Dearest Vince! Please do not pick any more strawberries!
Seriously, I have never had strawberries this good and I wouldn't mind if he picked some every day but maybe just enough to eat. I can't think of anything else I could can with strawberries!
The first thing I made was strawberry syrup and I think I made about 24 pints of that. Then Vince picked more strawberries and I made Strawberry Rhubarb Jam. I think I made about 18 half pints. Can't remember and am too tired to go upstairs and look. This morning, he picked more strawberries! We had to take Cooper to Nevada for his "school". We left here about 2 and got home about 5. I had hulled and sliced the strawberries before we left so I immediately started making jam when we got home. I made two batches . . well three really. I made 4 pints and 8 half pints of more strawberry rhubarb jam and I made two pots of strawberry jalapeno jam. That's my favorite! I made 8 pints and 1 half pint of that one. So . . for today's jam making, I made the equivalent of 33 half pints of jam. I can't wait to have toast with the strawberry jalapeno jam!!
Tomorrow I sit and stitch all day with Debbie. I always look so forward to spending time with her and being able to sit and stitch without any interruptions!
Oh, and the whole l reason for making this post: A reader had left a comment asking for my strawberry rhubarb jam recipe. This is the recipe I use. I like it because it doesn't call for added pectin. When using pectin, I've always heard you shouldn't double the recipe. I wanted to double or triple this recipe so I chopped my strawberries, measured them out, then decided how much rhubarb I needed. If you're buying rhubarb and it's expensive, I'm sure you could cut back on it and maybe add more strawberries. The first batch of jam I made, I used 15 cups of chopped rhubarb. It helps that I have it growing in the back yard.
When I made the strawberry jalapeno jam, I wanted to double it so I made two separate batches instead of actually doubling it since it uses pectin.
Who knows . . maybe you can double the recipe even if there's pectin. I've always heard you shouldn't so I don't.
A few days ago I made a batch of Strawberry Rhubarb Ginger Jam. It turned out great. I didn’t have a recipe. I usually make Peach Ginger Jam that all my family loves so I just followed that recipe making the appropriate substitutions. My recipe uses pectin but I imagine that if you wanted you could just add a bunch of grated fresh ginger to your existing strawberry rhubarb recipe. I like to add a lot of ginger so that you know it is in there. Yummy!
ReplyDelete-Sharon
That sounds delicious. I grew quite a bit of ginger last year, freeze dried it and powder it as needed and it is SO delicious. I will try adding some to jam. I think it would be great in peach jam. Can't wait to try that! Thanks for the idea.
DeleteThanks Judy. Rhubarb is about $5 per pound here but well worth it as it’s a one time treat. I’ll make a batch. Info in your link is great.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea how much rhubarb is in a pound. I hope you're able to get it and that you love your jam or jelly.
DeleteYou have more energy than the energizer bunny! I cannot imagine starting to make jam at 5pm in the afternoon! I'm a morning person and by 5pm, I'm done for the day. You amaze me! How are Cooper's lessons going?
ReplyDeleteIt definitely wasn't what I had planned to do but Tuesday morning Vince picked about 12 pounds of strawberries. When he got home, we hulled them all, ate a quick late lunch and left to go to Nevada (about an hour away) for Cooper's "school", spent an hour there, drove home and got the jam done. Wednesday I would be back in Nevada cross stitching with my friend all day and wouldn't be home until close to 6 p.m. Thursday we had plans until at least noon and there is zero room in the fridge or freezers for 12 pounds of strawberries. So . . I did what I had to do.
DeleteCooper's schooling?? Ughh . . he's a hard headed Dachshund. Last week he seriously lunched at the instructor and tried to bite her. Now he's wearing a muzzle. This week, he again tried to bite her - barking, growling . . she spent quite a bit of time sitting on the floor with several feet between them . . kinda ignoring him. She talked to us about things we could do at home. She kept saying . . he'll come around. Sure enough, about half an hour later, he moved over closer to her, at next to her and then crawled up onto her lap. She was petting him! He had his muzzle on but wasn't growling or barking. She later picked him up and he was fine. Progress but very slow. He was fairly calm and she got out a stuffed dog to use to show me how to easily get the muzzle on him (with treats) and he decided to attack the stuffed dog! Neither of us expected that. We are making progress but we only have three sessions remaining so I'm not sure we're going to have a calm, friendly Cooper by the end but she's also taught us a lot about how to handle him so we'll see . .