Passing it on

If you followed my post about our wonderful experience in the strawberry patch, you will remember that the plan was to turn much of the fruit into jam.  

I have such wonderful memories of spending time with both of my grandmothers in their kitchens canning and making jellies, jams, and pickles.  Whenever I see someone give one of those homemade jars as a gift at the holidays, I know they are receiving a container full of time, attention, and most of all, love and caring.

I had all those thoughts in my mind as I prepared the jars and got everything ready to mash berries.  (Full disclosure: I put the jars and rings in the dishwasher and let it run while I got everything else ready.  Not only does this help keep the jars hot, it also beats the heck out of hand-washing all that stuff.)  Imagine my happiness when my son appeared and asked in his sweet voice, "May I help you, Momma?" Here's where my homeschool parent mentality kicked in.  Knowing fully well that he would make a mess, I answered, "Sure, baby, that would be great."

As he began to mash, I told him stories about the times I spent doing much the same thing with his great-grandmothers, one of whom he had the privilege to know and love before her passing.  After a few minutes, my son said, "And now you're passing this on to me, right, Momma?"  His innocent observation brought tears to my eyes because even at his young age, he understood the importance of giving knowledge to the next generation . . . and something besides my grandmothers' genes will continue to live in him.

I will fully admit I didn't do things exactly the same as Granny and Nene always did (hence the aforementioned jars in the dishwasher.)  They both always used Sure-Jell, but I was torn as I stood in the grocery aisle and saw how much cheaper the store-brand was.  So, I bought both, and decided to see if the generic could live up to the original.

I am happy to say that the jam made with the Kroger brand set just as well as the batch with which I used Sure-Jell.  After all, my grandmothers also taught me that a penny saved is a penny earned!

My other admission to "cheating" is that I used the inversion method rather than hot water canning for both batches.  If you are new to making jellies and jams, you may not be aware of the difference.  My grandmothers, as well as my mother, all had large pots for boiling water baths to get their jars to seal. I just don't have the cabinet space for something I rarely use.  My "new-fangled" way is to use the inversion method (which, ironically, is not all that new.

The idea is that if your jar is hot and your jelly/jam mixture is as well, you can funnel it into your jars, screw on the lids, and invert your jars for about five minutes.  The heat on the glue of the lid, in addition to the air pressing down on the jelly mixture, will help your jar to seal.  After about an hour of the jars sitting upright, you should start to hear some satisfying "pops" as the seal takes.

I used this method for two batches, and every single jar sealed, a 100% success rate!

You know what I will enjoy the most about this year's jam?  The memories that went into it, as well as the special time I spent with my son.  It doesn't get much better than that.

Strawberry Delight

We had such a delightful family outing to the strawberry patch at Chiles Peach Orchard, located in beautiful Crozet, Virginia.

Of course, when you are a family of five, each person has a different goal in mind when approaching an activity such as strawberry-picking.  While I wanted everyone to have a good time, I also wanted to leave with enough berries to make jam.  Our oldest went in search of the largest strawberry she could find, and the middle child wandered from row to row, searching out the largest section of all-ripe berries.  Our youngest spent her time climbing in and out of the wagon, eating way more berries than she picked . . . in fact, I'm fairly sure the employees should have weighed her instead of her bucket!  My husband spent his time making sure none of the kids tipped their buckets over while I happily picked away.

The strawberries were so plentiful that it didn't take long to get the amount I needed and then some.  I quickly realized, though, the best fruit I was gathering had nothing to do with strawberries.  We were all together, outside on an amazing day, and everyone was enjoying themselves.  If the children are in a bad mood, I can usually do something silly to jolt them out of it, but my husband is a different story.  He works so hard (two, sometimes three jobs), and he tends to let his worry keep him from having fun on our excursions.  On this particular day, he was actually enjoying himself, and his good mood helped to boost the rest of us.  The fruit I truly received that day was a family full of connection, love, and happiness.

It is especially wonderful, once our strawberry jam is made, that I can feel that sense of peace and happiness every time I take a bite of that spring deliciousness.