Every year about this time I get in the mood to make jam. Our church teaches its members to be self-reliant and to build up a basic food and water supply to use in times of adversity or emergency. This teaching used to be looked at as extreme by some. Not so much anymore. In the last twelve years I've had many friends and neighbors ask me how they could go about creating a basic supply of food and other essentials. It's just common sense in today's world to have some money and necessities set aside.
When I first started canning my own jam to rotate through our food storage, it used to be much less expensive to can it myself rather than buy it in the store. I'm not sure that's the case anymore, but when you compare the taste of homemade to store-bought, there is no comparison. Homemade tastes so much better, so I continue to make it every year because, after eating homemade for years, we're spoiled.
This year I've made a variety of jams...
Strawberry, Mixed Berry (blackberry, raspberry, and blueberry), Raspberry, and Blueberry.
Be still my heart.
I also think there's a value in knowing how food is processed. Before I got married, I had no idea how food got from the garden to the table. Knowing how to process fruits and vegetables has its merits.
Anyway, that's what I've been doing all week, and I have dozens of quarts canning jars filled with luscious jams to prove it. Enough for us and enough to give away to family and friends!
