I believe that today, I have become even more of a farm girl. I had been toying with the idea of entering the world of
canning this summer but had not yet had the guts to give it a try. However, yesterday when my boss said that she was going to send the unsold day old strawberries to the cows I had to stop my self from gasping out loud. I could not let such beautiful berries go to waste! So home I lugged home a huge box full of eight quarts of berries!
Sitting here now I can say that for the first time since I was a small child I made preserves! I remember helping my mother with this process many years ago but have never done it on my own. So today, my newest sister-in-law and I embarked together into the adventure of making
strawberry jam. It was the real thing. Not freezer jam or anything like that. Start to finish there was a lot involved and several hours passed but I think it will be worth it. Though we accidentally didn't follow the directions to a Tee and it took
forever to boil, I think from the few scrapings on the side of the bowl I've snagged it will turn out well and last quite some time. Not to mention, I have several other people in mind who will receive great enjoyment from such a tasty little jar.
Throughout the process I couldn't help but be
amazed that I was learning to make preserves in the same exact kitchen as my Great-Grandmother. Living in her house often brings about moments
nostalgia when I reminisce about the days before my family inhabited it. Though I did not know her for long before she passed away, what I do know about her shows me that she was an incredible farm woman. Being able to can things in the same house as her is such an honor and a way that I can honor her from-scratch lifestyle which has since been forgotten by many.
 |
| Two days old and still beautiful! |
 |
| Imagine this 8x. That's how many berries there were. |
 |
| What a cute little miniature. |
 |
| The main reason it tastes so good. |
 |
| Boiling to a very long time. It looks like tomato sauce here. |
 |
| Good thing we had aprons to avoid strawberry speckled clothes. |
Now it's time to capture my Great-Grandmother's ingenuity and figure out what to do with my remaining 2.5 quarts of berries. Perhaps homemade ice cream or smoothies soon.
