This past week my mom called me up and said she and my sister had acquired a "couple buckets" of plums. She asked if I had any idea what to do with them. My suggestion was to make plum jam. I was thinking a couple of small buckets would make 2 or 3 batches and to allocate four hours to do so.Well, two buckets was approximately 500 plums...
My family motto: Never do anything small.
It was a lot of hard work but also a great time with my family. T Rex Dad was in charge of T Rex wrangling and making grocery store runs for more and more pectin and more and more sugar - yes, he did take T Rex with him (only one major melt down on the first grocery store run).
My mom's hands - she wore the peeler out!
The assembly line...
From right to left: my mom and brother-in-law peeling plums, and my sister chopping. I was in charge of all aspects of cooking (trust me, I was the lucky one). I had all 5 burners on the stove going for eight hours straight. Any guesses what my gas bill is going to be?So after peeling and pitting 500 plums, 30 lbs of sugar, 56 jars, and 8 hours later we finished the 8th batch of jam!
Let's see that finished product again...
My mother-in-law is getting some huckleberries next trip up north so that's next on the canning project list.
What did you do this weekend?
9 comments:
That is a lot of work! I admire all of your family's hard work. It looks like the end product turned out great :) It's so nice that you all have these fun family activities together.
I love how you do all these things.
Looks like you had a lot of work but how rewarding when you are all done.
I was so excited to make spaghetti sauce with my tomato's from my garden but the cool weather here is causing everything to die. I have green tomato's hanging on almost dead plants. I just don't think I will have enough now.
My weekend was spent tending to Thomas who has been sick. He is improving but we stayed home today just to be sure.
Ok, I changed my mind, I want a jar of the jam in exchange for the dipes!!! (which I still haven't forgotten about...)
That's impressive! I'd like a taste now!
So, 8 batches of plum jam! That's a lot. My weekend was a lot of family time, which doesn't happen all that often. Little Man and I hung out in the backyard and gave Elvis (our Chesapeake Bay Retriever) a good brushing and hose-down. Daddy and I had a DATE last night, so we got to go to dinner and browse Barnes and Noble. Then, this morning, I had to leave work and get Little Man because he had gotten sick all over himself. I guess he may have more than just allergies. I just hope it's not H1N1 as he already has health issues with his allergies and asthma.
Wow that sounds like a lot of jam. I'll bet it's divine. Nothing better than homemade jam.
I think it's awesome how busy you stay. I think this is the key to a good life. I need to pick up some tips from you.
Oh, yum!!!!! Looks like you are all set in the jam department for awhile. :)
How did you get started in canning? I really want to give this a try, any tips?
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