Walker and I went to a local u pick berry patch today with my sister and niece and together we picked two gallons of blackberries! Walker couldn't eat enough when we were picking. :) We also stopped at a nearby fruit stand and I bought a 1/2 bushel of fresh peaches. Yum! My husband's absolute favorite dessert is my peach cobbler. (Actually, it's The Pioneer Woman's recipe here.)
I will have a busy day evening ahead of blanching, peeling, and freezing peach slices in two cup bags ready for cobbler throughout the year. (For a great written tutorial and video on how to freeze peaches click here.)
With all of the strawberries I picked a few months ago along with the blueberries I bought at the farmer's market, our freezer is totally stocked up with fruit for the year. Well, it will be stocked up by the end of the night. :)
My sister and niece also helped make some blackberry jam when we got home. Having helpers when canning is so nice. I'm used to doing it all by myself, which can be challenging with a toddler running around. Anyway, we ended up with 7 pints and it tastes wonderful. I'm thinking about entering a jar in the county fair this year, but I'm not sure.
This was my first time making blackberry jam and my mother in law actually gave me a tomato deseeder that worked wonderfully to deseed the blackberries!
Here's the jam recipe I used.
Blackberry Jam
yields 8 half pints
8 cups fresh berries
(I used more because the deseeder took some of the volume away)
6 tablespoons classic pectin
7 cups sugar
1. Rinse berries and crush in a large saucepan
2. Gradually stir in pectin and bring to a boil that can't be stirred away.
3. Stir in sugar and bring to a hard boil for 1 minute.
4. Remove from heat and ladle into sterilized jars.
5. Process in water bath canner for 10 minutes.
I love making jam. We have not made any this year. I think I need to get on the ball! We are up to eyes in cucumbers that I need to make into pickles. I think I'll get that done first and then move on to some jam. :)
ReplyDeleteHI Miranda! I enjoy jam making as well. Happy canning and thanks for stopping by! :)
DeleteThis just makes my mouth water! We picked up some peaches from a local orchard last weekend and they were to die for! Best peaches we've had in a long time! Thanks for sharing your tips and the jam recipe!
ReplyDeleteLooks awesome! Thanks so much for the recipes. I'm hoping to get more blackberries this year (first time we didn't get enough for jam) so I can freeze/can them! I think you should go for it and enter your jam in the county fair :)
ReplyDeleteJust last weekend, we went to my hubby's grandmother's place and made 32 half-pint jars using the same recipe you posted. She has wild blackberries on her property. Fun! The peach jam sounds delicious too!
ReplyDeleteHappy summer to you!
Blessings,
Katie