I have had a long love affair with raspberries. Fresh, frozen, plain, with sugar, in desserts, on ice cream, in margueritas... you name it, I'll consume them. When we settled into the farm, I decided after failing at the garden tending for a couple of years, that I would grow raspberries. I planted about 12 plants, some red raspberries and some black raspberries. I chose to get the kind that bear only once a year because I know my time is so limited that the fall harvest would simply be wasted.
Once the plants start producing the wonderfully red berries, I pick when I can and begin to make raspberry freezer jam. I have to admit that a few black picnic bugs do make it into my jame but hey, the sugar water has been boiled and the jam has been frozen so what could they hurt now? Right? Besides, I'd be crazy to throw out a perfectly good batch of jam because of a few black bugs. I'm sure my Plunkett's friend, Mark, could tell you just how many bugs we actually consume in a year but it might make you sick.... Anyway, these jars and more just like them are safely tucked away in my freezer. Just waiting for mid-January so I can enjoy the taste of fresh raspberries on my toast. Oh, it brings back summer memories! I use the pink box of Sure-Jell that says it's for low-sugar or no-sugar recipes. I do use sugar but I use the low-sugar recipe that calls for 3 1/2 cups of sugar to 4 cups of crushed berries. I somehow feel better knowing that the berry ratio is higher than the sugar ratio.
I have had a long love affair with raspberries. Fresh, frozen, plain, with sugar, in desserts, on ice cream, in margueritas... you name it, I'll consume them. When we settled into the farm, I decided after failing at the garden tending for a couple of years, that I would grow raspberries. I planted about 12 plants, some red raspberries and some black raspberries. I chose to get the kind that bear only once a year because I know my time is so limited that the fall harvest would simply be wasted.
Once the plants start producing the wonderfully red berries, I pick when I can and begin to make raspberry freezer jam. I have to admit that a few black picnic bugs do make it into my jame but hey, the sugar water has been boiled and the jam has been frozen so what could they hurt now? Right? Besides, I'd be crazy to throw out a perfectly good batch of jam because of a few black bugs. I'm sure my Plunkett's friend, Mark, could tell you just how many bugs we actually consume in a year but it might make you sick.... Anyway, these jars and more just like them are safely tucked away in my freezer. Just waiting for mid-January so I can enjoy the taste of fresh raspberries on my toast. Oh, it brings back summer memories! I use the pink box of Sure-Jell that says it's for low-sugar or no-sugar recipes. I do use sugar but I use the low-sugar recipe that calls for 3 1/2 cups of sugar to 4 cups of crushed berries. I somehow feel better knowing that the berry ratio is higher than the sugar ratio.
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