I found this in the archives and it cracked me up. We allotted 1 pint every 2 weeks. Now, with 10 of us, we use 1 pint in a single lunch of PB&Js.
Old bath towels are great for covering the countertops when canning. No worries about making a mess! This is where we were crushing the berries and that is all of the foam we scraped off after boiling.
Our filling station and some of the finished product.
This is called working double time.
I’m spending the day with my Mom and sister today. We met at our favorite berry farm just after 8 AM and started picking. 30 pounds of strawberries later we headed for home. My Mom hulled all those berries while my sister and I went to Meijer for more pectin. Of course we also stopped by the bathing suit section, etc., etc. but we finally made it back home.
That’s when the fun began. We had a pretty good assembly line going. One would crush, one would stir 2 batches at a time, and the third would manage the canner and jars. We pumped out 2 batches before breaking to attend my cousin’s graduation party. It was nice to see some family that I don’t get to visit with very often.
Back at home the jam making continued. We also sliced some berries to freeze and left the 12# that we picked last week in the freezer for shortcake throughout the year.
All in all, here is our bounty:
If Brian and I used 1 pint every 2 weeks (which we won’t) we would have enough for a whole year plus some for my Mom and sister (who don’t use much) and plenty to give away. I’d say this was a success. 🙂
About half of the finished product.
Do you can your own jams or jellies? Do you do enough for a whole year? This time we went to the U-pick farm but I’m hoping to have enough of our own someday. Does anyone grow all of their own fruit for jam?