It's June now, so what does that mean? STRAWBERRIES! I won't lie that this is one of my favorite times of year here in Ohio, and that thoughts of these berry-filled weeks have been quite the motivator throughout the past 8 months...as berries have been one of my major cravings.
As anyone who has had a mid-December overpriced Chilean strawberry will tell you, it pales (literally) in comparison to the small, bright red centered, unbelievably flavorful fruits that are found on the hot ground on a 92-degree June day in Ohio.
But how do you capture the berry flavor to enjoy it throughout the year? It's so fleeting, so instant, so immediate. One can only hope to truly enjoy it mere seconds after picking.
But, wait! Maybe if we get enough friends together and pick an inordinate number of strawberries, we can squeeze all the enjoyment and delicious flavor from them, enough to last until next year, at least!
What will our total be? 11 people (10 non-pregnant and able to pick!), 6 giant buckets, and an endless field of strawberries...
72 pounds! This was so impressive even to the Strawberry Picking Hut Lady that we got our picture taken for their website!
Now, back to my original question, what do you do with 72 pounds of strawberries? Well, make jam, of course!
First, you clean and de-stem them.
This is where a lot of people come in handy!
Then sugar, pectin, and FRESH lemon juice are added, and we buy out the grocery store's 1-cup gladware section!
All in all, we made 150 cups (10 gallons) of strawberry freezer jam, froze 15 quarts of whole strawberries, and 6 quarts crushed strawberries! Just enough to make it through next year's season! Join us, won't you? And if you are questioning the amount of jam we made...just one taste will convince you that we might not have made ENOUGH.... :)
As anyone who has had a mid-December overpriced Chilean strawberry will tell you, it pales (literally) in comparison to the small, bright red centered, unbelievably flavorful fruits that are found on the hot ground on a 92-degree June day in Ohio.
But how do you capture the berry flavor to enjoy it throughout the year? It's so fleeting, so instant, so immediate. One can only hope to truly enjoy it mere seconds after picking.
But, wait! Maybe if we get enough friends together and pick an inordinate number of strawberries, we can squeeze all the enjoyment and delicious flavor from them, enough to last until next year, at least!
What will our total be? 11 people (10 non-pregnant and able to pick!), 6 giant buckets, and an endless field of strawberries...
72 pounds! This was so impressive even to the Strawberry Picking Hut Lady that we got our picture taken for their website!
Now, back to my original question, what do you do with 72 pounds of strawberries? Well, make jam, of course!
First, you clean and de-stem them.
This is where a lot of people come in handy!
Then sugar, pectin, and FRESH lemon juice are added, and we buy out the grocery store's 1-cup gladware section!
All in all, we made 150 cups (10 gallons) of strawberry freezer jam, froze 15 quarts of whole strawberries, and 6 quarts crushed strawberries! Just enough to make it through next year's season! Join us, won't you? And if you are questioning the amount of jam we made...just one taste will convince you that we might not have made ENOUGH.... :)
1 comment:
WOW! do you guys have a freezer in your basement? i know that's probably a silly question and i'm sure you do have one. but, again, WOW! CONGRATULATIONS on your strawberries and successful jam session (ok, i know that was totally lame, but i just couldn't help it!)
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