oregon berry preserves

It was 1848. Or quite possibly 1956.  We'd traveled by wagon train, lost half of our party to cholera, and drowned our oxen by fording the river.

With my windows down, the first wave of Oregon summer, I experience my metro stretch of the trail, up the Interstate-5 corridor toward Seattle.

Roadside berry farms beginning to show life.  Acknowledgement.  It has begun.

oregon berry preserves | 6 half-pint jars

6 cups seasonal berries (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, marionberries, raspberries)
3 cups sugar + an extra 1/4 cup
3 tablespoons pectin or half of one box
juice of 1/2 lemon

In a small bowl mix the pectin with a reserved 1/4 cup of sugar.  Set aside.

Mix the berries and 3 cups of sugar in a non-reactive pot until the juices macerate.  Simmer over medium heat for 10-15 minutes, while breaking down berries with a wooden spoon.

When bubbly, add the lemon juice and pectin + sugar mixture.  Stir until combined and cook for another 10 minutes - when the jam thickens and gels to your spoon.

Fill hot, sterile jars, seal with lids, and process for 10 minutes in a water bath canner.  Remove and cool on a teatowel until set.