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Monday, June 6, 2011

Around The Yard and $1.58 Strawberry Jam Experiment

Hey everyone-Happy Bloomin' Tuesday, I'm also joining the Homestead Barn Hop! The lilies are starting to open up, I tucked mini's into the corners of the strawberry garden. The pink ones haven't bloomed yet.

My Stella D'Oro's are pretty now too.

Mulberries are in! 
In years past I've laid old sheets on the ground to gather them as they fall, 
this year I'm just picking some off the branches as they ripen up.

Now for my experiment... 
Martha at The Kitchen Cookie posted about a super simple strawberry jam, it only requires two things, strawberries and dried pineapple. Well, three if you count a good food processor.
I was curious!
Ingredients: 
1 1/2 lbs strawberries
8oz dried pineapple
Note: This pack of pineapple is 6oz-$1.58 at Walmart. So I used my kitchen scale and added 18oz of strawberries. (I only saw sugared pineapple at the stores, so that's what I used)

Directions: 
  1. Process the strawberries a bit.
  2. Please take about 5 minutes with your chef's knife chopping the pineapple up before adding it to the processor, the finer the better. It is important! I showed the pic of how it looks out of the bag, then how I cut it up. This is good and easy, but not worth burning up your food processor!
  3. Process a little bit of pineapple at a time till smooth.
  4. Mine made 3 half pints.
  5. This is a freezer jam.
Thoughts:
  1. This is good, plenty sweet.
  2. I have a KitchenAid FP, just add a little pineapple at a time.
  3. Either keep your hand over the chute or add the cup, strawberry juice will be shooting all over the processor!
  4. This is very tasty, just a little thin, Martha says it should thicken up in the fridge. She suggests adding more pineapple if you think it's too thin. I suggest pouring it over ice cream if it's too thin:@) Probably would be great on pancakes or crepes too!
  5. Actually, I'd hold out a few berries until after the pineapple is processed, then add them if it seemed too thick.
  6. Last thought on the consistency, some of my berries were frozen so maybe they had a little more liquid then all fresh berries.
  7. I'll have enough strawberries to make a batch of regular jam, so I thought this would be fun to try.
  8. Would I make this again? If I had extra berries, yes!
Have a happy day!

29 comments:

  1. Your yard looks like mine. WE have a huge mullberry tree in the back yard and every 5 seconds you hear plop! another berry falling into the pool. : )
    I am glad the jam turned out ~ sounds yummy!

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  2. I could handle this one. Except I would eat all the pineapple! I adore day lilies and must get mine divided this fall.

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  3. Well, aren't you just a little Miss Martha Stewart lately. We don't have any berries on our property that I am aware of. Darn.

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  4. My mother had a big mulberry tree in her back yard but we never bothered with them - just let the birds eat them.

    I'll have to look for that pineapple - your freezer jams sounds delish!

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  5. I love the idea of adding the dried pineapple! I've made freezer strawberry jam but never used the pineappl. Will have to give it a try...if I happen to find some decent strawberries!:-) We have wild blackberries. No strawberries of any kind though.;-)

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  6. You have me intrigued with that jam!! I am going to have to go to the store for the ingredients because it sounds delicious!!

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  7. Never canned anything but this sounds easy enough for a little freezer jam.

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  8. Ooooh!...you have mulberries! and lovely daylilies too. This seems mighty easy, how long do you think that wouold last in my freezer, about as soon as it set, I'd be eating! yummy to my tummy!
    ~JO
    Lazyonloblolly

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  9. What an unusual recipe. Strawberries and pineapple are my favorite fruit combination. That is what I had for lunch today.

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  10. Very interesting. Fresh local strawberries are in, 5 dollars a quart! ouch!

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  11. Looks nice, I think I would like strawberry-pineapple jam!

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  12. I swear lady you are going to have me big as a house! This sounds great! Another great Lynne recipe that I am bookmarking for later. I have never made freezer jam before so this will be my virgin jam! I think I picked a great recipe to do it with too! Thanks for posting!

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  13. I want a mulberry tree! That jam looks easy and yummy- worth a try. :)

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  14. You are stocking up on jam! This one sounds so interesting. I will have to give it a try!
    Yvonne

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  15. Your lilies are gorgeous, Lynn. Mine are blooming too but they don't have this much blooms. The jam looks very interesting. Thanks for sharing the recipe...Christine

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  16. When I was a little girl, my brother and I would eat mulberries by the truck load off our tree in the front yard. My mom just hated that tree because the berries would fall onto the sidewalk and stain it so bad.
    I love freezer jam with a passion. Nothing else but those two items?
    xo bj

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  17. That looks really good and so much easier than doing it the old fashioned way! I'm gonna have to try that. Your lilies are really pretty too. I have some also but didn't know it until my little ones brought them to the kitchen for me to put in water!! All I could think about was my moms face when I was that age and doing the same thing! LOL

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  18. I've never heard of freezer jams before! I will have to try:) Sounds super good!
    Thanks for sharing :)

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  19. Hi Lynn, my daughter and I love making jam. We do it the old fashioned way. I have access to tons of fruit from my sister's trees and that means lots of jam. this sounds so good. I have never tried freezer jam. This would be a good start. It will have to wait until we get home in July.

    Hugs, Jeanne

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  20. Thank you for the kind words. Your lilies are beautiful.

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  21. Flowers are so pretty. The jam looks & sounds yummy.

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  22. One more reason for me to get a food processor!

    Blessings, Debbie

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  23. i love the lilies blooming through the strawberries! i think i'll plant some around and in mine. your pictures are so bright, what kinda camera?
    great experiment also! yum
    thanks for visiting my blog earlier!
    debbie

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  24. Your Lilies are pretty, and that jam recipe sounds super easy & tasty. :)

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  25. Like seeing your Mulberry tree....we don't have those in the Northwest! Interesting! Thanks for your visit today.

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  26. Wow, that looks YUMMY! I will be making this for sure! Your pictures are SO Beautiful. LOVE the lilies...AND...Oh Those mulberries look SO GOOD!
    Big Hugs,
    Donna

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  27. What an interesting jam idea! I'll have to try that! Thanks for sharing.

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  28. I will have to try the jam-- it sounds good.

    What will you do with the mulberries? I have a mulberry tree but the berries aren't ripe yet.

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