Wednesday, August 5, 2009

The Jam Fairy (Didn't) Cometh

We just got our first big harvest of red, ripe, plump, luscious (can you tell raspberries are my favorite fruit?) raspberries.



I still have a couple of bags of them frozen (for use in smoothies) from last year so I want to concentrate on making jam out of the first several pickings this year. Or I'll make canned raspberries as I have a husband who LOVES the resulting juice which leaves me with the berries which is fine with me except he can drink up the juice a hay of a lot faster than I can eat all the raspberries. (Where was I?)



Oh, yes. My days recently have been fuller than full, and I'm having trouble finding time to do all the things my little heart desires.



So I put the succulent red jewels in the refrigerator late yesterday, sent a fervent request to the Jam Fairy to come in the night and turn my bounty into sparkling, little jars of jam which I would find first thing this morning lined up on my counter.






Humpf. She must have had other commitments.



Well, no way am I going to try to squeeze jam making into this day. There are four hundred gazillion pea pods hanging heavily on the vines out there that I need to pick, shell, blanch, and freeze . . . plus accomplishing the rest of my duties for the day.



So I smooshed the berries (nearly a gallon of them) the way I would in preparation for making jam, measured them out (exactly two quarts), packed them in a freezer container with a detailed label. Come October (November? December? Maybe February.), I'll defrost the batch and make my jam.



Am I obliquitous or what? (I just learned that word. Did I use it correctly? No? Oh, how embarrassing.)



6 comments:

MaineCelt said...

Brava! I heartily approve of delayed preserve-making! It's so much lovelier to heat up the kitchen with hot fruit-laden steam for hours on end when there's a crisp fall breeze outside, or snow on the ground. I don't think enough flavour or nutrients are lost in the delay to warrant any apologies.

Now, off to my dictionary to look up your wonderful new word...

Jennifer Jo said...

That's what I do with my strawberries---turn them into jam in the dead of winter.

Will you share your raspberry jam recipe? Pretty please?

Erin said...

They look delicious! I found only a handful last night after I ripped out the squash vines that had taken over my new berry patch, lol!

Mama Pea said...

Thank you, m'dear, for your kind blessing on my procrastination. ;o)

Mama Pea said...

Mama JJ - I'll be glad to share my raspberry jam recipe. I'll put up a short post detailing it asap.

Mama Pea said...

Erin - Those dang old squash vines will try to take over the whole place every time! Ya gotta watch 'em every minute.