Thursday, July 8, 2010

Jam Love

Steamy summer days are good for more than hatching mosquitoes. The copious amounts of rain and high humidity have resulted in a beautiful crop of raspberries. These were picked my my mother-in-law, Louise, who blessed us with 10 pints of these beauties
Aren't they amazing?
Last night I made jam. We had eaten most of the berries fresh so it was a small batch--but I was thinking that I should share my recipe. It also comes from Louise and I've never been disappointed in the results. Hopefully you can read this around the smudges and splatters:



When I make raspberry jam, I strain the seeds out using a fine mesh strainer after the berries have cooked with the vinegar, before adding the sugar. Oftentimes I use more fruit than the recipe calls for--and throw in some whole berries toward the end of the cooking time. I used this recipe for the strawberries and wild black raspberries also. The jam made last night is quite thin so will make great ice cream topping or syrup. I probably could have cooked it longer. 


Such lusciousness--it could be illegal.