I'm making Strawberry Jam! I am one wild, and crazy lady!
A few weeks ago I went to The Bailey’s Berry Patch to learn how to can, preserve, pickle, dry and freeze fresh fruit and vegetables.
The day was filled with learning, cooking and tasting. I learned how to freeze my fruits and vegetables the right and safe way. I learned how to dry fruits and make my own roll ups and I learned how to make jams.
I tasted fresh made salsa and watched it being canned with the boiling waterbath method. The salsa was excellent. I got to bring a pint of it home and enjoyed it with chips, guacamole and fajitas.
I haven't attempted the waterbath yet, but I have made jam.
My huny loves to eat blackberry anything. Do you know how much a small jar of blackberry jam costs? Jeez!
Although the initial cost was high because I had to buy the freezer jars, in the end the total cost was much lower than buying blackberry jam in the store, and even less than buying organic blackberry jam in the local organic grocery store. I spent about $4.00 for the jars, $1.50 for the fruit pectin, and $1.50 for 5 fresh blackberry tubs.
For the strawberry jam I made tonight, all I had to buy was the strawberries, which ended up at $1.50 a quart for 3 quarts (although I used 2 1/4) for the four cups the recipe calls for and $1.50 for the fruit pectin.
I ended up with 6-8oz jars of blackberry jam and 5-8oz jars of strawberry jam.
We are eating blackberry jam on toast, ice cream, bagels with cream cheese and in peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
I can hardly wait to have the strawberries on bagels. Yum!
Learning how to use what I grow to provide for my family gives me a feeling of goodness in my heart. I'm glad that I can borrow the Earth to grow foods that my family loves and will eat. I am being patient with myself and with the garden and am learning as I go. Every step of this journey in the garden has been a wonderful adventure for me. I encourage you to take a step, no matter how small, to get in the dirt and grow something good for your soul. If it's a vegetable, sit and enjoy the taste of what you grew in your garden. If it's a flower, sit and enjoy the beauty and bloom and enjoy the simple pleasure of watching birds and butterflies enjoy it as well.
Before you know it, you'll be making your own jam and enjoying it with your morning bagel and cup of coffee.
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