01 Dec Tue 2009
New canners are successful!
Pam, a sweet lady from my last 2009 Beginner Class, called today to order canning jars - for the third time! It is so very gratifying when I'm able to pass down this delightful hobby to new generations...
Pam took the 2-night course with her daughter, Jamie, who turned out to be my 13-year-old son's writing teacher! Small world, eh? They must have enjoyed the course, because Pam purchased a top-of-the-line jam pot and a huge canning kit from me. Then this past weekend the two of them taught other family members how to can as a part of their Thanksgiving Day celebration! Now they are planning their Christmas gifts...
I thought it was particularly funny when Jamie told me that their first attempt without me wasn't quite cooked to gel point, so the strawberry jam was runny. I told her that it wasn't ruined - that they'd created a beautiful strawberry syrup! The pair appropriately named their creation "Strawberry Drizzle" to convince friends that the concoction was just fine. It's all in the marketing, right?
I am gearing up for a couple of very hard weeks in the Summer Kitchen. Making Christmas Jam nearly every day, juggling pick-ups, shipping sometimes twice a day, and taking phone and email orders. There needs to be three of me! Can't wait until January - sleep time!