Yes.

You see this:

and you know it's time.

Yes. You know what I'm doing this summer.

It's all I did last summer.

And here I am. Again. Making jam.

Taking unsuspecting berries.

Strawberries.

Raspberries.

Blackberries.

Washing, cutting, mashing.

Measuring.

And this particular liquid measuring cup (below) is my favorite, because I can see the amount from above without having to do the put-it-on-the-counter-and-squat-to-see-eye-level thing.

Oh, sorry. (I go on tangents a lot, if you don't know.) Back to jam.

So I put fruit into pot.

I add the pectin from the box.

And I bring to a boil.

When it becomes a boil that can't be controlled with stirring,

I add sugar.

Lots of sugar. LOTS.

Then, when that comes to a boil that can't be controlled with stirring,
I set the timer for a minute.

It isn't so bad for the first fifteen seconds.

Then it gets scary.

Wear-a-glove-when-you-stir scary.

Wish-I-had-a-longer-wooden-spoon scary.

Just-five-more-seconds scary.

Wish-I-had-a-three-foot-wooden-spoon scary.

Make-a-huge-mess-on-my-stove-top-and-wall messy.

After the (scary) minute is up, I take the pot off the heat and bring it over to the counter.

There I quickly ladle off the foam. The recipe says to use butter to reduce the foam. I've done this but see no difference. There is always foam to ladle off.

After de-foaming the jam, I stir the jam and ladle it into the just-from-the-dishwasher jars.

I always load up the jars into the dishwasher, and then at the very end of the cycle I mash my berries and cook them. By the time the jam is finished with the stove process, the jars in the dishwasher are hot. It is important that they are hot so the boiling jam doesn't crack the glass.

Yes. It does smell like pie filling. Mmmmm.

After the jars are filled and the rims are cleaned of any jam spillage,
it is time to put a freshly washed and heated lid on the jars.

(I keep the lids in a pan of very warm water on the stove, while the jam is cooking,
so they are heated and ready to go when I am.)

I use tongs to be clean.

Then, as the saying goes, I "put a lid on it" and clean up the jar.

The jar has freshly boiled jam so you'll need a dish towel or something because it is very hot.

No special canning process for jam.

It cans itself.

How nice of it, huh?

An inanimate object that is thoughtful.

About fifteen minutes (or so) after the lids are screwed on, I get to hear that lovely popping sound from the jar, letting me know it has sealed.

But even though the canning is easily done, you still have to clean up.

This is when I get to "poison test" the jam. After the jam gets into the jars, the leftover traces in the pot are cool enough (though still deliciously warm) to try. This batch was like a pie. So good.

Mange Takk, indeed!


So we get to the end.

When I stack all the jam up.

And knowing I'm not finished making jam.

And being quite content with that, because I'm freaky like that.

But what to name this new triple-berry creation...

..........

I think it is quite appropriate.