January 19, 2015

Memento: Blueberry Jam

01/19/2015

08/13/2014

08/09/2014

I have a long lived love affair with preserving food, and the question of 'why' does come up. It's not like we live on a farm, we are city folk, and it's a coin toss as to whether the economics of growing, picking, canning, and drying even works out. For me, it's all about connections; to the food, to a process, to a season that has long since passed and a family outing with babies that were lighter on the hip. When I crack open a jar of blueberry jam on a chilly morning in January, I taste the August heat and remember berry stained fingers. It's such sustenance during these dark days; the food, and the memories. 

We used Rachel's recipe for the jam, and it is wonderfully unsweet. No pectin, no sugar, just the deliciousness of blueberries with a little honey and lemon. Oh August... you are looking pretty good right about now!

6 comments:

  1. I've been craving warmer days, even though we've barely had a winter-- nothing like homemade jam to really bring in the spring!

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  2. Lovely pictures! I don't recall ever picking blueberries (maybe when I was a kid, I'm not sure) but we love to pick strawberries. I think it's great that you do so much gardening and preserving. I want to do more. And August, oh August. Or even June. ;)

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  3. Lily, what kind of tea is little smith drinking? I have a 3 year old that loves sneaking sips of my tea. I wish I found a non-caffeinated version for the littles.

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    1. Hi! I have given him several kinds of tea (without caffeine), but this one is specifically for kids and is called 'nighty night'. It's made by Traditional Medicinals. www.iherb.com/Traditional-Medicinals-Organic-Just-for-Kids-Nighty-Night-Calming-and-Relaxing-Tea-18-Wrapped-Tea-Bags-96-oz-27-g/41473?gclid=CKCS-p2_psMCFUto7Aod7zwAmw ... He loves feeling grown up and drinking a little tea :)

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    2. THANKYOU so much! will definitely give it a try!

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  4. The steps to preserve fruits properly are pretty easy. Just remember to always choose freshly-picked fruits, because the flavor and the texture holds up best over time if you use fruit that's perfectly ripe. In any case, it looks like the family enjoyed picking blueberries. And the lovely photos really captured the moments well. Thanks for sharing, and have a nice day!

    Faith Thomas @ The Berry Farm

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