Oh, this is my jam!

...strolling down memory lane the other day while chatting with a friend...fondly remembering the days when my mom would let me help her make strawberry jam.  But it was more than just making jam together...

...there was this old truck that somehow was buried deep in the mud on the corner of Katella and Knott Avenue. A permanent fixture:  that's where the strawberries were sold by the basket, or flat. We would stop and get a few baskets as a special treat, or sometimes on our way to visit our grandparents.

When the strawberry season was coming to an end, the farmer would advertise a special day set aside for local residents to "pick your own" strawberries.  On that day many neighborhood moms and their children packed up the station wagon and headed down to the berry field.  Our family was no different.  It seemed like everyone in the neighborhood was there on that summer day, running up and down the rows and rows of delicious strawberries.  With our red stained fingers we'd pick some, and eat some, filling our baskets to full and overflowing. 

Mom would pay for the berries by the flat, and off we'd go with our treasure.  When we got home, it was time to wash and hull the berries.  Mom did most of the work, but we did help.  I can almost smell the delicious strawberry jam, as it boiled away on the stove waiting to be put into cute little jars.  Mom always packed her jam with a paraffin wax top to keep it fresh.  I fondly recall on jam making days that we would have waffles for dinner with jam on top.  What a treat!

Making jam with my mom is one of my fondest childhood memories in our little house in Garden Grove.  I'm so thankful that she taught me how to can and preserve fruit and other produce during their seasons.  My mom also made the most delicious apple butter from fresh picked apples (by us) and fresh pressed cider from the Wynola Apple Bar Ranch in Julian, CA., but that's another blog post for the fall...

I'm making jam over the next couple days.  Strawberry, blackberry, and even trying my hand at some marmalade and lemon curd.  Sweet memories, and sweet treats.  

It's available for purchase.  Locals only.

Just email me:  torokfarmandgardens@gmail.com 

Happy canning!

Strawberry Jam Recipe Here!