Each person should judge his own actions and not compare himself with others. Then he can be proud for what he himself has done. Galatians 6:4

Tuesday, July 01, 2008


This weekend we went Strawberry Picking.... I love this time of year because the garden is in the ground, kids are out of school.. and lazy days can happen.... UNLESS you decided to CAN!
Christmas this year will more than likely be smaller than last year due to oil prices rising. So this year I am making Strawberry Jam for some Christmas Gifts ( If I can get it to last that long!)

I decided to show you a way to make strawberry Jam and can it! So today's post will probably be Picture heavy! So bare with me!! I'm an extremely visual person.. so If I missed something.. don't be afraid to ask!



First I take the strawberry's and hull them.. and then wash them up!


Then that handy dandy potato masher that you have stored on display because it's old and cute is now usable to mash up your strawberries ( recipe will follow)

One your Strawberries are mashed up.. you put them in a BIG pot

Then add your sugar and lemon juice


Here's where you patience and waiting begins.. you have to boil down the strawberry's and sugar.. and boil.. and boil.. and boil!!!

After some time you can "test" the Jam... The three glass plates that you have put in the freezer ( the recipe will tell you this).. Take one out and put a TBSP of the jam on it and put it back in the freezer.. If you run your finger down the plate and it runs with it.. it's not ready...


Go back to boiling.. and boiling... Now if you take out another plate and you do the same thing and your finger runs through it and it separates and doesn't go back to "sliding" down.. it's ready!! I am holding this plate straight up..( I made a little mess doing it.. sorry)


Now here is where you get to see what some of grandmother's tools were used for... and NO this is not a donut cutter!! This is a funnel that helps you keep all your contents nice and clean while guiding it into the jars.. ( Your jars should be STERILIZED and never re-use the CAP on the rings)

This handy dandy tool is used to put the jars in the water and take them out.. ( to much steam to show you the process) I water bathed them for about 15 minutes... when they are pulled out of the water you can hear the can tops just POP!!! After about 15 minutes if you touch the top and it bounces back.. it's not sealed properly and you can put it back in the water.. if it does NOT seal properly.. do NOT fear.. you can store this Jam in the fridge to be used right away!

The End result....



DELICIOUS AND PRETTY!!

INGREDIENTS

* 2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled
* 4 cups white sugar
* 1/4 cup lemon juice

DIRECTIONS

1. In a wide bowl, crush strawberries in batches until you have 4 cups of mashed berry. In a heavy bottomed saucepan, mix together the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice. Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to high, and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil, stirring often, until the mixture reaches 220 degrees F (105 degrees C). Transfer to hot sterile jars, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch headspace, and seal. Process any unsealed jars in a water bath. If the jam is going to be eaten right away, don't bother with processing, and just refrigerate.

To test for jelling

Place three plates in a freezer... after about 10 minutes of boiling place a tsp of the liquid of the jam onto the cold plate. Return to freezer for a minute. Run your finger through the jam on the plate... if it doesn't try to run back together (if you can make a line through it with your finger) it's ready to be canned!


And I wanted to Show you how the Garden is GROWING!!! I picked the Romaine lettuce today and had a wonderful salad using the fresh eggs we gathered this morning!


These are peas!!

My Romaine lettuce



Our eggs and lettuce

More peas.. Aren't the flowers pretty!!

Again.. ANY questions.. ASK AWAY!! I'm always here to help!

21 comments:

i_am_4given said...

Terri,
That jam looks absolutely awesome!!! But how much does that recipe make??? I am just asking because I think that is a great idea for Christmas, and if I pick strawberries this week with the boys, I would like to have an idea of how many to pick...

thanks,
Ronnie

Krystyn @ Really, Are You Serious? said...

Super cute jam jars...are you going to be sending me some, too? Looks delicious.

We can only seem to find seedless jam here..yuck!

♥Lisa and The Pug Posse ♥ said...

YUM YUM YUM to that Jam!
I just went to Beaver Pond Farms and picked up the BIGGEST strawberries ever! ( too lazy to go Strawberry Picking lately...) Did you go to Peachblow ??

Mere said...

Those look AMAZING!!! My grammy cans EVERYTHING! I'm going to show this to her!! Thanks for sharing!!

Love ya! Mere

. said...

I love making jam. I just finished strawberry and raspberry last week. Mmmmmm.

jayedee said...

next time you make jam, tip a little bit of real vanilla extract into it......it's wonderful stuff! even better with blueberry and cherry jam too!
i'm jealous odf your garden. mine is completely done for the moment. i've started turning the chickens out into it to start cleaning it up for fall. they think they've died and gone to heaven!

Our Creative Day said...

Wow -- what a GREAT post! I had no idea making jam was that simple (so it looks). What a great Christmas gift idea!!!

Maizie @ 2Peas

Susanne said...

My mouth is just watering! Looks so good.

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for the recipe I am going to try and make it looks so yummy!

Jess said...

Thank you for the great jam recipe...I'm going to take the kids strawberry picking for a 2nd time...hoping to pick lots more than the last...I will be following your recipe picture to picture...how fun!!! Thanks for visiting my blog....but I must tell you....our visit to the orchard was to toast the blossoms! Just another reason to enjoy some wine (and apple cider donuts)!!! Cheers! -jess

Miss French Jessica said...

Now I wish I had room to put canned stuff. We're clearing out as much as humanly possible in our tiny house so I can start making jams etc. as well. I need to start on a garden one of these days, but I'm afraid I'm not as disciplined as I'd need to be to actually grow a garden. Maybe next year. Your jam looks delish! :D

Tam said...

Wow Wow....you amaze me! Did you do this stuff when your kids were like 2 and 4 because I can not hardly manage to get through just their regular 3 meals much any extracuricilar food thingys....lol
Do I have to wait until they are OLDER to attempt these things. LOL

Anyway HI just STALKING YOU as usual!

Unknown said...

What a great tutorial. Now if I only had some berries...

Megan {The Brick Bungalow} said...

Saw your page on Amanda's site, and your jelly looks so good! I'm jealous of your pretty pea flowers. Our's were just white. This is the first year my hubby and I have had a garden (it's a really small one, but we're starting!), and our peas did not do so well. Glad to hear your garden is going great. Love the photos!

And for the jam - shouldn't the lid make the "pop" sound when it's ready? I was confused.

XUE said...

I love flip-flops - the word & the item. I find it incredible that you made the strawberry jam, stop to take all these pictures & then blog about it! Incredible as all these took time - and a frazzled mother like me would truly appreciate your effort!

aimee said...

The jam looks divine!!! Strawberry fields are one of the biggest reasons I miss California.

Kerry McKibbins said...

You, my friend are amazing. I feel like I could make jam now. The jars look so cute!

Cris said...

I admire your patience girl, I truly do. LOL

Unknown said...

saw the jam recipe, and was just wondering, fi you used pectin at all in there. i know everywhere i read says you have to, and just wondering. if you didn't, does it jell up just fine without it. if so, i would love to know, so i don't have to buy the pectin.

do you make any other jams this way, without the pectin.

Unknown said...

h

Kaye said...

I have a question...am I on your Christmas gift list?? I want some homemade jam!!!