for about 30 minutes to give any previously undetected undesirables a chance to float to the top of the juicy pulp mixture. After one final inspection, the cooking process begins. Barbs recipe calls for equal parts of berries and sugar. The Thimbleberry, unlike other berries, contains a natural pectin. Therefore, no pectin is added to the berry/sugar mixture. The natural pectin doesnt set as firmly as commercial pectin so expect Thimbleberry jam to be a bit looser than other jams, says Perrault.

Pick a sunny day to make your jam. In her many years experience, Perrault has noticed that jams and jellies dont jell on cloudy days, a phenomenon she has confirmed by talking with other jam makers. If a watched pot never boils, in Thimbleberry jam making a watched pot never burns. Even conscientious cooks may sometimes leave a jam recipe heating on the stove unattended and unstirred for a minute or so, usually without ill consequence. However, Thimbleberry jam isnt so forgiving. The mixture requires constant stirring because thimbleberries instantly stick to the bottom of the pan and will quickly burn if left unattended, says Perrault.

After the mixture comes to a boil and starts to "puck," a condition where it thickens and starts to spatter when the vapor bubbles pop, it is boiled three more minutes before being poured into jars.

Thimbleberry jelly is produced following the same steps as the jam except that instead of the entire berry, only the juice is used. Also, pectin is added to this recipe.

To extract the juice from the berries Perrault uses a Scandinavian steamer/ juice extractor called a Mehu-maija. The extractor works on the same principle as the double boiler, but with some modifications. It incorporates a removable stainless steel colander in which the food, in this case the fruit, is placed. The colander fits inside a stainless steel shell that collects the juice. This shell has a small outlet an inch or so from the bottom. As the juice is extracted, it drains from the collection pot through this opening and is transferred via a piece of attached tubing to a stove-side bowl. Just as in a double boiler, the colander/collection shell assembly sits over a pot of boiling water. The steam it generates provides
the heat needed to extract the juice.

Perrault lines the colander with cheesecloth to trap the tiny Thimbleberry seeds which would otherwise fall through the holes in the colander and have to be strained from the juice. The extraction process takes about an hour. Before the Mehu-maija, juice extraction was much more time-intensive. Water was added to the berries. The mixture was boiled for about 20 minutes and then strained through cheesecloth.

In the final step, the filled jars are capped with sterilized lids and immersed in a boiling water bath for two minutes in order to kill any pathogenic or spoilage organisms. The jars of jam or jelly are allowed to cool overnight.

After labeling the jars, the jam maker can sit down and savor the sweet rewards of successfully meeting the challenges of the Thimbleberry.

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