We be jammin'...

These beauties were on sale this week which meant I was devoting an afternoon to jam. Freezer jam. Not what I had planned, but when strawberries call, I listen!

So I tried out the food processor for the the first time since we purchased it almost 18 months ago - it sat in storage for a year - and I'm hooked! In the past I have hand mashed strawberries for jam, which extends the process greatly, but the processor took just a few minutes for 8 lbs of strawberries. This is a game changer. I'm envisioning salsa and veggies and anything else my little heart desires. But this day, it was strawberries and in no time flat I was filling jars.

My mom used to make freezer jam and I could eat the stuff by the spoonfuls.

15 years later, I'm making the jam and I see how much sugar goes into the jam and it makes me a little sick. 2 cups of strawberries to 4 cups of sugar. A 2-1 ratio. I try not to think about it as I stir it and I let the sugar sink into the strawberries. But magically once it is poured into the jars it's as if the sugar never even existed! In fact, at that point it just looks like 100% strawberries! But I know better. You would think that would discourage me from taking a large spoonful, but it doesn't. You would think I would hesitate giving it to my children, but I don't. Nope. It's one of those things I know is not good for me, but I'm really okay with it.

And just to clarify. I do know they make low-sugar pectins to make a healthier jam, but its just not the same. Not to me anyway.