As I was making the jam, I contemplated that I could have bought the cooked jam for around a dollar a jar, so I was spending way more money making it than I would buying it. However, I feel very strongly about teaching my children to cook and having them help to make jam enables them to make it themselves when they grow up. The other good point about making the freezer jam, is that you can't buy it!
The kids brought some jars of jam to school and their teachers were very appreciative. One teacher even drives into the mountain every year to buy homemade strawberry jam. I felt amazed that she wouldn't just make it herself! (although the trip to the mountains must be a fun tradition)
Lest you think that I am a great jam maker, let me share how on my first batch, trying to save time, I doubled it... It boiled over on the stove and smelled so horribly. The house was full of smoke and kids fleeing with little ones in their arms... (too bad I don't have a picture of that!) Lesson learned.. DON'T DOUBLE the jam unless you have a huge pot (mine was big - 6 quarts, but not big enough). The smoke cleared and the smell evaporated and after an hour of cleaning the stove, the jam making session continued without any issues. (The pictures were taking by Kathleen and David)
Carina and Kathleen cleaning and smashing the strawberries
Measuring the strawberry pulp
Stirring the jam on the stove (not the first batch!)
Skimmed off foam - yummy
Pouring the jam into the jars before the water bath
1 comment:
Well, homemade jam certainly tastes better, cooked variety or freezer. So it's way worth spending the money, unless you are going to spill it all over your stove. =D But Mom made jam all the time and it didn't do much in the way of teaching me to cook... I promptly forgot most everything she taught me in the kitchen. Oh well, at least I was well-fed while I lived at home.
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