Happy Family Times 13: Making Strawberry Jam

Have you done something fun and different with your family this week? Or did you dance in the living room together? Kelly over at Happy Whimsical Hearts and I are hosting a link party to share our happy family times. Please share below with us and visit everyone else to be inspired for more quality times with your family!

We have been visiting my parents at Cape Cod and it is strawberry season! My father's strawberry patch has been providing our dessert every night. The first day we arrived I think my father and Hazel were in the strawberry patch almost the entire day. Well let me correct that, my father was picking them and Hazel was sitting in her chair eating them. We had delicious strawberry shortcake for dessert that night as well.

Picking the strawberries

My mother has been making jam from the strawberries and we thought it would be fun for Hazel to experience making jam. So Hazel and I headed out this morning to pick the strawberries. My father was with us, but he was digging in his big vegetable garden. I have to admit I did most of the picking, but Hazel was very helpful at emptying my little bowl into her big bowl (she insisted on having the big bowl) and bringing them into my mother. I tried to do a good job of picking them pretty clean this time since there had been several that were rotting on the vine.

Hazel and Mimi hulling the strawberries

Inside my mother and Hazel were hulling the strawberries while I finished picking. When I came in I took over and my mother and Hazel began to sort of puree them with the food processor. I say sort of because you want there to be some chunks in it and not completely pureed. Hazel had fun pushing the pulse button on the food processor.

Using the food processor

We used low sugar pectin, sugar & strawberries

Once they had six cups of puree, they were ready to make a batch. Hazel put the puree in the pan. Mimi measured four cups of sugar and took a quarter cup out to mix with three tablespoons of pectin. She had Hazel mix this up in a small bowl. This was added to the puree in the pan and then brought to a hard boil. After the fruit reached a hard boil, Mimi added the rest of the sugar (four cups minus the quarter) and boiled it for a minute. Then she spooned the jam into the jars. She has a neat funnel for this that fits into the jar and measured a cup of jam for each one. One batch makes eight jars. While this was cooking she put hot water on the lids and kept them warm and also prepared the canning pan with hot water.

Hazel and Mimi stirring at the stove waiting for the hard boil.

Hard Boil

Filling jars with funnel

Then Mimi put the lids on and put them in the canner and boiled them for ten minutes. Then removed them. While she was doing this, I was hulling another batch of strawberries so we could make eight more jars. I picked around six quarts of strawberries this morning. I sliced the leftover ones and sprinkled some sugar so we could have strawberry shortcake for dessert at dinner as well.

Putting jars in canner

The Canner

The second batch we had a little extra and Mimi put it into a glass container with top and we were able to sample it on crackers while it was still warm. Hazel was very excited to try it and exclaimed she wanted to make jam again.

Sampling the Jam

We have had a wonderful trip to the Cape and a great visit with Mimi and Pop. What have you done this week?

Now it is your turn to share how your family has spent some quality time lately.

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Ok, now for our PARTY!! Please share your FUN Family Times!!