Jamming

Because I decided yesterday, that 40 degrees Celsius is just not hot enough for me, I decided to make some jam!  Really, I love making jam, and I look forward to it every summer.  My favorite part is finding the nicest local fruit and deciding on the flavors.  One of the best things about living in Hamilton, is that we are on the green belt in Ontario, and close to some great farms that grow some of the nicest produce.  I got these peaches in Vineland, and they were perfect for making jam.

Usually I make jams with some kind of alcohol in it, I call them "boozy fruits," but this year I didn't.  I would have probably added some brandy to this jam, it would have been a nice addition.  In the past I've made blueberry bourbon and Strawberry Rhubarb with rum.  They were yummy.  This year, I went old school, and just used fruit and sugar. 

I was especially lucky yesterday, because my friend Kate was nice enough to come over and help me make the jam.  She had never done it before, so I got to teach her something about it too.  It was a fun, if hot afternoon.  There are no pictures of us making the jam, because we were a sweaty mess during the process.

Now the jam is sitting and waiting, so I thought I would make some pretty labels for it.  I used my handy large punch, and some nice papers.  

I always date my jam.  I don't think you have to, but its a habit I got into making pickles, so now I label everything I make.  Its probably a good habit for some reason.  Jam doesn't need to sit for months like pickles do, so the date label is probably superfluous.  I don't care though, I got to make cute labels.

To stick the labels to the top, I just used a little bit of tacky glue.  With these lids you can only use them for canning once, so I never worry about gluing things to them.  I've looked into making my own stickers instead of gluing, so i will have to try that soon.  Have you ever made your own stickers? 

And now I'll wait for them to settle.  They should sit unmoved for 24 hours so the seal can really get down on it.  I want to give a couple as gifts: one to Kate for helping me, and another to a friend who is pregnant and craving peaches something fierce.  I hope they will like them.  I'm going to make some strawberry jam this week too.  That way D and I will have jam well into next May.   From 6 lbs of peaches I got 2 1/2 liters of jam.  That's a pretty good yield!

There is something so satisfying about making and saving your own food.  I can't wait to have a garden so that I can grow and preserve my own food.  Canning is a lot of work, but so worth it.  

Do you do any canning in your home?