| Did you ever look at the rows of jams and jellies at | | | | is Tracy Toth's strawberry webisode on the blog |
| the market and wonder about the canning | | | | Homegrown on a Hobby Farm, which shows just |
| process—how those beautiful summertime | | | | how simple the process really is. Tracy Toth is a |
| strawberries and blueberries became the fruit | | | | hobby farm enthusiaste who owns and runs her own |
| preserves we all know, love, and have grown up | | | | hobby farm in Pennsylvania and hosts many |
| with? | | | | informative videos about raising sheep, goats, and |
| You can make your own strawberry jam with a few | | | | chickens, sustainable farming, organic gardening, |
| simple ingredients—strawberries, sugar, lemon | | | | canning and preserving, hydroponics, soap making, |
| juice, and fruit pectin—and have enough for your | | | | beekeeping, and many other forms of small-scale |
| whole family, some for holiday gifts, and even a few | | | | farming that can be done on limited land using help |
| left over to enter in your local county fair! | | | | from family and friends. In her strawberry webisode |
| You'll also need a few basic canning supplies, which | | | | she visits Prout's Jolly View Farm to gather the "Early |
| you can order from any of the many online food | | | | Glow" variety of strawberries she uses to make her |
| preservation websites out there. One of the basic | | | | strawberry jam. |
| things you'll need is a water bath canner with lid and | | | | However, back to canning. After combining the |
| jar rack. A water bath canner is a very large pot, | | | | ingredients in the proper amounts and boiling them |
| usually made of some kind of enamel-coated metal, | | | | for the time called for in your recipe, you simply |
| that has a tight fitting lid. The jar rack, a metal wire | | | | spoon the mixture through a funnel into the canning |
| rack specially made to hold canning jars, fits snugly | | | | jars, leaving a little space at the top. This is |
| into the water bath canner. The jar rack has a series | | | | necessary, because the goal is to create a vacuum |
| of separate compartments, one for each jar. You will | | | | seal using temperature. You then place the lid on the |
| also need a jar lifter for the important job of placing | | | | jar using the lid wand. This is so that your fingers |
| hot jars of jam or jelly into the boiling water bath, | | | | don't introduce bacteria or foreign matter into the jar. |
| and most critically for removing them from the boiling | | | | Once the lid is on, the tightening ring is placed over |
| water. These jars are extremely hot once they're | | | | the lid and screwed shut, just to finger-tightness. The |
| ready to be removed, and since they're also wet, | | | | jars are then placed into the jar rack inside the |
| they could slip easily without this important tool. Of | | | | canner, which has boiling water inside. Remember to |
| course, you'll also need some canning jars including | | | | use the jar lifter, or you will burn your fingers! |
| the rings and lids, a lid wand to pick up and place the | | | | After the amount of time called for in your recipe, |
| lid onto the jar, a funnel for getting your fruit mixture | | | | you lift the jars out of the boiling water bath and set |
| into the jar, and some kind of label for the jars so | | | | them down onto a heat resistant surface to cool. |
| that a year down the line, when you open up your | | | | You will hear a popping sound, just once for each jar, |
| pantry, you can tell what exactly the product is | | | | as the contents acclimate to the cooler temperature |
| that's sitting on your shelf. | | | | outside of the canner. This is the vacuum seal taking |
| The basic canning process for making jam is a simple | | | | effect, and this popping is necessary for you to hear |
| one, and there are many excellent Websites out | | | | to know that your jam or jelly is preserved properly |
| there that cover canning in great detail. One of the | | | | and safely. |
| best resources for learning about the canning process | | | | |