We be Jammin', Strawberry Jammin' Part II

Well here is about 20 quarts of strawberries just waiting to be jammed.

This past Wednesday Naomi and Five Crows got together at 9:00 in the morning to begin what was to be an all day affair of canning strawberry jam. Between the two of them they made approximately 480 ounces of strawberry jam or about 60 jars. They have made plans to can more fruits and who knows start a whole business.

Watching these two work took me back to my grandparents house in Arkansas. Where my grandmother would spend many of hot summer days canning preserves. Just the sight of a Mason jar can bring back many happy memories. I wonder how many people in the United States still can food?

First step is washing and then cutting off the caps off of two quarts of strawberries

Next put the 2 quarts of strawberries into the pot and then mash them right in the pot. This will help to save on dishes that you will need to wash later.

Then add six cups of sugar and stir the concoction thoroughly.

Put the Mason jars into a dishwasher and wash them to heat up the jars.

Next heat up the concoction until it gets to 220 degrees Fahrenheit.

Then using a ladel and a jar funnel pour the jam into the Mason jars. Next put the lids on and then screw on the rings, but make sure that they are not to tight.

Place the jars into a water bath canner and lower them until they are submerged.

Boil them for fifteen minutes and then remove them using the tongs.

You may hear a slight popping noise as you remove them. Let them sit for a bit until all the lids have sealed-The popping noise. The jars take up to 24 hours to cool.

PYO Farms

Pick your own is a very interesting idea and I feel that it can only exist in cultures who no longer have a large base of agriculture. It is a way for many people to give themselves or their children of a sense of what it might be like to be on a farm. If farming was only picking and eating. However, I cann't begrudge this idea at all. For one it is a great way for family farms to keep going and to capitalize on a type of industry that Americans do so well; Tourism. I have been to farms that are more amusement park than actual farm. A second reason is that honestly this could be the closest some of these families ever get to the source where their food comes from. If nothing else they will know what a strawberry plant looks like and how to tell when they are ripe enough to pick. Lastly I participate in this phenomenon as well. Buying strawberries by the quart can become expensive from the farmers market($5 a quart), but PYO is less than half the price of the farmers market strawberries.

So it was with this last idea in mind that Naomi, myself, and two of our good friends went to McCann Berry Farm in Woodstock, IL to purchase some strawberries at a discounted price and to help support a local family farm. The McCann Berry Farm was well run and they even had people in the field to help direct you to a row that had not yet been picked. So one doesn't waste their time going up and down rows or sections that have already been picked over. I also found a bit of camaraderie with the other people who were picking. Some helped direct others to where the berries were bigger or more plentiful. By the end of the hour we had 5 buckets of strawberries or 20 quarts. Our Friends Kelly and Kathy collected some peas and also helped us to fill one of our buckets. And we did all of this for just a little over $40 and some time in the car driving through the beautiful back roads of McHenry County.

As for what did we need 20 quarts of strawberries for. Stay tuned to find out.

The Birds

I love birds even though I am not a birder. For the most part I can't identify birds that well, but I love to hear their early morning calls and their late evening songs. However I have identified the culprit to the recent attacks on my strawberries. The Cardinal! He has systematically killed several strawberries just before they fully ripen. On many of the attacks he did not fully eat the strawberry, but only pecked at it a few times. Well Naomi and I have begun to fight back.

Last week we put a net over our precious crop, in hopes of thawarting this evil doer. Since that time we have been able to harvest 9 plump and juicy strawberries. I ate one of them yesterday and it was my first strawberry in one year. Each saporific bite was filled with rich moutwatering flavor. It was true ambrosia.

Hopefully this enemy will soon give up on the strawberries and return to eating other items.

Strawberries, Spring, and Tennis

"One must ask children and birds how cherries and strawberries taste."

Strawberries happen to be the first "fruit" in our area to ripen. The strawberry doesn't technically count as a fruit since in reality it is just the enlarged end of the plant's stamen.  The strawberry in my opinion is the best of all the fruits.  It is juicy, plump, and oh so, so very sweet. The strawberry is of course non-fat, low in calories, high in vitamin C, potassium, folic acid, fiber, and vitamin B6.  The actual name for the strawberry is believed to be derived from the fact that the berries are strewn all about the plant.  Hence the Old English words is streowberie or streabbelige, which litteraly means "strewn berry". This name eventually became strawberry through the shortening and metamorphosis of the word.  

The strawberry is in the Rosaceae family and all the known kinds are in the genus Fragaria.  The genus name Fragaria refers to the odorous nature of the fruit.  It has been used as a perfume in times past.  It is said that Madame Tallien, great figure during Napoleon's reign used to bathe in the juice of strawberries.  She claimed that this ritual kept her skin radiant, smooth and free of blemishes.  However it did take approximately 22 pounds of strawberries in order to make enough juice to fill the basin.  

The ancient Greeks and Romans would harvest wild strawberries for medicinal purposes.  It is believed that the Romans were the first to start to cultivate the strawberry.  Native Americans harvested wild strawberries throughout the Northeast and the Midwest.  It is believed that strawberry shortcake came from a meal that Native Americans would make using mashed strawberries.  

In medieval Europe the strawberry was seen as a symbol of prosperity, richness, peace, and perfection as a society.  It was widely used at festivals and tournaments.  To this day the strawberry has an important role at Wimbledon.  Each year about 60,000 pounds of strawberries are consumed at the Wimbledon tennis matches, along with approximately 2,000 gallons of cream. It is believed that this tradition of serving strawberries with cream is as old as the event itself. 

In the 1900's cultivation of the strawberry began in California.  California now cultivates approximately 25,000 acres of strawberries throughout the state.  Making it the single largest supplier of strawberries.   They produce about 80% of the world's strawberry harvest.  Therefore making all of the strawberries that you buy at the grocery store are from California.  This means that for many of us these strawberries must travel a far way in order to reach us.  I suggest to everyone only eat strawberries in season (June for most strawberry plants) and buy them only from local farmers.

Non cultivar strawberry plants are June bearers or they produce their fruit in June.  The first cultivars were cultivated to produce bigger berries.  However as time went on it became the idea to try and cultivate a strawberry that would be "ever-bearing"  or ones that would have two or three cycles where they bear fruit.  This type of strawberry in my opinion has less taste, most probably due to the fact that in order to get the plant to do this other traits had to be lost.  This is the trade off in all cultivars or hybrids.  We breed a plant for a specific trait which we want but in the process we lose several other traits that are also highly important.  Taste is usually one that is lost, especially in genetically modified (GM) crops.  

The picture to the left is from May 26th and this same strawberry is already over half-way red.  I am ready to harvest it and savor its deliciousness later this week with Naomi.  Don't forget everyone to visit your local farmers market and to buy your vegetables and fruits from there.  Support your local farmers and keep your food close to home.