I know, I know, summer is usually jam-making season.
But around here, I make it whenever I take the notion.
Sometimes, I pull berries out of the freezer when we need a batch of a certain kind of jam (strawberry is the most popular around here!).
We also grow raspberries, but never have had blackberries.
Last week, our Kroger had ten for ten on those little packs of fat blackberries. I got ten. It was pretty reasonable jam when all I had to add to it was sugar and some pectin--and a few hours of my time.
After I washed them, I have them a good swirl in the food processor. I also (mostly) de-seeded it, using my little hand-cranked food mill. Blackberry is the worst jam with all the seeds, but the birds love the leftover seeds, especially in winter.
(If I still had my chickens, I'd have run the seeds out to them to eat. They loved them, too! I still miss their happy sounds when they knew I had some goodies from the kitchen for them!)
I wish now that I'd bought enough extra to make a big ol' pan o' blackberry cobbler. It's my favorite flavor of cobbler.
What's yours?
PS: If you really want to make jam, but don't have your own source for the fruit--buy fruit when it's on sale and make that jam! Or, for jelly, just buy fruit juice and make jelly from that! It's so good!
I wanted to tell you that a couple years back I taught a friend from way back how to can. She has done so well since then and is so proud of her pantry full of canned goods she did herself with her family's help. The other day I visited her and she sent me home with a jar of pears and a pint of pear preserves. I was so thrilled! I can't wait to crack open that chilled jar of pears and enjoy them, and to eat the preserves on my bagel one morning. I am so proud of you, Robyn!
Robyn's beautifully done pears and pear preserves, looking as pretty as jewels on my little kitchen shelf...
