Larriland Farm days are back! And this time, we went to the wonderful pick-your-own farm with the nieces. It was all about the strawberries~
About 90 pounds of strawberries! We had three rows (about 20 feet long) that were assigned to us – a group of 6. They say it is the best picking that they have had in recent memory – I guess Snowmageddon was good for something! Each plant had about 15 strawberries each, and they were like rubies under the dark green leaves. So beautiful.
Since we had a clear plan for our berries, Kris and I took the most of them. We split it 60/30. It was an afternoon of washing, hulling, and freezer preparation. The ripest and most delicate berries were taken out, cleaned and then sent through the juicer. The juice is then frozen in popsicle holders and consolidated into plastic baggies in the freezer. These little juice pops are used throughout the year for punches and sangria. The majority of the berries were frozen whole – laid out on wax paper in the freezer shelf (so that they wouldn’t freeze together in one giant block after washing) and then consolidated into baggies.
…and with the others… we made some jam 
My sister Sarah was in town for the long weekend, and she expressed an interest in learning how to can. I picked up some jelly jars and pectin beforehand, so once she made it over, we were ready to go.
We made two batches of jam – the first was strawberry lime jam. For this one, I used the Ball No-Sugar-Needed Pectin. It called for apple or white grape juice for sweetener, but also gave instructions for adding some sugar. Since I did not have the juice on hand, I did in fact add a bit of sugar to the recipe ~4 cups according to the recipe. I found the recipe and adaptation on Ravelry’s Canny Crafters group page. The original recipe was adapted from this one - just subbing lime juice and zest for the lemon.
The second batch used the same recipe as a guide, but a different flavor. This was strawberry vanilla jam using Pomona’s Universal Pectin. I saw several recipes for vanilla varieties and nearly all of them used a vanilla bean – but since I didn’t have one, I subbed 2 Tablespoons of vanilla extract. I used the guidelines for sugars from Pomona’s box. We had approximately 10 cups of strawberries, and I used a mixture of cane sugar and agave nectar for the batch. And, it came out perfectly! Such a nice gel and quite yummy too!
13 jars in all – 8 of vanilla and 5 of lime. It was a great day. Sarah, Kris and I had a lot of fun doing it all! Now we get to enjoy the fruits of our labor over the whole year. Planning to make more preserves, jellies, and canned goods this year – it’s fun to do!
Ooh, I can’t wait to start my own canning for the summer! That all looks so delicious.
Yum! I love strawberry jam. I also make the strawberry freezer jam.
That was a lot of strawberries you guys picked!!
Awesome!!! We just went cherry picking (blogged here: http://morewithles.wordpress.com/2010/06/02/outdoor-shots/) and I’m still baking up a storm and making ice creams. We’re heading out for berries in about two weeks. I’m kind of scared to can for some reason. It seems very technical. In any event, your healthy/fresh eating inspires me, as always!
oh yummy strawberries! all the rain here is making it difficult for our berries to ripen, but fingers are crossed!
Yum, I sooo want to try my hand at jam making!
Sound fun AND delicious!
Your jams look wonderful! I love strawberries. Oooh you’ve inspired me to try to use our canning set this year. My sister gave us a set a couple of years ago and it’s been languishing in the kitchen.
Can’t wait for our CSA to have strawberry picking day!
Looks like a fun & delicious weekend! I’m looking forward to canning adventures again this summer & had been wondering about the Pomona pectin – glad to hear it was a success. Many friends were amazed at my canning last summer so I think I’m going to try host a canning party one weekend to “teach” them how simple it is.
This all just looks so insanely delicious!
I’ve never made jam, but I’m inspired. I need to try it. The flavors you chose sound amazing. I especially want to try the strawberry lime.
It’s not strawberry time here, yet, but I will definitely be trying the strawberry lime recipe this year. Thanks for the link to the lower sugar canning options. It kills me to dump so much sugar into a jar of jam.
Wow–that’s a lot of berries! I went blueberry-picking with my family once, and it was so much fun! Good to know the best ways to freeze and store, too.
Oh, this brings back so many childhood memories of U-pick strawberries and canning! What a great experience for your nieces. The jam looks delish.
Wow, the lime variation sounds like something I’d like.
How fun and delicious! I’m sure it’s so satisfying to eat something that you’ve put so much work into, and really saw through from beginning to end (well, I guess you didn’t grow the berries, but still, pretty close). Yum, I hope I can taste some next time I’m there! Good call on how to freeze the berries without them sticking together, too. You’re so wise
I hope you’re enjoying the summer thus far, send some sun and warmth our way! xoxo
Wow, is it strawberry season already?! I still have some in the freezer from last year!
Your jam does indeed looks perfect… and perfectly delicious!
Oh, I can’t wait for strawberries to be in season here – shouldn’t be too long until they’re ready, now. I’ll plan for a picking day as soon as I’m back from PDX!
OOOOOOoooooo my tummmy is rummbling at the sight of all those lovely berries. I am having the same trouble as some of your other commentors…. no sun= no berries. Yesterday gave me hope, but today is blah again. I amso glad the someone’s harvest is good, I was worried there would be a strawberry shortage all over!
I can’t believe you are using up 60 lbs of strawberries! I picked 6 lbs this year, and made one batch of jam, one of sorbet, and ate the rest.
oh yum… i love homemade jam! i’m going home for a month next week, maybe i can talk my mum into jammin’ with me!
Dude, I want to hang out at your house! You and Kris do all the things I wish I was doing. Maybe someday!
Mmmmmm….jam. It’s going to be jam time in our house soon; I love hovering over the stove and stealing little nips of jam when the Tailor’s not looking.