Photo Friday: Strawberry-Vanilla Jam

by Jodi ~ July 10, 2009

Tower of Strawberry-Vanilla Jam

Welcome to Photo Friday.

Over the months I’ve been watching the images in my photo library pile up and thought it a shame that only a select few make it up here in full posts. My shutter finger tends to be more prolific than my keyboard fingers, so Photo Friday will help me share what I’m up to in between full-length entries.

To kick things off, I present Strawberry-Vanilla Jam, Vintage 2009 — and promise that this is the last you will hear about it. Friends and family, particularly friends and family who follow me on Twitter and Facebook, were inundated with news on my progress filling 156 jars with this jam back in late June.

I was completely naïve about what I was getting myself into last year when I agreed to make such a huge quantity for a friend who wanted to give individual jars to her wedding guest as favours. It was a day and a half of exhausting work, but the process itself — buying flats of strawberries from the farmer at the market; setting up my production line of jar-sterilizing, strawberry hulling, jar-filling and -processing; watching the magical alchemy as fruit, sugar, and vanilla bean become a thick, crimson, candied syrup — was balm for a sore back, tired feet, and singed fingertips (while it is indeed easier and faster to grab hot jars with hands instead of tongs, I speak from experience when I advise you to resist the urge).

When asked if I would ever undertake such a production again, I answered without hesitation: Absolutely.

(Note: You’ll find the recipes for both this strawberry-vanilla jam and strawberry preserves with black pepper and balsamic vinegar here.)