I took the strawbs from last week’s farmer’s market and turned them into freezer jam. Easiest thing in the world. How wonderful will it be to pull out a little container on a snowy January morning and slather my toast with a taste of summer?
I hope to get one more batch in the freezer before the local berries are done. I’m a bit alarmed at the quantity of sugar needed, so if you know of a recipe that uses less, please share.
In knitting news, I’m on my second take of February Lady Sweater. I am pleased with the kfb increases in lieu of the m1 increases called for by the pattern. I am not so pleased with the results of my first buttonhole, though. A-frogging I will go…third time is a charm, right?
And just because it’s a little oddity that amuses me, get a load of this. Sometimes I mis-type my name as Bevelry. It’s like Ravelry for my name. Isn’t that funny? Or do you think I need to get out more?
I think you need to make more jam. ;^)
You can always add less to the recipe you’re using, my Bev. I know Sandy made some over the weekend, but I’m not sure what recipe she was using.
I think the sugar’s just for flavor, isn’t it? Not for any chemical reason? So could you just use less? If you try it, let me know. We’re going to pick strawberries this weekend.
Bevelry! Hahahaha!
Oooo so much Jam is being made these days. I cannot wait to try my hand at this. 😀 What recipe do you use?
Love the scarf you wove in your last post. BEAUTIFUL!
You need the sugar to make the pectin gel. I’m not 100% sure of the science behind it but you might be able to get away with less sugar if you find the right recipe or add pectin to the jam.
Mmmmm, jam….
Bevelry. I like it!
Mmmm….jam-making is on my to-do list for this weekend, if we manage to get out to a u-pick.
I just made strawberry jam last week too, except that mine’s plain old jam. I’m saving freezer space for a 1/2 a side of beef we’re supposed to buy from a friend. The bull in question went on walk-about though and smartly enough is keeping a low profile at the farm. Anyway, you can’t change the sugar amount in regular jam or it won’t set. I don’t know if the same is true for freezer jams though. My husband is named Brian and I often type Brain instead of his name. Yard and yarn are often misread and mistyped by me too.
I think the sugar is partly to act as a preservative for the jam, isn’t it? I think if you go with less sugar, you’ll need to adjust the pectin you use.