Toothsome Thursday

I was at the Farmer's Market last Wednesday when I happened upon some organic raspberries going for a very decent price. Twelve boxes for only $20! In October! I'll admit I took advantage of the opportunity.

This is not 12 boxes. This is only 6. I had already rinsed six when I realized it might be nice to take a picture. 

The only thing about raspberries is that they go bad if you look at them sideways. I knew there was no hope of eating them all before they went downhill. Fortunately with my tiny amount of canning experience I was pretty sure it would be easy to make some delicious jam out of them with little to no trouble.

So I set some aside for snacking, rinsed the rest and threw them into a pan on low heat.

Then I crushed them with my trusty wooden spoon, raised the heat to medium and waited for it to come to a boil.

And after a while the raspberries looked something more like this.

Then I cooked them over medium-low heat for about an hour, maybe more, stirring frequently. This is a great time to fold laundry or watch mindless television. I think I read a book on my iPhone in between stirrings. Yes, you need to be near the kitchen, but you don't need to be over the stove every minute.

I waited until the raspberries thickened up and there was almost no liquid left, then I added some sugar to taste. I'm not sure how much, maybe 2 cups? Maybe a little more. They were pretty tart to begin with. And what I ended up with wasn't extremely sweet, but just sweet enough.

Then I canned the jam in a hot water canner. (Boil the jars for at least ten minutes fully submerged in a large pot, then allow them to rest on a towel for about 24 hours. Don't forget to check the seals.)

And I ended up with five cups of gorgeous, delicious raspberry jam that's so flavorful you only need the tiniest bit on a piece of toast to enter nirvana. Yum! I decided not to attempt to remove the seeds because I think they might add some healthy fiber to the jam, and yes, I was feeling a bit lazy. Also, I really don't mind seeds. But if you want to remove the seeds, my guess is that a food mill could probably help you out with that.

I like making things. What can I say? The joy of creation and seeing tangible proof of my efforts is addictive. Jam making, cooking, photography. They're not so different. What do you like to create?