Delicious Jam Made From Locally Gleaned Blackberries - THP vol. 3
Although we live in the city, we live less than 1 km from the nearest common, and that place is usually filled to the brim with delicious blackberries. This year has been a horrible berry year though, not nearly enough heat, so I'm thankful we still have a couple of kgs in the freezer from last year.
Making Jam With a Toddler
Last year, I only managed to turn out a few jars of jam and we ended up buying jam several times, which for us is a big deal because jam is usually one of the few things we are fairly self-sufficient in. Between a power napping baby and the resulting no sleep for mama, I just didn't have it in me to make jam and the berries I were able to collect all went into the freezer. This year, our son sleeps a little better and I routinely get 2 hours of uninterrupted sleep at a time on a good night. This means I have a lot more energy and on the final day of our three-week vacation I set out to make jam joined by my our 20-month-old.
It actually wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would have been. Our child understands that the stove can be hot and that he shouldn't touch it, so all it took was some gentle reminders every now and then. While I was stirring and boiling and toiling, he played happily between my feet and every time we came to a new step in the process I would show him and share with him what was happening.
I'm a big proponent of including children in your work and giving them real jobs to complete, instead of some made up menial work. My son did all the pouring, helped me select the tools we needed, washed off the surfaces for me before and after the jam making and learned about the gelling test and sanitation. The only process he wasn't included in was pouring the boiling jam and water. At those points, my husband joined us and lifted him up at a safe distance so he could follow along without the risk of being hurt.
A Simple Recipe
We don't do anything fancy with our blackberry jam. We simply use a one to one ratio of berries to sugar. We do however let some of the sugar be traditionally made muscovado sugar, instead of the regular processed white sugar. The muscovado goes wonderfully with blackberries and has more nutrients. It's also a lot more expensive, so we tend to use no more than 50% of our total sugar amount.
The Results
Almost 1,2 kg of berries were turned into 6 jars of jam of varying sizes. We are slowly building our glass jar collection and I'm currently looking at different sources to find the cheapest option. That's why I could only use about half the berries in our freezer. We don't eat a lot of jam though, as it's a sugary treat, so the 6 jars should last us for some time.
Feel free to join the conversation at
When my kids were younger I loved cooking with them. This afternoon I had my 9yo help me put together dinner due to a hand injury sustained this morning. I remembered how nice it can be, I think because I couldn't have control on my own. I had to have help. Now I struggle to share those activities because I prefer mess control.
Ah yes, and children so easily create a big mess. It's part of their learning though and worth it in my eyes (but ask me again when mine is older or I have a bunch more).
I am not sure I remember canning with my toddlers ...you are ambitious!
My youngest is now 12...I take it on now, but you are brave...sounds like you made it fun ...I tip my hat! What is a commons?..from U.S. (Florida girl) curious!
happy day,
Melissa
You're always welcome to ask! It's a piece of land for public use. Back in the day farmers would take their livestock to graze on the commons, now it's more of a recreational area, like a giant park I guess but without the modern park things. just the land and some trails and what ever grows there.
That is wonderful as it sounds like a large tract...Sounds as though it has full seasons where you are from. (Europe) I am in Florida U.S. and we do get blackberries but the seasons are sometimes abundant and other years not much due to drought or too much rain. It seems conditions have to be just right...or not much is given...but when it is we fill up our bucket. You jam looked so delicious! I know you will enjoy it and the time well spent.
many more blessings,
Melissa
mmmmmmm blackberry jam. I love making jam I find it therapeutic we have the most amazing plum tree here, this year I was shown how to preserve the plums in sugar water which is nice but next year I am all for the jam making.
Mmm plums... While I don't eat it, I've heard that plums in Madeira are absolutely delicious too, if you get tired of the jam making next year.
I have never seen jar's like that. Interesting. Must have been interesting making these with the toddler, so how much was on the toddler and how much in the jars. LOL You must be from Europe. It intrigues me to see the small differences in countries, Thanks for sharing, upvoted
Yep, Scandinavian all the way.
We made a small plate for finger dipping and the rest was off-limits. :)
love the post, we will be doing something like this next year when we have a chance to harvest all the fruits in our garden, our aim is to be as self sufficient as possible
That's a great goal. What kind of fruits will you have?
I think it is amazing you teach your son about cooking and having responsibilities when he is young. I think a lot of kids today do not possess those qualities. They really don't know how to take care of themselves and are always dependent on somebody in life.
The jam looks amazing btw. Can you send a jar to Croatia? lol :)
Great post :)
#theunmentionables. :)
Thank you. I think children really want to have responsibilities - the key is to give them real jobs, I think. Modern parents often think their children aren't capable of x,y,z, and children (much like adults) have a tendency to live up to the expectations they are met with. Uh, I sense a post here...
It would probably get lost in customs ;) Thank you for stopping by.
I think you should write a post about it. You are absolutely correct with your statement. It is up to parents to teach their kids values and how to take care of themselves in life. :)
I am sure one of the guys on customs would smell the awesomeness in the jar and would have to snatch it. lol :)
those jar's in the last picture are different from the usual canning jar's I've seen folks use :) two of them look like pails with lids and no handles :D thanks for sharing
They are all from the same company: WECK and they are very common in Europe. We don't have Ball jars readily available. They are all made of glass and then the natural rubber ring, so unless you break one, all you have to do is replace the rubber rings once they begin to disintegrate. The clips are just for the cooling process and can be used once you've opened a jar too.
The jars you have are what we would love to use but they are not easily found in the US LoL.
Ah yes, one often wants what one cannot get. ;)
oh my I seen the clips and thought they was tape to help you know what's been opened already :) silly me :P
Hi i like your post upvoted your post hope you will like my posts and will upvote my posts as your true follower
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