My mother never canned so I didn't have any experience doing it. I taught myself (I am a Home Economist after all) and have been canning for over 40 years. It's a joy to do. There seems to be a resurgence in preserving food, and the final product is certainly better than what can be purchased in a store. We grow red raspberries on our property, or rather, they were here when we purchased our home almost 19 years ago. I believe they may be a "leftover" from the original farm house that used to stand in our neighborhood before it became a neighborhood. The birds graciously spread the vines EVERYWHERE. The raspberries ripen the last week of June or first week of July every year. My husband picks them and I prepare them, a good arrangement. 
I get all my equipment and supplies ready so I can work quickly. Here's my faithful stove with the water bath canner boiling (and the jars inside), with the smaller pot for the heated lids and bands. The sugar is measured in the bowl next to where I will cook the jam. 
My big sauce pot is filled with crushed raspberries, the powdered pectin and a little bit of butter (to keep the foaming down). I bring this mixture to a full boil before adding the sugar. After the sugar is added, I will bring the jam mixture to a full, rolling boil and cook for one minute. Have a very long spoon on hand because the jam spits!
Next I fill the jars carefully and wipe the rims, plop on the lid and screw the band on. All the jars go back in the still-boiling canner to cook for 10 minutes. Doesn't this red raspberry jam look divine? Afterwards I bring the jars out to cool on the counter (covered with a kitchen towel). The lids will "pop" when they seal and you can hear it through the house. Can't you just imagine some of this jam on a fresh, hot buttered biscuit? Ummm...Yum!
It looks so good!! I think it's wonderful that you have berries right in your backyard.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jeannie. I'm working on Wild Black Cherry jam now. It takes a lot of work, but it tastes like a wonderful Port on steroids.
DeleteThat jam looks wonderful. We are growing Nanking cherries and currants, but it will be a few years before we get any fruit.
ReplyDeleteWe had currants at our house in Germany. They were so good, and you can't find them in the stores here. I would love to make some jam out of them!
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