Tuesday, July 22, 2008
From The Bush To The Bottle!
Some where around 9:30 this morning I pulled into the Blueberry Lane parking lot. Not too many people there yet and the owner showed me to an area just off the parking lot to save a lot of walking. The bushes were heavy with both large and small berries. I had figured that I’d need eight pounds to make two batches of jam and some pie filling. The sky was overcast and there was a breeze. So except for a couple of times during the picking when the rain misted the air it was really quite pleasant. Seeing that I have parchment thin skin on my arms I have to wear long sleeves or put up with scratches and punctures from the branches. This meant the weather was great because I didn’t get overheated while picking. I set my sights on a bucket and a half of berries before I quit.
This is what you see when you go to pay for your berries. My labor weighed out at nine and one third pounds so I had more than enough for my project.
The three mile drive back home was spent planning the order of the two things I was going to can. I finally ended up measuring the berries into different bowls and then started with the pie filling. I certainly wasn’t going to run short like we did with the cherries.
I determined that I had enough to can five and a half pints of pie filling using Clear Jel as my thickening agent which allowed me to can it. My hubby found that little gem last year after reading about it for about three or four years.
I next tackled the jam (Sure Jell’s recipe) and ended up with 17 1/2-8 oz jars with one not quite full to go in the fridge.
Not a bad day’s work for any old lady who don’t like to pick any more!
Now we will have to see what is up next on the canning agenda!
