Strawberry Weekend

Sweet little red berries...You were on sale. So...I bought 16 lbs of you. What to do, what to do? My sister flat out refused to buy one of my containers of strawberries. Apparently she doesn't need to make strawberry jam.  You may wonder why I bought so many...ummm...it's hard to remember quantities when you haven't made something for an entire year.  I thought jam took many more strawberries than it actually does.  Oops.  Oh well.  The mass quantities of strawberries turned out for the best.

Strawberry Adventures Numero Uno

That would be Strawberry Jam.  Yum!!  When my Young were very young, they weren't into jam.  In fact...they flat out refused to eat it.  Peanut Butter, Honey or plain butter were there toppings of choice for bread items.  Now though, they can't get enough of jam.  At least the pink kinds.  So, mass quantities of strawberry jam are needed.

Okay, here's the thing about making jam...I always screw it up.  But...here's the good news, even though I screw up...it almost always turns out okay in the end.  Soooo...no need to worry too extensively.  Here's the deal:  I always think I've read the instructions, because I only use the recipe included in the MCP box...but then I'll come to a step and realize...I've screwed it up already!?!?!  What the...  Okay.  I'd like to say it's because they have their steps in a funny order... which they do, but also, I just go too fast.  So here are my tips for making strawberry freezer jam...which is the best jam.  It tastes just like fresh fruit.  So good!

1.  Buy MCP pectin.  The reason for this is, it uses Corn syrup in it's recipe.  If you buy Sure Gel, which doesn't you're bound to have gritty jam.  And nobody wants gritty jam....trust me on this, I know from experience.

2.  Read the datgum instructions 3 times at least.  You're going to think that you need to add the sugar right away because it instructs you to measure it.  Don't.  Just measure it and step away from the sugar.

3.  Make sure to stir thoroughly after you've added the pectin and stir every 5 minutes or so.  I don't think I've ever fully incorporated the pectin to the fruit mixture.  Typically what happens is I forget to stir it every 5 minutes and then I have pectin lumps.

4.  Ignore the instructions that tell you to stir until all sugar has been dissolved.  Until its had time to set, the sugar is not going to fully dissolved.  You will spend your entire evening stirring if you think it's going to dissolve...it won't.    Also, try not to have a complete fit when you are adding the sugar to the jam....it's a lot.

5.  Try and remember where your funnel is.  As I only use it at canning time it tends to disappear sometime in January thanks to my assistant chefs who like to use real kitchen equipment.  I still don't know where it is.

6.  Make sure your bottles and lids are washed before you start.  Yeah...I always forget this step too.

7.  Buy some lemon juice.  Inevitably I will have left my lemon juice out after using it and will have none and will be eyeball deep in fruit just begging for some lemon juice.  Thanks sis for the save on this one!

8.  Jar your jam in half pint jars.  I recommend this because I don't feel that I can go through an entire pint of jam in a reasonable amount of time.  I would rather have a smaller quantity at a time.

9.  Making homemade strawberry jam is easy.  And it's so much tastier than store bought.  And...it really doesn't take all that much time because this is freezer jam.  It's quick.  I promise.

After you remember all this.....

Sweet happiness in little jars.

And this...

Smiles from the kidlettes because of the sweet yumminess you yourself have provided.

Here's a little peak of what I'm working on for my Youngest.    Love the little turtles.

Thanks for reading!!  More strawberry fun to come!!

Heather