Adelaide was especially fond of jams; they did make the most delicious sandwiches when she came home hungry from school or went on a picnic, but the climax of enjoyment was reached when mother made rolly-polly jam puddings in the winter.

Strawberries were usually first on the market, and so "Strawberry Jam" was the first attempt in the jam making line.

Strawberry Jam

Mother told Adelaide to empty the strawberries into the colander and place in a pan of cold water, then to dip the colander up and down so as to thoroughly cleanse the berries; next to change the water two or three times until it was clear, then lift out the colander and drain. Mother also said that you should never wash berries after they were hulled, because if you did you lost part of the juice.

After Adelaide felt sure they were clean, and after mother had carefully inspected them, she commenced to hull the berries, using the strawberry huller, then she weighed the berries and measured out three-fourths their weight in sugar.

With a wooden potato masher Adelaide mashed the berries in the saucepan and poured over the sugar; this mixture she let stand a few minutes before putting the saucepan on the stove and letting it come slowly to the boiling point. When the fruit had cooked slowly for forty-five minutes, Adelaide stirring frequently, meanwhile, with the wooden spoon, it was ready for her to pour into sterilized tumblers, which she had previously prepared. The tops and outsides of the tumblers she wiped with a clean cloth as soon as the jam had cooled, then poured melted paraffin over the jam, and shook gently from side to side to make it air tight.

Adelaide was always glad when it came time to paste on the neat little labels and put the tumblers away in the preserve closet; she was very much surprised, too, to see how quickly her bench was becoming filled.

In the beginning, mother had told her that sometimes it would seem as though she spent all of her time preserving, for the fruits and vegetables followed fast upon one another, but Adelaide replied she was sure she would not mind, she was so eager to learn.

Raspberry Jam