Jamming in Berryland

Berries are what we picked this year in both May and again in August.  Since I made so much jam last year before the price of peanut butter went through the roof causing us to eat fewer PBJ’s I still have some strawberry jam left from then.  Because of that I still had bags of strawberries picked this year in my freezer, some of which were used on this jam making day.

This beautiful colander of strawberries was picked in May on my birthday.  I love the colors and hues.  We hadn’t had much rain and so many farms around here lost their crop but we found one farm irrigating well enough to grow some strawberries.  This type grows small and are fairly seedy but they were fresh and delicious.  Remember that the berries were smaller due to lack of rain and I had “help” picking so the picture on the right shows the fun variety of shapes and sizes I found in our baskets.  Because of the smallness of their size in general I found that it took me three days of every spare moment I had to get through washing and hulling these berries.  My husband took pity after his grades were turned in and chipped in on day 3 as I was trying to pack bags for seven people to go on a trip the next day.

The sun ripened strawberries received my children’s seal of approval.

These are the raspberries and remaining blackberries in the field which we picked in mid-August on a different farm.  Again there weren’t too many places offering berries.  Most farmers around seemed to have lost their crops of berries entirely.  The raspberries weren’t going to be much good for freezing or even just eating for very long because it had been so hot and most were beyond ripened.  “Jamming” was in order and soon.

Bubbling hot berries above created 20 pints of raspberry, double berry and triple berry jams.
I made three kinds of jam with what I had on hand.  First I made a batch of plain raspberry jam.  Then I made a raspberry blackberry jam with lemon.  I had a little left over from that and put it in the fridge.  Then I still had some berries left but not enough for another batch of jam SO I made a mixed berry jam of fresh raspberries and some of the strawberries waiting in my freezer with lemon and butter.  What was left of this I mixed with the raspberry blackberry for one final jar of “Triple Berry”.  Now I love raspberry jam but I have to say that the raspberry-blackberry with lemon and the raspberry-strawberry with lemon and butter is absolutely out of this world.  In the mixed berry jams I added the zest of one lemon and the juice of one squeezed lemon to each batch.  Up to a teaspoon of butter may be used per batch in the pot of bubbling berries to prevent foaming (which you are supposed to skim off otherwise) and it actually works creating a better product.  The end results were addicting!  And the berries were just the right ripeness that their natural pectin created a  wonderful gel by itself.  My kids simply cannot get enough of this jam on bread or pancakes for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  My husband told me I’d better hurry and write down what it was I did this time before I forget and so I can replicate it next time.  The only thing slowing down the consumption here… several jars left of last year’s strawberry jam to get through first now.  And once that is gone and the weather cools some more I will make some more strawberry jam with the berries still waiting in my freezer that are so good in breakfast smoothies.  Maybe I’ll add lemon to that too!