Do you ever find that if you want to try something new, you have to wait until the children go to bed for the night? I have canned once with my mom years ago, but never on my own (and Mom did all the thinking.) I came upon a lot of strawberries that couldn't be put off. In order to concentrate- and sort out all the different information I was reading- I waited until after bedtime. Problem was, I was tired, too!
It took me a few hours so by the time I turned in for the night, all I had the energy to do was double check the stove to make sure the burners were off. I wanted to wait to hear that gratifying "pop" of the last two jars, but just couldn't. (I still got to hear them both as they each woke me up.) So, here are my results- 10 jars of sweet preserves!
I tried two different recipes. You can see my first attempt left chunks of strawberries at the top of the jar. The second recipe called for less sugar and mashed up the strawberries. I'm hoping to use these on pancakes, in oatmeal, and of coarse on homemade bread! I don't think I'll make a habit of canning preserves, jams, or jellies because of all that SUGAR! I have just one more thing to check off my list of "new things to learn, for fun and for usefulness."
Here is the second recipe I used:
6 Cups mashed up strawberries (I tossed them in the blender shortly)
2.3- 2.6 oz. powdered pectin
4 cups sugar
(This turned out a little runny instead of jelling much. That's just fine for me. But, I guess it needs a little more pectin next time.)
Have you thought to try Pomona's pectin? It allows you to use little or no sugar (or you can use honey, fruit juice concentrate, stevia, etc..) in your jams and jellies. One box is enough for several batches too!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pomonapectin.com/