You know that I'm a little crunchy.
Do you know what crunchy means? I'll tell you, just in case. It's the movement to live in the most healthy and environmentally friendly way. The following terms are commonly associated with crunchy people: vegetarians, conservationists, environmentalists, tree huggers, liberals, nature enthusiasts, earthy, organic, home gardeners, natural living, gentle discipline... are you getting the idea?
I say that I'm a little bit crunchy because there are some things that I just can't get into. Like cloth reusable menstrual pads. Reusable means that you wash it out and reapply it, you know? I'm not into that. And not vaccinating my kid? No, thanks. We're joining the inoculated masses, thanks. And homeschooling? Um, no. I'm a public school teacher because I believe in the system. I'm not saying that these things are bad, necessarily, they're just not for me.
Now that you know what I'm talking about, I'll go on. I want my food to be grown as organically and as close to our little abode as possible. It tastes better, it's more nutritious, and it's so much cheaper. A couple of weeks ago, I packed up my husband and the baby, and we found a local berry farm. We picked 8 quarts of our own black and red raspberries. On the way home, we stopped at a produce stand and purchased some cherries from another local farm. We got home, cleaned the berries and the cherries, and then I made jam.
I was hesitant to post about this because all of my friends are impressed with my jam-making. Once they find out how easy it is, they'll not be impressed any more.
The first batch of jam was plain old black raspberry jam. Joe started out by mashing the berries with my potato masher. He also attempted to strain out the seeds, but that was a big ole pain in the arse, so he quit after a few cups. I measured 6 cups of mashed berries into a large non-Teflon pan. According to the low sugar Sure Jell box, I needed 4 cups of sugar, too, so I measured that out and left it in a bowl next to the stove. I mixed the Sure Jell with ½ cup of the sugar, so it wouldn't clump, and I dumped that little bit of stuff into the berries. After mixing it, I turned it on high.
Here comes the only difficult part. I had to stir the berries constantly until they boiled. It took 15 minutes or more. If I quit stirring, even for a few seconds, the berries bubbled up and splattered. Once the hard boiling started, the recipe said to add the rest of the sugar, mix well, and boil it for another 10 minutes. Once I did that, I removed it from the heat, skimmed the berry foam into a glass bowl, and immediately put it into hot half pint jars, put the lids on the jars, and screwed on the rings.
I was supposed to get 7 jars, but I got 9. Bonus!
The last step was to get a water bath going, and boil the jars in the water for 7 to 10 minutes. Once that was done, I put them on a cooling rack with a towel underneath and overtop and let them sit for 24 hours.
I made a second batch of jam with sweet cherries and black raspberries together and then a third batch with strawberries.
When I was finished with all of the jam, I had three glass bowls full of jam/foam that we're currently using for spreading on bread and mixing with our oatmeal. It is so much better than the grocery store stuff that it's unbelievable.
Next on my list - blueberry jam and peach butter.
queenoftheclick says
First, I am so jealous. Second, thank you for making it sound so easy and less secretive. I just wrote about my obsession with learning to can preserves and other items. I am gettinbg closer to learning this. I feel like it is a hidden secret that everyone online knows and I don't know because no one does it in NYC>
I can almost picture your beautiful raspberry/cherry jam. I imagine it must be delicious.
queenoftheclick says
First, I am so jealous. Second, thank you for making it sound so easy and less secretive. I just wrote about my obsession with learning to can preserves and other items. I am gettinbg closer to learning this. I feel like it is a hidden secret that everyone online knows and I don't know because no one does it in NYC> I can almost picture your beautiful raspberry/cherry jam. I imagine it must be delicious.
queenoftheclick says
Oh I am a teacher too! I teach middle school students computer skills.
queenoftheclick says
Oh I am a teacher too! I teach middle school students computer skills.
Heather @ Not a DIY Life says
My mom used to make homemade jam ALL the time when I was a kid! And the reason it is "jam" not "jelly" is the seeds, so no need to strain them, unless it's personal preference!
And I try to be a little crunchy, but I'm not into the reusable feminine products either. Ew.
Mmmmm. I'm drooling over the thought of fresh berry jam.
Heather @ Not a DIY Life says
My mom used to make homemade jam ALL the time when I was a kid! And the reason it is "jam" not "jelly" is the seeds, so no need to strain them, unless it's personal preference!And I try to be a little crunchy, but I'm not into the reusable feminine products either. Ew.Mmmmm. I'm drooling over the thought of fresh berry jam.
jskell911 says
Oh I want some! Sounds delicious. I really need to learn to can.
jskell911 says
Oh I want some! Sounds delicious. I really need to learn to can.
ahorne says
Oh how beautiful... I gotta tell you... I considered cherry jam for all our cherries.... but I've never made it before and was worried I'd mess it up.
I am also a public school teacher with a little crunch in me too. Sometimes my crunchiness bugs my hubby, but he gets over it. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your jam!
ahorne says
Oh how beautiful... I gotta tell you... I considered cherry jam for all our cherries.... but I've never made it before and was worried I'd mess it up. I am also a public school teacher with a little crunch in me too. Sometimes my crunchiness bugs my hubby, but he gets over it. :)Thanks for sharing your jam!
Tara says
Heather - These black raspberries are very seedy. The unstrained jam is pretty crunchy. 🙂 Pun intended.
Tara says
Heather - These black raspberries are very seedy. The unstrained jam is pretty crunchy. 🙂 Pun intended.
Donielle says
We just got done with strawberry season and I canned a dozen jars or so of jam and now we're on to blueberries and cherries. Can't wait to stock my basement with homemade goodies for the whole next year!
-and re-usables, no thanks! I may be crunchy, but not that crunchy!
Donielle says
We just got done with strawberry season and I canned a dozen jars or so of jam and now we're on to blueberries and cherries. Can't wait to stock my basement with homemade goodies for the whole next year!-and re-usables, no thanks! I may be crunchy, but not that crunchy!
julia says
don't you just love what you've learned about yourself since becoming a mom? things you never thought you'd do or enjoy. 🙂
julia says
don't you just love what you've learned about yourself since becoming a mom? things you never thought you'd do or enjoy. 🙂