Delusions of Grandeur

The black caps are ripe here in southeastern Wisconsin, so I thought I'd pick some and make some jam. My mom is an RN in a small, rural "Up North" Wisconsin hospital. One of her patients gave her a recipe for berry jam that doesn't require Sure-Jell that most jelly and jam recipes call for, which sounded perfect for me, as I didn't have any. 


So, I armed myself with my trusty glass pitcher-bowl. It holds eight cups, and mom's recipe only calls for four cups of berries. Boy, oh boy. We are gonna have JAM! 


While I was spraying myself with the bug spray, a neighbor walked over with last minute dog-sitting instructions. So of course I asked her if she would like to join me on the berry-picking adventure. She declined. She and her hubby were watching a movie. Thank goodness. You'll see why shortly. 


After about an hour of being eaten alive by mosquitoes. Yeah. The bug spray was not a deterrent at all. And my hands stained a beautiful shade of purple. My harvest was pathetic. 




Here's a little more perspective on the situation. 
Pitiful. I picked a few more today, but it still looks like I'm going to have to BUY berries. Well, here's a copy of the recipe in case you have more berries than I do.

 Berry Jam

4 cups berries (mom said any kind of berries will do)

Pour boiling water over the berries to cover.  Let stand 2 min.  (Might be a good time to skim off any bugs that you don't need as extenders) Then drain.

Add 1 cup of sugar and boil 3 minutes.

Add 2 c. sugar and boil another 5 min.-stir often.

Take off stove, add 1 tsp. butter.

Put in jars while hot and they will seal.  Or, cool and put in containers for the freezer.

 I'd love to hear how this recipe turns out for you.

Best wishes,
Angela