In the Hoods: Farm to Jar in Two-ish Days

I am in the Hoods, quite literally.  Yes, that's right, I'm up to my elbows in Hood Strawberries.  Hood Strawberries usually ripen first at farms around Oregon.  Hoods are a little smaller than "regular" strawberries (by regular, I mean everything else), but they are oh so sweet!  The season for Hoods is rather short, so I keep on the lookout for signs starting in mid-May.

The entire strawberry season is a couple weeks early this year due to unusual amounts of sunshine.  Wait, that may seem odd to a non-Pacific Northwesterner, so let me explain... It rains most days in the Pacific Northwest.  A common weather forecasts is "mostly cloudy with a chance of sun."  The mild, wet weather is a small price to pay for the greenery.  So, it pretty much rains all the time.  It's almost unbearable.  The end.  Okay, what was I saying?  Oh yes, the strawberry season is a bit early this year.  I usually stop by the fruit stand to buy my berries on my last day of work for the summer (right after I stop at the liquor store), but here I am finished processing my bounty with one week of school to go.  Weird.

My family, friends, and neighbors think I'm crazy for buying two flats of these delicious berries, but I am usually kicking myself for not buying more.  I'm a self-taught canner and have been canning for about seven years.  For some reason, all my domestic skills came to light the moment I got married.  After a couple years, a process develops for processing copious amounts of anything...

Strawberries:  Farm to Jar in Two-ish Days

Choose recipes.  Before purchasing produce, decide what you want to make.  Do you want to eat the produce right away?  Do you want to freeze your bounty?  Do you want to can?  Bake?  Once you select your recipes, you will know how many berries to purchase and what items, if any, are needed from the grocery store.  I completely forgot to check all my ingredients this time around and I was missing pectin.  That's not really an item that is easily substituted in strawberry jam recipes.  The 2013-version of me would have freaked out, but this 2014-version just froze the berries (already measured) until the purchase of pectin. 

A few of my favorites...

I keep this hanger in a kitchen drawer.  Best life-hack ever!

Wash and sterilize jars, if canning.  I wash all jars directly after use; however, they collect dust on the garage shelf, so I put all my jars in the dishwasher to sterilize. I leave them in the dishwasher until I'm ready to fill the jars.

Buy berries (or any produce) from local farms whenever possible.  Not only does the produce taste better, but shopping local is better for the environment.  Call ahead to save time.  Many farms have a crop line, where you can call and request produce and schedule a pick-up time.  The owner at one of our local farms likes to pick on me for calling after 2:00 a.m.  What can I say?  I'm a total night-owl.

Wash and prep produce.  In the case of strawberries, wash and hull the berries.  This simple task took about 1 1/2 hours.  I usually prep my produce and then do something else for a while to prevent hours and hours on my feet in the kitchen.

A Stock-Pot Full of Hood Strawberries!

My chickens LOVED the strawberry stems!

Work on ONE recipe at a time.  I'm a very good multi-tasker, but not when it comes to hot jam.  I've burnt way too many batches by doing too much.  I like to start with the recipe that takes the longest first to get it out of the way and work from there.  If I get tired, I stop.  (Gasp!)  I know, I know... the berries are always freshest the sooner they are processed, but it all ends up tasting pretty good, so an 8-hour sleep break is okay.  If you're really worried about your produce spoiling, measure the correct amount needed for each recipe, put them in a labeled plastic bag, and pop it in the freezer.

When jars are processing, I clean up in preparation for the next recipe.

It's all about presentation.  I gift a lot of my canned goods, so taking the time to make them cute now saves time in the long run.  I just have to go to the pantry, grab a jar, and gift.  I buy Avery labels and customize them on their website.  Slap on a cute label, add a little baker's twine, and wah-lah!

Processed and Labeled.  Ready for storage or gifting.

Enjoy your hard work!  Take the time to enjoy the fruits of your labor (cheesy pun intended).  Don't stress if the jam is a bit runny, the bread a bit overcooked, ya dee ya dee ya...  Just slather up that goodness on a slice of bread and enjoy.  You've earned it!

I had all intentions of taking a picture of this bread, but it's all gone.  I did manage to get a loaf in the freezer.  To be perfectly honest, it won't last long.

Favorite Strawberry Recipes

Strawberry Jam from Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It: And Other Cooking Projects by Karen Solomon.  This recipe is delicious, but it calls for 9 cups of sugar.  I know you don't eat an entire jar of jam in one sitting, but that's a lot of sugar.

Classic Strawberry Jam from Put 'em Up! by Sherri Brooks Vinton.  This recipe is fantastic as well and it only calls for 2 cups of sugar.  It takes a little longer to thicken.

Strawberry Vanilla Jam from Food in Jars:  Preserving in Small Batches Year-Round by Marisa McClellan.   This jam tastes like a bowl of strawberries and cream.  So very good.

Strawberry Sauce from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving:  400 Delicious and Creative Recipes for Today Edited by Judi Kingry and Lauren Devine.  Put this sauce on pancakes, waffles, ice cream, a spoon...

Strawberry Rhubarb Jam from Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving:  400 Delicious and Creative Recipes for Today Edited by Judi Kingry and Lauren Devine.  A wonderful combo of sweet and tart.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pecan Loaf by Smitten Kitchen.  Okay, my husband and I hid this from our kids.  It's good and gone.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp Bars by Smitten Kitchen.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp by Ina Garten.

Strawberry Oatmeal Bars by Ree Drummond   Great use for your batch of strawberry jam.

Strawberry Fruit Rollups from The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying & Start Making by Alana Chernila.  I've made these in the oven and in a food dehydrator.  Both methods work well.  These don't last long in our house.

Almost-Famous Strawberry Lemonade by Food Network Kitchens.

Strawberry-Infused Vodka from Put 'em Up! by Sherri Brooks Vinton.  Two-ingredient recipe - vodka and strawberries.  I only had whipped vodka on-hand, so this will taste like strawberries and cream.  In two weeks, I need to strain the mixture.  I think I'm going to have a hard time waiting two whole weeks.

Strawberry Infused Whipped Vodka

Strawberries sure do kick off the start of summer nicely.  Now, I need to start gearing up for  blueberries, raspberries, peaches, Marionberries, blackberries, tomatoes, apples, pears, and anything else I can get my hands on this summer.  What is your favorite summer produce?  What are your favorite summer produce recipes?  Do tell.

Thanks for stopping by!