Hello Everyone! I have been planning for some time to try my hand at canning once we started harvesting the Dewberries and Blackberries off of our farm. I bought myself a water bath canner off of Amazon, the Ball book on canning, some pint sized jars and other supplies.
I have been nervous about canning; I guess inwardly I was afraid of wasting my time and not having it turn out the way I wanted. Thankfully my first experience went pretty well! My children had the jam for lunch today and totally put their seal of approval on it.
The first step was of course to go out and pick the berries! This is something I've been trying to do several times a week with one little daughter who LOVES berry picking. I have discovered that it has been a bonding time to go out with her and pick berries together. Sometimes I will remind her that, "Mama really likes to pick berries with you," and it is sweet to see her smile and the spring in her step when I say that. :)
I followed step-by-step instructions for washing the jars, heating them in hot water, and then the whole process of mashing berries, adding sugar and pectin, etc. It was fun to see the process happening, especially seeing my pint sized jars sitting in the bubbling water for ten minutes! I think this canning thing could be addicting! I really liked it!
Of course the reward of seeing the canned jars in the end is really fulfilling! I only officially canned a few, because I did not want to do a huge batch only to find out that I didn't know what I was doing and wasted a ton of berries that we worked hard to pick. Now that I know that the process was successful I will hopefully do a larger batch next time.
This first experience turned out to produce a thicker jam, and my children loved it. I think next time I will use my cheese cloth and pull out the seeds to make more of a smooth jelly texture. Either way it feels so nice to know the Lord provided the free berries for us, and we are eating farm fresh jam rich in flavor and without all the preservatives. I'm excited to see what canning adventures my girls and I will have in days to come.
"You cause the grass to grow for the livestock
and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth." - Psalm 104:14
