Danelle planted several strawberry plants this year around the house. Unfortunately, it takes a year before they truly start producing, so we would have to get our strawberries somewhere else. Of course, the weather the past winter was quite mild and the summer started off strong and quite warm. When we called around to the place we had been previously for picking, they were already closed. After several tries, we found Eckerts farm. If you’re from the St. Louis area, you’ve heard of them because they advertise all year. They’re always growing something for the public to come and pick. They do have quite a nice setup for bringing people out to the farm. The kids love the activities and the animals, so we were off.
Out in the picking fields, I started picking like there was no tomorrow. It was hot and its not something I like too much. That is not to say that I dislike it, but that its a time consuming task that I’m grateful to local supermarkets for. I out-picked Danelle and the kids because I knew that we didn’t need perfect berries since we would be making jam out of them. After filling my flat, I traded with Sonora to let her brag about how many she picked. I don’t remember how many pounds we picked, but I remember paying almost $75 for all of the berries.
Back at home, it was business time. Watch the steps below for how we made the jam.
Clean the berries by removing the stems and any parts that are too gross.
Mash them all up into strawberry juice.
Add equal parts berries and sugar, then some lemon juice.
Stir while it gently boils for a long time.
Pour it into jars and boil to seal them up.
On a side note, we found out the hard way this year that doubling the recipe to save time results in runny jam that is best used as a syrup. Single batches solidified nicely and can be used as jam.