We did it. Twenty-two jars of low sugar, honey-sweetened, local, organic strawberry jam! (Insert me dancing around my very messy kitchen here.) Sure, yesterday's dinner dishes are still all of the counters, but there is jam in the pantry!
When I say "we did it" I cheer the kids on for their limited – yet focused – moments of strawberry stemming yesterday. However brief, they did both help. Sage got distracted by the concept of homemade strawberry Jello (something he hand never tasted nor made) so his work was on a project of his own. He did it – from stemming to juicing to cooking to washing up. Impressive that one. As for me, I sat at the table with a grapefruit spoon in one hand and a steady progression of strawberries in the other for hours. Intermissions of making tea, the three of us running outside through the hose and several quick distratcions in the craft room broke up the work and kept the day free and flowing and fun for us all.
That being said, please don't come over and peek into my fridge today. You will find that there are three quarts of berries still sitting there, staring at me, wondering why they are neither in can nor freezer. I had to sleep at some point, so I gave up. I think smoothies are on the menu this morning. Again. Dinner last night was a simple grain-free bread we enjoy with homemade sunflower seed butter, homemade jam, and smooties made from our abundant strawberries. Sage marveled at how "everything but the bananans" were homemade or homegrown or from farms of friends. The yogurt, the seed butter, the jam, the berries, the bread. I like days like that.
A few people have emailed asking how the Tattler lids worked. Here was my experience: I had only enough tattlers for 1/2 of my jam. I politely decided not to steal the box I have set aside for the giveaway this weekend (there was a weak moment of staring at that box thought, I must tell you). So I used the Tattlers that I had plus some conventional BPA containing lids. (How strange that felt.)
Every time I can I have a few failures. A few jars that do not seal, even when using "ordinary" lids. The way I do things this is an ordinary experience, a jar or two finding its way into the fridge or freezer instead of the pantry. This batch was no exception. Worth noting, however, is that all three failures I had were Tattlers. I am suspecting human error since the rubber band is very narrow and if I was sloppy in my technique it might have shifted when I put the tops on. But I wanted you to know that yes, there were some failures, but yes, I'm still investing in more Tattler lids for the rest of my canning season. It just felt too weird canning organic berries with metal lids. "Worth the trouble" is my official word on the Tattler lids.
Today we're off to the lake to swim and play with friends. The dishes can wait. Again.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Welcome July sponsors:
Didymos – exceptional baby carriers
Life Without Plastic – glass and stainless products for your home
Rebourne – recycled and green handmade gear for mother and baby
Continuum Family – natural parenting essentials
Aurora Shoes – handmade leather shoes
WaldorfMama – Knitting and Waldorf inspiration from a mama of my own heart
Sparkle Stories – Audio stories for children and families
Dental Essentials – supplements for a cavity free childhood
Finns and Flowers – Handmade toys from Maine
If you are interested in sponsorship of Clean, do drop me an email and I'll send you the details.
Have a wonderful weekend, friends,
Rachel
Woohoooo! Congratulations on putting so much by already for the seasons to come. Feels SO good to have a stocked pantry from your own labors and harvests instead of from a store. 🙂 Your kids are learning some fabulous lessons, I tell you!
I’ve been wondering about the Tattler lids. I don’t do a lot of canning – tomatoes and jam mostly, but would like a safer, more sustainable option.
Whenever I see (or hear) the old-time methods of making “preserves” as they called them it is inevitably either some sort of wax seal used or a cloth or paper tied down with a string.
I wonder how long they would keep with these and am guessing they had to have a much higher sugar content to do so, but I am intrigued at not needing lids.
(sorry for the tangent)
You could always make a little strawberry liqueur with your remaining berries. . .or come over to my house for some later this season. . .I’m picturing it with an ice cube and some sparkling water. YUM.
Add some strawberries to apple or rhubarb crisp. Freeze strawberries for smoothies.
That jam looks sooo good! I had another One of Those Days, which are the norm for me, and the kids were just fussy and getting on my nerves. I had planned on taking them to the zoo, but decided I didn’t feel like chaperoning their field trip. 😛 Then I decided – why not go pick strawberries? The farm near us lost their crop, and others nearby have ended their season. Darn it!
Now I need to wait for blueberry, raspberry, and peach season.
I decided to make redcurrant and raspberry jam. I had picked quite a lot of raspberries from my wayward raspberry canes but I was still a couple of pounds short.
I also tried the tattler lids for the first time this year. I also had some failures, which I also always have with the metal lids. I will have to get more since I used most of what I already ordered for strawberry jam. Strawberries that I picked from my own organic patch. I love that I can put away food that I grew.
I would love to borrow your book sometime (again). I wonder how honey would modify these recipes…
Rachel
That was the way both of my grandmothers preserved their jam. Waxed tops, then into the root cellar. I wonder too what the sugar content had to be to have a jam keep under this type of preservation.
~ Rachel
Thanks Casey! ~ Rachel
Hi Rachel Wolf,
Casey (casey.umhoefer@gmail.com) has left you a comment:
Woohoooo! Congratulations on putting so much by already for the seasons to come. Feels SO good to have a stocked pantry from your own labors and harvests instead of from a store. 🙂 Your kids are learning some fabulous lessons, I tell you!
Status: Published
Options:
Unpublish
Looks very delicious! I love jams and I love to partner it with bread as my breakfast.
Strawberry jams are my favorite partner for sandwiches. Its the best breakfast every time.