Jams

I make jams and jellies every fall, using whatever fruit I can gather from what we grow as well as what other people grow and give me (my parents' grapes, their neighbor's plums) and that which grows wild, like blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. 

And, someday we will have more of our own berry bushes. What kind of berry bushes, you say? Probably all of them. lol

Blueberry Jam

Bring to boil:
4 cups blueberries, lightly mashed
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 pack or Certo fruit pectin crystals

Stir in:
5 1/2 cups sugar

Heat to a roiling boil then cook for one minute, stirring frequently. Skim off foam. Pour into 6 250 ml or 3 500 ml sterilized Mason jars. Process in water for 15 minutes. 

Wild blueberries, Aug 12, 2013

Six 250 ml blueberry jam

Jumbleberry Jam

Bring to boil:

3 cups blueberries, lightly mashed

1 cup raspberries

2 cup blackberries

2 tbsps lemon juice

Stir in:
6 1/2 cups sugar

Heat to a roiling boil then cook for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Test by spooning a teaspoon of the jam on a chilled saucer. After a minute, push your finger through the jam and if the surface wrinkles, it's ready. Skim off foam, if any. Pour into six 250 ml or three 500 ml sterilized Mason jars. Process in water for 15 minutes. 

Pick all the crap out of the berries

Blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries

Cooking the jam

Sterilized jars - I always sterilize more than I'll probably need

Processing the jam in a water bath

There was 1/2 jar left over after all the jars were filled. 

I didn't process it - I don't expect it to last more than a few days :)

Plum Jam

Wash plums and remove stems and debris.

5 lbs wild plums

Bring to boil:

5 lbs wild plums

1/2 cup water

Turn heat down to simmer. Mash plums while simmering about 15 minutes. Begin removing by about a cup at a time and remove pits, reserving the fruit and peel. You'll find your own best method; I used a mesh strainer over a bowl and a spoon to push the juice and fruit through. Makes quite a mess. Wear old clothes.

The mess, from right to left: 
Boiled plums in pot, mesh strainer in a bowl to mash plums through, 

bowl of pit-less fruit, bowl of pits

Stir in:
5 cups sugar, about a cup per lb of plums

Heat to a roiling boil then cook for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Test by spooning a teaspoon of the jam on a chilled saucer. After a minute, push your finger through the jam and if the surface wrinkles, it's ready. Skim off foam, if any. Pour into sterilized Mason jars. Process in water for 15 minutes.