We be jammin'

For the second year, I have led about 20 farm groupies to River Ridge Farms and Strawberry Knob farm for cow petting and strawberry picking through the farmers' market. It is loads of fun, plus I come back with at least a gallon of strawberries, which means jam time. Strawberry jam is by far the easiest of the jams, since there is no peeling or de-seeding involved. Despite the fact that I managed to still have some jam from last year left, I was determined to make more. Four fabulous ladies and I jammed for 4 hours last night, starting with 5 gallons of strawberries and ending with 40 jars of various strawberry jams. After trying a few recipes, I think we have determined that using the Pomona's Universal Pectin available at natural food stores is the simplest way to go to be able to make a less-sweet jam. The normal recipes call for 7 cups of sugar for 5 cups of crushed strawberries, which just seems crazy. So, we used the universal pectin with honey instead of sugar by following the recipe included in the package and love the results. Plus, we can use local honey instead of sugar. Pick some up and try the recipe. It is worth the effort.