Hi Everyone!!!!!!! I hope all of you are doing well!
We are doing well. We have been keeping very busy.
These longer days have been keeping me outside longer, for which I am thankful.
More time outside equates to less time with all of you though.
Over the weekend we hit some yard sales. Found some good deals.
We planned our route so we would be in the area of the LOCAL berry farm.
We came home from there with 11 quarts of strawberries.
These berries are much bigger, sweeter and juicier than last years berries.
YUM!!!!!!
We made strawberry jam.
There are 12 half pints and 12 pints sitting on the counter, with another pint or so sitting in the fridge!
We won't eat it all ourselves. Some of it will be set back to be given as gifts now and again at Christmas!
I sure am thankful Jim likes to help in the kitchen!!
Making the jam as a team is definitely a lot easier and more enjoyable!
We used the recipe straight from the Ball Blue Book of Canning!
Strawberry Jam
yield: about 8 half pints
2 quarts strawberries
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 package powdered pectin
7 cups sugar
Wash strawberries; drain. Remove stems. Crush strawberries one layer at a time. Combine strawberries, powdered pectin and lemon juice in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Return to a ROLLING boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust two piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling water canner.
***have no fear if you can't find the "one package of powdered pectin." It seems they are now selling this pectin in containers. 6 tbsp of the stuff in the container is equivalent to one "old" box. /sigh ***
Here's a look at the jam cooking away.
It turns such a vibrant red once the sugar is added.
Oh and...the house smelled AMAZING!!!!
Here's the end result...
It was gloomy most of the weekend or I would have taken a picture of ALL
of the jars lined up.
I think of our filled jars as works of art!
Look at how pretty!!!
We cleaned up the sticky mess and relaxed with a bowl of ice cream with some of the "too much for another jar" leftovers. YUM!!!!!
Thanks for stopping by and starting your week off with this sweet treat!!!!
~Jen
I think I can actually taste your delicious jam...YUMMY!!! My husband likes to help in the kitchen too, we are blessed women. Hugs, Dawn
ReplyDeleteI apologize for not being over here sooner. I just came to the realization that I can't rely on Google Reader. I'd gone through all the "new" posts according to them and yours never showed up except for today's post about your crisp. So, I am backtracking to catch up. Shame on Google....but at least I know now.
ReplyDeleteYour jam looks marvelous! I bet the house smelled GREAT! Too bad you couldn't bottle that for room spray!
I've been wanting to make rhubarb jam but don't have enough yet. Of course, if I'd quit making other stuff out of it I probably would! LOL! I think I'll look up a recipe today and see how much I need. I may just have to freeze it until I get enough. I wish I was on your Christmas list! LOL! Have a great weekend!