by Ashlee
Do you ever have those days where you become completely obsessed with something? Well today I've been pinning on Pinterest like a crazy person. I wasn't too into it before, but the past two weekends, at client meetings, other vendors have asked "Do you have a Pinterest board for your bride?"....Say WHHAAAT? I hadn't heard of such a thing! I mean I have boards of pictures, ideas, DIY things, but for each wedding? Hmm...then I started thinking. That is brilliant! There are many things that I understand and can visualize, but my Brides will have no clue what I'm talking about! That is why today, I started to organize my boards to easier find and show things.
Two things I was pressed on were favors and signature drinks! If you look at my Pinterest Boards, you will find that I have a love of things fruity, especially strawberries. I found this great DIY favor via Inimate Weddings.
Spread the Love: Strawberry Jam
Ingredients (Makes approximately 10 250 ml jars depending how long you boil the strawberries.)
13 cups of fresh strawberries (about 4.5 lbs)
6 cups of sugar
½ cup of lemon juice (we used organic lemons.)
It took us five hours to make 29 250 ml jars, but we did it in three batches. (Not including cleaning and hulling the berries.) It would have taken less time if we would have had a bigger pot for larger batches.
Equipment
Canning Specific Items
(Links to Amazon Affiliates.You can usually find these items at local grocery/hardware stores too)
Other Items
Pots
Regular Tongs for handling lids.
Ladle for distributing jam into jars.
Place required number of canning jars into a large pot. If you are making wedding favors you’ll probably want to use the 125 ml jars or the 250 ml jars if you are feeling especially generous. Cover jars with water and bring to a low, rolling boil. Keep jars hot until ready to use.
Heat lids in hot water (180°F/82°C). Keep lids hot until ready to use. Bernardin says to set the screw lids aside, but I also heated them just to be safe. Place ladle, canning tongs and funnel into hot water as well to sterilize. (I used a separate pot for these.)
Wash and hull berries. (We used a knife to hull them. Last year I used my hands and my thumb was sore and stained red for days:)
Place berries into a large pot and mash berries with a potato masher, while bringing them to a simmer over medium-low heat. How much you mash them is up to you. Some people like big chunks of fruit in their jam, and some do not. (I fall into the latter category.) BTW, that’s my hubby’s hand, not mine:)
Add sugar and lemon juice. I used an old fashioned hand juicer and squeezed real lemons (organic) for the juice. Make sure to pour the juice through a strainer if using real lemon juice.
Stir and bring to a boil for a approximately 30 mins. Skim the foam as you are boiling. The foam tends to build up quickly when it first starts to boil again after adding the sugar. You have to be watching it closely. Periodically, test the thickness of the jam by spooning it onto a plate. If it runs like syrup, it’s not ready. (I spooned it on a plate and let it cool for about a minute, giving it time to set.) Make sure you stir constantly and don’t let it overthicken. Remove from heat. (Skim the remaining foam before you remove from heat.)
Remove jars from boiling water with canning tongs. Place canning funnel into sterilized jar. Ladle jam into hot jar leaving proper ‘head space’, which is the space at the top of the jar between the underside of the lid and the top of the jam. For jam it’s ¼ inch. Overfilling and under filling can result in a jar that does not seal properly.
Wipe jar removing any stickiness with paper towel. Using tongs, place lids on jars.
Using tongs, set screw bands on jars. Evenly and firmly screw them on until resistance is met and they are fingertip tight. Place sealed jars into boiling water for 15 minutes. Be sure water covers jars by at least 1 inch (2.5 cm); add boiling water if required.
Remove from water and listen for the ‘pop’ of the jar lids. (I swear, that ‘pop’ is music to my ears!) This means they are sealed. As one canner put it, the popping sound signifies the jam ‘sealing itself off to the outside world.’ Sometimes it can take several minutes for the popping sound. Check jar seals by pressing on centre of each lid. If the lid center is pulled down and does not move its got a good seal. If you’ve waited a few hours and the seal hasn't popped, place jar in refrigerator.
Viola! Now you have a delish homemade favor!!
A special Thanks to Christine from Intimate Weddings for letting us use her pictures and tutorial above!
Till next time, happy planning!!
