Summer finally kicked off in a big way at the end of last week, with hot, sunny days. It’s been a while since we’ve had some good summer, so bring it on!
The garden is doing wonderfully, and I will have many more posts to share. The first up is jam from this week-end. Heat or no, I wasn’t going to miss making our first jars of jam, as we have been sorely missing homemade jam for the last few months. The rhubarb and strawberries cooperated and produced nicely, so I was able to make some Rhubarb Strawberry Jam. I do find that strawberry jam is awfully sweet, so one batch is plenty. It’s almost time for making raspberry jam, and that the family can’t get enough of!
What’s your favourite type of homemade jam?
(On a little housekeeping note, I am going to hold off on my health posts until after summer. There are just too many stories to tell right now! Suffice to say I’m still keeping it front and centre, and will add details when I feel the need.)
Rocks, Waves, Beach 
I put up 36 1/2 pints of raspberry jam every year. The last jar is in the fridge now, so I better get on that soon. Oldest Son loves strawberry, so I do a few jars just for him. Some years I do a bourbon peach for me.
By: Terri on July 3, 2013
at 5:50 pm
36 – impressive! Not sure how many I’ll get done this year, depends if I supplement our garden berries with you-pick berries.
By: Kate on July 3, 2013
at 6:45 pm
I love to make a ground cherry/plus jam.
By: Susan L Daniels on July 3, 2013
at 6:05 pm
Susan – are ground cherries the same as what my mum calls Cape Gooseberry? Yellow flowers and a fruit in a husk? I ask as my mum gave me a plant to put in the garden this year, and it is doing quite nicely so far.
By: Kate on July 3, 2013
at 6:46 pm
Yes, that would be it! If you make a jam with those and some yellow plums, the end result looks like honey. Golden goodness. The ground cherry has a lot of natural pectin in it, so it gels very nicely. Typo above–the plus would be plum ;)
By: Susan L Daniels on July 3, 2013
at 6:51 pm
Use this, but sub half the ground cherries with yellow plums, if interested.
http://hipgirlshome.com/blog/2011/7/19/ground-cherries-preserves.html
By: Susan L Daniels on July 3, 2013
at 6:55 pm
Thank you!
By: Kate on July 3, 2013
at 7:27 pm
Mmmm, those jars of jeweled jams look sooooo good – lucky family to enjoy the literal “fruits of your labour”. My fav. is my mother’s strawberry jam. My aunt & uncle who live in Delta, B.C., often bring her strawberries, it’s her fav. fruit.
I’ve made freezer strawberry jam, it’s good but really depends on your strawberries. Some years weren’t very good, kind of bland.
My cousin & I once made jars & jars of crabapple jelly. It was so good! She had a HUGE crabapple tree in her St. Albert, AB, backyard. It was an all-weekend event but so worth the effort.
By: 1treblemaker1 on July 3, 2013
at 8:51 pm
I’ve never made crab-apple jam or jelly, they’re not so common out here it seems. I’ve made freezer jam, but we prefer canned jam at our house.
By: Kate on July 3, 2013
at 8:57 pm
Jars of homemade jam cooling on the kitchen counter are one of my favourite things about summer. So pretty, and so representative of the season.
By: kristieinbc on July 4, 2013
at 6:28 am
Absolutely!
By: Kate on July 4, 2013
at 7:59 am
Your jam color is very pretty. I think blackberry jam is my favorite, but it competes with some very good memories of my mom’s mulberry jam.
By: Denise | Chez Danisse on July 8, 2013
at 4:57 pm
Blackberry jam is my favourite too!
By: Kate on July 8, 2013
at 7:01 pm
hooray jam!!
i love blackberry jam too.
a couple years ago i made mulberry rhubarb jam and it was delicious!!
By: melissa on July 10, 2013
at 2:39 pm
Ooh, another one I’ve never tried!
By: Kate on July 11, 2013
at 8:00 am