Make summer last well into the winter with strawberry jam

[PeggySue]

what a lovely post.......... a treat and an inspiration for a novice...
My canner is still in the box, and my tomatoes are still green on the vine.... so I am impatiently waiting...
I'm thinking of going to my local produce and buying SOMEthing, ANYthing, just to practice and get my feet wet.......
What would be the easiest thing for me to can the first time, to learn how to operate it and handle it and such....green beans? I know I can get those at the local market...

 

[JennsPeeps]

PeggySue - here's a great website for canning green beans (and other things): http://www.pickyourown.org//canninggreenbeans.htm

I also use the National Center for Home Food Preservation website a lot: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/

I'm a fairly new canner. I canned about 30 jars in the summer of 2007.

Last summer I canned about 200 jars, and another 100 or so over the ensuing months (things like chicken stock, turkey soup, and winter jams like marmalade).

This year, I don't know how much I'll can. My goal is 400 or more. It depends upon how many cheap jars I can procure.

I love canning because I believe in eating local produce in order to save local farms. Why buy it from Chile or Spain if I can grow it in my backyard or meet the farmer down the road? Besides, once all is said & done, I figured it averages out to about $1/jar (not including lids & jars) to can.

 

[maplesky7]

i can taste the rainbow right now.

 

[JennsPeeps]

Thanks! I can feel the obsession begin. I love looking at the cupboard (and anywhere else I can stash jars) and seeing all the things that I made. I just figured out that I canned about 300 jars last year and we've eaten all but ~70. I'm evaluating what we did & didn't eat so that I will be more efficient this season in what I make. We'll be working on the leftovers in the coming weeks to empty the jars.

 

[LA~Poulet]

Wow! I love your pics! I'm so jealous.

I've only canned jams & jellies, but am dying to start trying veggies & especially soups. A pressure canner is my next purchase, do you have any tips or a particular one to recommend?

Jars are so expensive here, I've been trying to save spaghetti sauce jars that fit regular lids before getting started.

 

[JennsPeeps]

I just got one on ebay. Think it's a 16qt Mirro. It's a 7-quart load. Check out the reviews of them online & get what suits your needs.

I get most of my jars on craigslist.org. I recently advertised to trade eggs for jars and am getting 5 doz jars for 7 doz eggs. We set up a "subscription" for her to get 2 doz/month until my pullets start laying, then she'll get 1 doz/week until we've "paid" her for the jars.

I got the idea on BYC, too!

Do be careful about using commercial jars for home canning. They're not made the same way (i.e. tempered to withstand repeated exposure to the high temps of pressure canning) and can be unsafe. I save teensy jars for leftover jam - there's always a teensy bit that won't fit into the jars you're canning - but I never process anything that's not a ball, mason, or kerr jar. Here's more info: http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/how/general/recomm_jars_lids.html

 

[RockyToggRanch]

My favorite part is the full cupboard. I fill mine up and stand looking at it with a smile. Unfortunately my kids have all run off to start their own lives and I don't need as much canned anymore. Raspberry peach jam is a favorite here. I give away a ton of jam at Christmas time. I have rhubarb this year and was looking for a good jam recipe. Thanks! I'll try it.

 

[LA~Poulet]

Thank you for that information. I had no idea about the commercial jars, but did notice the glass didn't seem as thick.

I like the eggs for jars trade! We aren't getting that many eggs yet (just a dozen or two extra/week) but that would be a good offer to sweeten the deal.

 

[trilyn]

Wow, you all are amazing!! I've only made raspberry jam once and I loved it. I don't know for some reason, I've never made it since then. But now, after joining this site and seeing all of your recipes and pics, well-I'm gonna do it again! I have a question for you guys though, my dh is a diabetic, is there any way I can use Splenda for making raspberry jam instead of sugar?

 

[JennsPeeps]

Trilyn,

You can but you have to use the "no sugar added" pectin. It's a pink box instead of the yellow one. You might want to experiment w/ 1/2 sugar and 1/2 Splenda. I find that cooking with Splenda makes it bitter. I'd also look at forums just for canning to see what others have done & to what result. I figure that I only use aobut 2T jam at a time, so it's not that bad, especially since I'm having it with other things (toast, an egg, etc.)