Being a Hunter-Gatherer--Lesson 4

Saving Some for Later

Dear Adventurers,

Have you ever had jam so good it makes you wanna slap yo’ mama? No, I don’t mean literally, it’s just a euphemism. But it got your attention, huh?  Well, over the past couple of weeks I made some mama slappin’ jam.

I recently discovered that Hiking Buddy had never been strawberry-picking before.  For me, growing up in the South, this was practically an annual tradition.  I HAD to see this fixed!  We went to Grieg Farm, just a few minutes up the road.  The strawberries were soooo good.  I couldn’t help but sample a couple of them in the field.

Well, isn't this an awkward picture of me?

After picking ‘till our fingers were pink, we brought them home.  It was time to jam. We chose a classic, no pectin strawberry jam recipe from Sherri Vinton Brooks’ food preservation book, Put ‘Em Up!. Every recipe we’ve tried from this has been great so far.  I totally recommend it (the homemade ketchup is killer).  Here’s the strawberries, simmering away to jam:

mmmm, strawberries.

Yum!  It’s really good on toast—a bit less viscous than commercial jam, but with ten times the flavor.  It has really nice caramel undertones, which I suppose came from the long time it took to cook the berries down.

After the first round of jam-making, it was so good we decided to make more. The second time was definitely easier, since I’m still new to canning.  We made a double batch of strawberry jam and a double batch of spicy pickled carrots.  They go really well with a grilled cheese sandwich and soup on a cold day.  I hid some in the back of the pantry so I’ll have a nice surprise this fall!

The farmstands around here are starting to gear up on produce, so I’m looking forward to the next bumper crop of cannable food. 

Are you canning anything? Have a recipe that’ll make you want to slap yo’ mama? Please share!