Jam it up

When you go to a pick your own farm there are all these fantastic things going through your head. How much fun you'll have, all the yummy fruit, what can be made from the fruit. Then you get home with a jillion pounds of peaches and then it's when you realize you have a jillion pounds of peaches. I spent a good part of the day taking care of those peaches. Peeling, pitting, cutting all the messy parts that leave you sticky and exhausted. The easy part is the making things. Jam is easy. You toss the fruit in a stock pot add some stuff and dump into jars. Simple. Last year's jam was gone in a snap. We couldn't help ourselves, that perfect jam kept calling us from the pantry, we just had to eat it all. I must say that making jam is by far my most favorite home canning thing. People get excited about jam and it's so easy. Besides eating jam from pick your own fruit is a delicious way to support local farmers.

The most irritating thing about canning is getting the jars. I had to go to several stores to find the jars I needed. I'll have to remember to stock up in the winter to I can save time driving around town, or better yet just order them online. Anyhow, because finding jars was hard and we had this problem of eating all the jam I found a solution. Freezer jam. I made that for us and some down the road friends. The canned and sealed variety will be sent out for Christmas gifts to family and friends outside of the DC area.