Sorry I didn't post last night. I was so tired after a long day of canning. Wait, let's back, up a bit. On Tuesday afternoon, Teach called me from the grocery store. She was so excited about the 99-cent strawberries! That's because she knew that we had been out of strawberry jam for quite a while now.
Last year the strawberries never got cheap enough to justify the expense of canning, and it is expensive. We made 56 quarts of jam. I already had bottles, so it only required lids, but that was $10. Sugar was about $30 and pectin was $1.69 a box and we used 41 boxes. And that doesn't count the $50 for the strawberries.
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| Pretty sure Taco stirred every pan of pectin. |
But I digress...
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| Scout was the best at mashing the berries. |
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| Although Twizlet came in a close second. |
So on Wednesday morning, Scout and I ran to the store for pectin and when we returned, Bossy was here with her family and they were already starting to prep the berries. We finished the project just before 4:00. I also did 13 quarts of beets from the garden in between batches. That was our entire beet crop and it only cost me a couple of dollars for the lids.
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| So pretty when they are finished. |
Today we are making grape jelly. Bossy's boys (including Gamer) brought me a couple of 5-gallon buckets full of grapes and I juiced them down to about 18 quarts. Now comes the jelly process. I'm hoping to see Bossy sometime this morning to help me, although maybe they are all still sleeping. That's where I would like to be...
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| Can you guys handle another day of canning? |
Oh wow, a big mission accomplished by your families help. I love how you do these kinds of things together. The photos tell it all. I think there is such a satisfaction of looking at all those bottles lined up on the counter. Way to go girl!
ReplyDeleteBlessings and hugs for all involved!