Awesome Thing About Living in Europe #22

Awesome Thing About Living in Europe  #22: Berry Season!

Fresh mashed strawberries!

Finished product "setting"

Poland is a huge grower and exporter of berries.  We are now experiencing Berry Season for the second time...so we know what to expect and can take advantage of it.  Poland produces amazingly tasty berries...strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries.  Each berry is available at the market for only a 3-4 week period so it is critical to take advantage of the season when it hits.  I find it fascinating that the price of the berries will literally drop overnight as the supply becomes more available.  And, the price change from the beginning of a season to the peak is even more drastic...dropping by as much as 2/3rds.  Now, Tom, Charlie and I love berries...but there are only so many that one can eat. 

So, this year I decided to try my hand at making and canning jam.  It is a famous Polish tradition and the jars and ingredients are readily available in all of the local markets.  Having never gone thru this process before I googled a number of recipes and watched countless YouTube videos.  I had no idea there were so many different ways to sterilize jars for the canning process!  My first batch of strawberry jam was a success.  I received rave reviews from friends who received jars of it as gifts!  Being my own worst critic, some of the fruit settled a bit too much to the bottom.  But, a few more google searches later and  I think I have a way to prevent this in may next batch.  This weekend I am trying my hand at raspberry jam...hope it is just as tasty as the first batch, and crossing my fingers that the fruit is more evenly mixed in.  : )  It's been really fun learning and taking part in the "Polish" tradition and I look forward to making it an annual tradition for the Sullivan house!