workin on wednesday - i was jammin

last night i was a jammer...

you know, a maker of jam... lots and lots of jam.  i did a batch of red raspberry and a batch of strawberry.  if i wouldn't have gotten so tired i was going to attempt a small batch of fig, something i have never done before.

i started with the red raspberries. (look at the size of that fruit.)  we picked up the berries at a fruit stand on the way home from the lake house trip this weekend.  i had to get the berries made into jam quickly because red raspberries just don't last long.

i washed the berries making sure to remove the over ripened fruit.

at the same time i started heating up my lids.  (when heating, make sure to alternate the direction of the lids when putting them in the pot (one up, one down) so they don't all stick together.  you want to have them in hot water - but not so hot that it is boiling.)

next i took my just washed jars and filled them with boiling water.  this does two things for you.  1.  it makes sure your jars are hot, hot, hot when you add your hot jam - this helps in the sealing of the jars.  2.  the boiling water in the jars makes sure your jars are clean and sterile which is crucial when canning anything.

then my berries went into the pot and i stirred in my sugar.  then i just stood, stirring, and stirring.

after my jam started to set up i carefully ladled it into the hot jelly jars, wiped it clean, added a lid and hand tightened the screw on lid.  then into the hot water bath they went for 10 minutes.

when i pull them out of the hot water bath i set them on a dish towel and cover them with another dish towel so they can cool slowly.

once i had all of the raspberry done... it was time to move on to the flat of strawberries i had in the fridge.

after cutting strawberries up for what seemed like forever - it was time to start the canning process all over again.

into the pot the strawberries went, cup by cup.

thank goodness JD was helping me because canning can be messy, especially with red fruit.  it is defiantly best to try and keep things cleaned up as you go.  with 2 flats of fruit and a few hours of work we now have home made jam for the rest of the year.

i make small jars of the jam because i like to give it as house warming presents with freshly baked bread and as a home made thank you gift.

this jam maker was happy to have the jellies complete so she could go to bed.  (isn't my owl apron cute!)