As mentioned in a previous post, I decided to try my hand at freezer jams this year. And, although they worked great and we are thoroughly enjoying them, I also decided to can some jams as well.

Yesterday I used the thawed plums I had harvested and frozen to make some jam. These are lovely golden plums and the color of the jam is very peachy! Unfortunately, I only got 4 half pint jars plus a short half pint to eat right away.

Our next project was blackberry jelly! Usually you need a very small berry screen for this style strainer. However, these blackberries have huge seeds and I decided to give another screen a try. The tomato screen worked! We ended up with almost a double batch of the jelly, canning 10 half pints!

This photo shows the refuse with huge seeds alongside the berry juice. Yum! I love fresh blackberries but the seeds are a bit too much for my teeth. We grew up picking wild blackberries with my Granny.

Forgive the mess. I use unrefined cane sugar and do not use the amount the recipe calls for. For these batches I did a 1:1 ratio of fruit to sugar but that’s the most I have used in years.

Lotsa dishes to do! And a chicken roasting for supper.

Be sure to follow correct canning procedures! I haven’t always but I definitely want to be sure that all bad bacteria are killed. These batches were done with hot water bath for 10 minutes (half pint jars). I have a couple of books I love for canning. The Ball Canning Book is also excellent (only use updated versions newer than 2000).

I have used many canning lids, but some don’t work and I can’t waste time, food, and money experimenting! Here are the lids I generally purchase other than Ball/Kerr.

Now for some sourdough bread to eat it on….