canning four berry jam

running 8 cups of fresh picked, frozen, then thawed strawberries thru my strainer. look at all that yummy juice!


the solids and seeds that get strained out


6 cups raspberries


8 cups blueberries


3-4 cups of blackberries


berry change equals juice color change


we ended up with 16.5 cups of berry juice


this little wooden block is a life saver. my moms kitchen counter has an overhang you can tuck a stool under and sit at. this means the edge doesnt work right with the clamp for the strainer (or the clamp for the apple peeler). this block makes the clamp work.


in one pan we had 9 cups of juice and 5 1/2 cups sugar


in the second pan we had 7 1/2 cups juice, and 4 cups sugar


cooking the juice down makes foam. we cooked this down for an hour to thicken. maybe should have cooked it down more.


you have to scoop the foam off


the little jam jars can all fit in a pot of water to boil/sterilize. the bigger jars have to be done in the sink.


lids need to be heated/sterilized


filling the jars


yummy yummy! 11 jelly jars (1/2 pints) and 4 pints of jam


we didnt add any surejel, because the last time we made jam we used too much and it was difficult to spread. this time it was very runny. so technically, we made syrup, not jam. it still tastes FABULOUS.

bonus video of the strainer in action