Jam & Bread

I've loved reading my friend Liz blog about her canning and pickling adventures this summer, so I thought I'd share my first canning experience. 

I tried strawberry freezer jam this summer and it worked!  I got the recipe from a co-worker.  She's a true TN grandma so I figured her jam was probably fantastic -- and it was!  Here is her simple recipe:

Buy a package of ‘Sur Jel’ not sure of spelling, it would be in the section of ‘canning’ jars I think.
Or possibly in area of jello but more likely in the canning area.
As best I remember, you put certain amount of water with pkg. of sur jel & bring to boil to dissolve.
You mash the strawberries in layers, I think about 2 -3 cups.
Then add LOTS of sugar (maybe 3 or 4 cups) - yes, it’s mostly sugar.
You stir & stir; stir & stir; let set a few minutes,
then add the sur gel mixture & stir; stir & stir; stir some more.
Pour in jars & seal; let sit out over night, then put in freezer.
Just take jar from freezer, spread on biscuits with butter - yummy.
Put remainder back in freezer. It’s ok to have frozen & then re-freeze.

When I picked up the Sure Jell at the store, I opted for the low-sugar variety so I wouldn't have to add the full 3-4 cups of sugar in our jam.  Bev's recipe made it sound so laid back and easy, but the instructions in the package were extreme!  I felt like they were written by evil grandmothers.  Basically, you had to follow them exactly -- no lowering the quantity or sugar content from what was posted, etc.  DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHING IN THIS RECIPE OR YOUR JAM WILL BE TERRIBLE.  I'm not a big recipe follower, so it was torture.  I was hoping to add in some mint, fresh herbs, or orange zest but I caved to the printed instructions of the evil grandmothers and just used fresh strawberries and sugar.

In the end, I was shocked that I actually created jam/jelly.  Of course, freezer jam is totally taking the "easy" way and I didn't have to boil the jars and lids and do canning the "real" way......but it was still a new adventure for me!

Next up: trying my sister-in-law's "easy" recipe for bread!