As Bob Marley sang, “hope you like jammin’ too”. Perhaps he was talking musically, but I like
jammin’ in the summertime with fruit. My
sister and I have a tradition where every summer, we get together and make
jam. She lives eight hours away, so we
don’t see each other very often. Jammin’
with her is a special time to enjoy one another’s company, while doing
something productive and fun. We even
made up a fun little jam dance to help the jam “set”. Below
is a picture of my sister doing the Jam Dance.
Sometimes we laugh so hard, I just about pee my pants. Unfortunately this year, we weren’t together
in a location with a stove, so the Jammin’ didn’t take place. I decided to make jam anyway in honor of my
sis, after seeing her last week.
Although it was bittersweet without my sister, I did have some help from
my two precious children. I also took a
pic of me doing the jam dance without her (shown below). My sister may not have been there, but,
hopefully, she will smile when she receives
a package in the mail containing her jam.
If you want to make the jam I made last night, buy a package
of Sure Jell powdered pectin and about 4 cups of your desired fruit. The pectin has the instructions inside for
cooked jams and jellies. I did the
blueberry last night, but I did substitute some rhubarb and strawberries for
part of the blueberries. They all go
well together. I sanitize my jam jars
and lid rings in the dishwasher, then I dry them thoroughly. I boil the sealing lids and dry them before
using them. When the jam is done
cooking, I put it in the sanitized jars wipe the lids, and invert them. They seal that way, and you don’t have to
process them.
My lovely assistant helping pick out the stems.
cooking and smashing
Inverted jars
