Yummy Yummy in my Tummy!

This Saturday my mom and I went to a farmers market. We picked up a bunch of fresh fruit, veggies, bread, and one dang good cinnamon bun. We got amazingly delicious carrots not like the ones you buy in a store but like the ones that you pull out of your own garden and eat right after you wash it off with the garden hose. Yummy. We also got peas an onion and a purple pepper. Yes a purple one. We had never seen a purple pepper before so we just had to get one. We quickly found that we did not at all care for the taste of purple peppers but it was fun to look at. As for the fruit all we got was 2 boxes of strawberries.

There was a few people selling strawberries but we got these ones because of the cute baskets they came in. 

Today we decided to make strawberry jam! Its a pretty easy process just a few specific steps. We chose to make freezer jam and that makes the process shorter.You don't have to sterilize anything. Freezer jams still last a fair amount of time. They last 3 weeks in the fridge and 6 to 8 months in the freezer. Which is long enough for us.

We bought Original Certo Liquid Pectin to make our jam. I love this brand because it comes with all the instructions you will ever need to make jam.

It shows how to make no-cook jams, cooked jams, and cooked jellies. And it gives a recipe for almost every fruit and fruit combination. It also gives helpful tips and well written instructions. Here are the steps we followed for our strawberry jam:

First hull and thoroughly crush berries. (Crush berries with a potato masher not a food processor.)

For this part you may need an apron.

1. In large mixing bowl stir together 1 3/4 cups crushed strawberries and 4 cups granulated sugar. (I know it sounds like a lot but sugar helps jam and jellies to set, so you can't cut down on the amount.)
2. Let stand 10 minutes.
3. Add Certo (one package) and 2 Tbsp lemon juice. Stir for 3 minutes.
4. Put into clean containers filling up to 1/4 inch from rim. Cover with lids. Leave at room temp for 24 hours or till set.
   

(There were a few more containers but they are not as nice looking as these one.)

Tips:

• Do not double the recipes, as your jam or jelly may not set.
• Measure ingredients accurately.