I have never canned anything in my life. I just eat the preserves of my Mom and MIL. This year, I decided to do something myself. We are strawberry freaks, so I decided I would make my first batch of strawberry jam.

I took the Wee Ladies to the strawberry patch. Luckily for me, a friend of mine came along with her daughters. This meant more eyes on the Wee Ladies. We got there, grabbed our baskets and went to work.

The girls picked randomly along the rows. I was slow and precise. My girlfriend is a strawberry picking machine. She was half a row ahead of me at all times. EvieG was also precise and when she brought me her basket, I noticed she had already picked off all the green stems. She presented them to me like they should have been on a plate with chocolate sauce dabbled across them. Cut and prepared. Ready to serve. Spark Plug spent most of the time trampling over the plants, picking berries, and then placing them in her basket only to remove them to her mouth. She left with an empty basket and a full tummy. The Destroyer picked up the mushed berries from in between the rows and ate them. She left with dirty fingers, a dirty face, a full tummy, and a possible illness. She came out unscathed.
We took them home and I put the flat on the counter. I stared at it for a day, deciding if in fact I was really going to tackle this whole jam-thing. I went out and bought the jars. I then needed the Pectin crystals. I was looking at the options. There was the regular Certo, the Certo Light, and the new No Sugar Needed Certo. Hmmmmmm......The regular is like spreading several cavities on your toast. The light is, well, a couple of cavities, and the no sugar version is a little added unsweetened apple juice. That was probably the best choice for the kids. The healthiest choice by far.
I got up Saturday morning all hell-bent on making the best batch of jam ever. Better than Grandma's. And I had this new, healthy way of doing it too. No extra sugar needed. Jam's best kept secret that no on knew about, except me.

I washed the berries and took the stems off. I heated the jars and lids. I squashed the berries and measured them according to the recipe. I added the juice and the crystals. I cooked them for 3 minutes and stirred until all was dissolved. I ladled the jam into the jars and sealed them. I labeled the lids and waited for them to 'pop' to tell me I was better than Grandma. I proudly displayed the jars full of healthy red goodness for all to see. I let it sit and settle for 24 hours.
During this process I had to deal with 2 hungry crying babies. I had to prepare lunch, stir, and ladle all at the same time. I was a stressed out, multi-tasking monster. There was jam everywhere, jars everywhere, and snot everywhere. And my whispies were fully flying.

What I forgot to do in this jam session was the most important, vital thing that all Grandma's do when cooking. Taste the stuff. I missed this part. But at least I followed the recipe to a tee. That is one thing I never do. But I did this time.

Sunday morning rolls in and I, proud mom, 'pops' open my first jar of strawberry jam ever. Hubby was there for my inauguration into the "Mommy Who Can Can" club. I put in my teaspoon and all cocky like, scooped out a heaping mouthful, opened my mouth and....."Oh, my god. That's......not good.....oh, man, that...is...in...need....of...some...major....SUGAR." I was so devastated. Hubby took a bite and said, "Ummmmm, that's.....pretty bad. You know, we aren't diabetic. We don't need the no sugar version. You should have just made the real stuff. Like Grandma." CRAP! Ya, like Grandma.

I composed myself, tasted it again, and added several teaspoons of sugar. Ahhhhh, that was better.

My ego was popped along with the lids on the jam jars. I thought I had moved up the crafty mommy chain by making some real homemade jam, on-the-stove-from-scratch. Just like Grandma. But I totally botched it. Like my $12.80 in strawberries, I was crushed.

So my diabetic Father-in-Law is now a proud new owner of 8 jars of unsweetened strawberry jam.
There was no reason AT ALL to divert from Grandma's way. There is something to be said about the classic baked goods we grew up with. It is real. It is pure. There was none of this no sugar bulls#*t. Why did I think I had to get all on my high horse thinking that my kids would be any healthier because they had a teaspoon of no-friggin-sugar-strawberry-jam on their toast? Whatever, I say to myself. I should have put in the darn sugar and done it right the first time. Don't chince on the good stuff. I make my cookies from scratch and I always use real butter, sugar, and chocolate. As some guy on the Food Network said, "Make it like Grandma's."
So I will. I went out to the strawberry patch yesterday. Instead of picking them myself, I bought the flat this time. I paid more, but it was worth avoiding the gigantic headache of monitoring the Wee Ladies in the field. I am going to do it right this time. With some sugar..and maybe a couple extra teaspoons just to make it extra sweet. The above picture is what I used the first time around. Under it is what I should have used the first time around.
It's like I'm all 17 again rebelling against Grandma. Trying to prove that my way was the best way. Only to learn that I was wrong again. As I have heard a million times, "You should always listen to your mother." I'm 33 and it still hasn't sunk in.

Will the Wee Ladies do the same thing to me?

All's I'm sayin's all.

Labels: Battle, DDM, Family, Hubby