First Time Canner

My sister, who happens to be my neighbor, planted raspberry bushes about two years ago.  This summer the kids and I have been watching them grow, bloom and finally get berries! Yesterday we noticed some of the berries were ready to be picked, so we grabbed a bowl and headed to the bushes. Between samples, we picked about two cups of berries. It wasn't quite enough for a cobbler but I figured it was just the right amount for making jam!

Keep in mind, I've never made jam before. I've eaten my fair share but never actually attempted to make it. I knew I didn't have the usual canning "stuff" so I hit the world wide web to see what I could find. There were so many great recipes and tips for making your own jam! The one I used is from Food.com. It was simple and I liked that it only contained fruit and sugar. I was apprehensive at first. There's no way I could get good jam out of this simple recipe that only took 30 minutes to cook!  I remember my grandmother, my mother, and my aunts standing over a stove for hours canning!

So...I just dove right in. What have I got to lose? Two cups of berries? I figure the way these bushes are producing, I'll probably have two more cups ready in the next couple of days! So I pulled out the bag of sugar, mashed the berries with a fork, and set them to boiling on the stove. It didn't take long at all and I was well on my way to making my first ever jar of jam.

As I said before I don't have the necessary tools for canning. I had three small jars with lids and rings...and that's about it! I don't have one of those jar puller things, I don't own a big pot to boil jars in, and I don't own a pressure cooker. The one thing I do have is an oven. My sister, who frequently cans tomatoes from the summer garden, has had great luck with what I call "oven canning". There's no jar boiling, no burning yourself with steam, and not much watching involved!   You simply pour your "goods" into the warm jars, put the lid and ring in place, and pop the jars in the oven pre-heated to 250, making sure they don't touch.  Let them bake about 2 hours then shut the oven off. Leave the jars in place until the oven cools and they seal! She's never had a jar not seal using this method.

Being so simple, I figured even I could figure this method out! So after the boiling, adding sugar, boiling again, and beating I poured the jam into a jar, placed the lid and ring and stuck it in the oven.  It was late...I was tired...I left it for my daughter to attend.  She must have done a good job because the jar was on the kitchen counter this morning and sealed!  The only problem I see so far is it looks like all the berries floated to the top of the jar. Not sure why this happened or how I prevent it.  Any suggestions?

In the mean time, I think maybe I'll do some more research online. I'm thinking I need strawberry beds next spring!