Sunday, July 05, 2009

You want the fruit?... ...You can't handle the fruit!!!

We've got raspberries, tons of them. Usually we are picking a couple pints a day for a week or so, This year, it is insane. We are picking over two quarts a day since last Monday.
I've been eating as many as I can, we've been giving them away, and we've been freezing a few but still, they keep piling up.I decided to try my hand at making some preserves. How tough could that be? The salsa and pickles from last year came out just fine. Well, it can be very tough. My preserves/jam/jelly sucks. My first attempt, a recipe of equal parts sugar and raspberries, yielded two and a half jars of a thick syrup.It wasn't good for bread or sandwiches but tasted just fine over pancakes yesterday. I bet they will be a fine base for raspberry margaritas as well.Since I have plenty of berries and plenty more are ripening each day, I decided to spend a little more time on the internet searching out recipes. My second round went much better. It jelled up properly and isn't too sweet. This recipe combined about 6 cups of fruit, 4 cups of sugar, and a packet of sure-jell. I brought the raspberries to a boil for a few minutes.Added sugar and sure jell and boiled again for about five more minutes.Put the mixture in jars.Processed in boiling water for five more minutes.And voila, I have a ton of preserves. I wonder how much I can fetch for these at the local farmer's market?

If I didn't want to take on another project, I'd say I had to create Tiny Bungalow Jam labels.

8 comments:

pjw400 said...

Chris,

Those preserves look sooooo yummy. If you have anymore raspberry to give away, I would love to have some. Great for the diet:).

Pam

Eastman Tiu said...

Julie can make labels for you. She's good at the paper craft. :) Watch out for that botulism!

Hawk3ye said...

That's amazing! How many years old are your bushes?

Chris said...

There is close to 40 linear feet of raspberries and they have been here since I got here but they have never been this nuts - just did a raspberry pie tonight. Rumor has it that the previous neighbor planted them, on my property, and the PO here put up the fence and enclosed the "neighbor's" raspberries on this side of the fence. Both have since moved on so I guess since I get to benefit, it doesn't really matter. he he.

BlackDog's Photographer said...

Oh I love raspberries! I friend of mine is having the same problem this year and I'm thrilled she shares some with me.

d a r k c h i l d e said...

oh....it looooooks sooooooo gooooood! Yummy!

Fargo said...

Wow! That's beautiful. I have two tiny plants that I planted last year. I think it will take many years before they could produce like this. I'm jealous.

Jennifer said...

That is just gorgeous. I have to plant raspberries now!