strawberry jam

Have you ever wanted to try your hand at jam- but got discouraged because every recipe called for a gazillon pounds of fruit? Yeah, me too. So, I got this nifty little book- “Small Batch Preserving” by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard. It’s great-you can make an assortment of things without going broke at the produce stand. Yay!

Now, y’all know we have been real busy picking strawberries here….

yum…

dad got up in it too!

now…. what to do with the “harvest”

JAM!

I like a chunky jam-so I just sliced my berries. You can chop them, if you want. * recipe will be posted at end

I have used both a boiling water canner and a stream canner. Okay, okay, I know steam canners have some bad press on the internet- but they have good press, too. I don’t use mine to can/preserve low acid foods. I mainly do pickles, sauce and jams. I love that it’s quicker and WAY more energy efficient…. not to mention processes the items just fine. I ♥ my canner. One of the best gifts from the hubster. 🙂

This recipe gave me 3 -250ml jars of gorgeous and yummy jam. Perfect. Check out the color, too. That’s all natural baby! Woo-hoo!

This is it in action. Sweet, huh?!

Here’s how to do it.

From the book, Small Batch Preserving

4 c strawberries

2 cups sugar

Place in a medium stainless or enamel saucepan. Stand for 8 hours, stirring occasionally.

Bring to a boil over med heat, add 1/4 c lemon juice and return to a boil. Boil rapidly for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and allow to stand for 24hrs.

Bring berries to a full boil over high heat once more , boil 5 minutes- stirring constantly.

Skim off any foam.

Ladle* into sterilized jars and process 10 minutes.

*leave proper head space, (1/2″) remove any air bubbles by sliding a knife along the glass and food. Wipe the jar rim and top with lid that has been in simmering water, apply ring so it is fingertip tight.

I assume if you own a canner, you are already familiar with how to use it- pleas go by manufacturer’s directions in processing.

We also picked tomatoes that day…. wait till y’all see what I did with those babies!

Check out the size of that cabbage. HUGE. (we weren’t allow to pick that, though…)