I headed out with the Smith family very early, and we were at Jerome's U-Pick in Naples by 7:35 am...on a Saturday morning. I hadn't been strawberry picking in years, but since I discovered the wonderful world of canning last fall, I was anxious to make some strawberry jam-for winter and for Antarctica.
Ben and Trey sure do work hard!
The fields were quite muddy, but we picked for about a 45 minutes or so ended up with a pretty nice take as you can see. And just in time, too! As we were finishing, the light mist turned to more of a persistent light shower. Muddy and damp...so NOT what I'll experience on the Ice.
Many helping hands, many quarts
After much preparation, I finally have two batches of jam ready for the steam canner. I invested in a steam canner last fall after I'd done a few batches of applesauce in the hot water bath. The steam canner requires far less water, and as a result, comes to a boil much quicker-much more efficient and saves water, too! Another tip for you jammers out there. If you desire a low sugar product, I highly recommend Pomona's Pectin. It is all natural and will allow you to use up to 1/4 less sugar than traditional pectins.
Freshly made jams head into the steam canner for a bit.