Pump up the jam

This summer, my little girl and I have decided to do all kinds of homestead-y projects.  One of them is making jam.  I have never done it, but have thoroughly researched it and I'm pretty sure I possess the necessary skills to make it happen.  We are going to try strawberry first and later on down the line blueberry, raspberry, and even apple butter.  How exciting!  I know, we're dorks.

Anyway, here is our jam making in pictures:

We started with 4 pounds for fresh strawberries, then hulled and crushed them before adding 4 pounds of sugar.  Yes, 4 pounds.  I've never claimed to be an angel.

The recipe I was using then had me bring this mixture to a boil, then reduce heat slightly and cook until it reached desired consistency.  I think this took about 25-30 minutes.  If it doesn't thicken quite like you want it to, you could add liquid pectin, return to full boil for 1 minute then remove from heat before canning.


My jam came out a little thinner than I would have liked, but it's pretty tasty and no one has complained.