They were not kidding about the amount of time it takes for jam to sit boiling on the stove before it thickens. If I don’t get work tomorrow, I am going to the store to buy pectin before doing the other batches. Oh yes, and mix corn starch with water before mixing it into the jam. I figure if anything, I will have some really good strawberry syrup for pancakes.
The strawberries I’m using are fresh from the field. I picked them myself, all fifteen pounds of them, this afternoon. We had a great time doing it. My friends Julie, Shawn, and Deborah drove out to Olson Farms. It’s so beautiful out there. Their farm overlooks the valley below and if you pick them, strawberries are $1 a pound. We picked about 45 pounds in all. We worked our way down the rows with a wide variety of containers to put the berries, occasionally showing off particularly beautiful ones to each other. And yes, many got eaten along the way.
The first time trying to learn how to make jam, though not a roaring success, was a success in that I’m trying and I’m learning. I think it’s important to stay in touch with the earth. Stay in touch with the fields, the trees, the making of our own food. It’s important to keep our hands close to the ground, to get the dirt under our nails and the mud on our shoes. It’s important to know the feel of the earth.
365-09 #165