How I Make Raspberry Jam

Friday June 21st was a special day-my last day of work of the 2012-13 school year! My darling daughters and I celebrated my last day of work for the summer by going to The Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island to buy berries. I ask you, what is a more perfect way to end the week and start summer break than canning a couple dozen jars of jam? You may have other answers, and that's OK. However, it's perfect for me. It only took me about two hours to can a whole flat of raspberries into delicious raspberry jam, and after the jars are labeled, they will grace the shelves of our pantry's preserves cupboard.

It's very easy to can. For canning jam, I use a waterbath canner. This is simply a large pot filled with water that "processes" jars of high-acid fruit and vegetables using boiling water rather than pressure. Check out the Ball website for lots of great info on the different ways to preserve fruits and veggies.

It's really important to prep your work space prior before your canning adventure gets too far underway. This means, you must have a clean area to work in, and you must WASH and STERILIZE your jars, lids and bands. You also must check out the rims of your jars to ensure there are no cracks or nicks. This could cause your preserves to go to waste or cause botulism (click HERE to learn about how serious botulism is) if jars don't seal properly, and if you are going to all the trouble of canning food that you bought with your hard-earned money-take a little extra time to inspect your jars!

A word about supplies: I would go the extra mile and buy yourself a few canning tools and a clear plastic shoebox (they have them at the dollar store) to put them in. Label it "CANNING TOOLS" and keep them in that box!! This way, when you decide to can, your canning tools are not scattered through the kitchen in who-knows-which-utensil drawer, or in the garage, or even in the laundry room. You would be surprised (or not) where husbands and kids place things they don't think are useful-until they are needed. OK, back to supplies: A ladle is a biggie, as well as a funnel that fits securely on the jars and some heavy duty tongs. The magnetic wand that magically "lifts" the lids and bands out of the water is not completely necessary, tongs do the same thing. And a plastic butter knife works great to get rid of bubbles before sealing your jars.

Now, let's make some jam!

For my raspberry jam, I chose the best looking raspberries and rinsed them off-throwing away berries that were overripe and/or moldy.

Then I mashed them with a potato masher. 

I put the mashed berries in a cookpot with sugar and heated to a boil. The recipe I used calls for 2 cups of sugar to 2 cups of mashed berries, in addition to pectin, which "jells" the jam. The pectin alternative I use is Mary Jane's "Chillover Powder". You are not obligated to use it, but I love it, and it's a great alternative to conventional pectin. You can check out Mary Jane's Chillover Powder at www.maryjanesfarm.com.

Once the berry mixture was boiling, I added the Chillover Powder and stirred it really well for three (3) minutes while it continued to boil. Then I turned off the burner. The mixture was ready to go into the jars!

Notice how the jars are simmering on the back right burner, the lids and bands are simmering on the middle burner, and the canner is heating up on the back left burner. I like to make sure the canning water is boiling once my jam mixture is ready to go into the jars, because they should go into the canner right away once filled!

Now that the berry mixture was ready and I turned off the burner it was cooking on (I'm emphasizing how important it is to NOT continue cooking the berry mixture once it is done), I took my heavy duty tongs, removed the jars from the simmering water, and placed them on the counter on a dishtowel.

I placed the funnel over the jar, and used the ladle to gently fill it to allow for 1/4" headspace. This funnel is marked at 1/4", 1/2" and 3/4" so I don't overfill my jars. Once filled with the berry mixture, I wiped the rims with a damp paper towel, placed the lids on, and screwed the bands on fingertip tight. I used to not understand what "fingertip tight" meant, but what works for me is "tight, but not too tight". You don't want your preserves floating in the canning water if the lids come off during processing!

I gently placed my jars on the rack, lowered it into the boiling water and put the lid on. For this raspberry jam recipe, the processing time was 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes was up, I raised the rack out of the water, and placed the jars on a towel to cool (using a hotpad to move the jars!). The "ping" sound the jars make while cooling signals that the jars have sealed. They will be cool enough to label and store the following day.

My jars cooling on a towel on the table!

Finished product-beautiful red raspberry jam!

Every girl needs a good sharp hoe

It's June, and garden season is in full swing. What else is in full swing? Weeds! They are all over the place-and it takes some persistence to keep 'em at bay. My dad tells me that my Great-Grandma Annie used to wield her garden hoe with a menace-she didn't play around when it came to weeding. Her vegetable garden was a showpiece that provided food for the winter months, and she was very proud of it. My Great-Grandparents brought their children to Oregon during the The Great Dust Bowl of Oklahoma and the Great Plains Regions in the 1930's. Farming and gardening were very important and integral parts of their lives. Knowing that Great-Grandma Annie would be proud of me following in her footsteps, I got one of the old hoes out of the garage and tried it out on the weeds encroaching on my tomatoes and peppers. It worked OK, but after a while I realized that I was working way too hard. The reason? That old hoe was pretty dull. I asked my handy husband to sharpen it for me, and voila! I was able to weed with ease. Farmgirl (and guy) friends, never underestimate the importance of having at least one good, sharp hoe.
Happy Gardening!