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Friday, July 19, 2013

Making Wild Berry Jam (Blog 147)


Bruce has been picking berries every day….. starting with raspberries, a rare and precious fruit, then wineberries, and now on to blackberries.  I rarely pick, leaving the plowing through brush and brambles to him, but once the berries come inside the house I am on deck.

This week I made a batch of blackberry jam.  Boiling the jars to sterilize them, boiling the mashed berries with sugar and pectin to make the jam, boiling the water in the canner to process the jars……at times I was boiling as well. 

Canning brings to mind the memory of my mother working in the relative cool of the basement over an old gas stove, the best spot to do a hot job in the days before air conditioning.  Like she did, I wear an apron to protect my clothes and keep a tea towel to wipe the sweat from my face .
 But the final result is worth the effort.  Little jars of summer, jewel-colored, giving a happy “pop” as they cool from the water bath.  Little jars of joy

3 comments:

  1. Warm and fuzzy Grandmama June memories. Can't wait to learn to can to pass on the tradition.

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  2. I too have done some canning, no jam yet but have canned my fair share of chow chow. I am well aware of the heat and work involved but it's well worth the effort.

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  3. Thank you both for replying. It is a sweaty business doing this but well worth the effort...Elaine

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