Jam Season is Here – Lavender Strawberry Jam

Fresh Strawberries

With June comes berries. First the strawberries trickle in, slowly followed by blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and cherries. By mid July we’re practically swimming in berries–certainly not a bad problem to have. But as quickly as they arrive, bursting from every stand at the greenmarket, they soon disappear, leaving us with regret. Wishing we had just one more piece of strawberry shortcake, another bite of that raspberry cobbler or another scoop of blackberry sorbet. We try to fool ourselves with California berries during the winter months, but it’s just not the same. While we might not be able to get fresh local berries year round, we can preserve them.  A jar of homemade strawberry jam is beyond perfection. You’ll never glance at those Welch’s jars again.

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Preserving Berry Season

Raspberry and Blackberry Jams

As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m a sucker for berries and tend to pay way too much to secure the first of the season, especially strawberries. I kept seeing raspberries at the market, but way overpriced so I waited, and waited. Unfortunately, it got to the point that I thought I missed them completely. For the second year in a row, I was berry free.

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