4 Weeks of Frugal Family Fun Day 19…Making Jam
We have been harvesting quite a few raspberries off our plants in our garden recently. We picked some raspberries and then decided to make some freezer jam. My kids are really good about helping out in the kitchen and since there isn’t much cooking involved with making freezer jam I let the kids do all the work.
My son helped by mashing the raspberries. I gave him about a cup of washed berries in a bowl and the potato masher. I told him to mash the berries. I turned my back to go wash more berries and he really started mashing. We had juice fly onto the table and the berry were really smashed flat. I had to let him know he did not need to smash the berries so hard. He did a great job on lightening up the pressure on the rest of the berries. I really should have been more clear about how hard to smash the berries.
My daughter measured out all the sugar in another bowl. They combined the berries with the sugar. At first my daughter said there was too much sugar but after some good stirring she found that it looked alright.
After the berries sat about 10 minutes my daughter combined the water and pectin. She boiled it about a minute and then it was back to stirring. My kids both took turns stirring until their arms got tired so I finished up the stirring. They did a great job. But when you have to stir for about three minutes it does get tiring.
They ladled the jam into our freezer containers. My son held the container while my daughter used the ladle to fill them. There was a little mess on the table but they really did a good job. The jam seems to be setting up well so we will have some great freezer raspberry jam to eat this year thanks to all the kids help. I am sure they will enjoy eating the jam they made themselves.
I am trying more and more to let my kids help when I am doing things in the kitchen. It is important for them to learn the skills but also it is important that they feel they are helping and contributing to our family. I think it also helps to build their confidence.
Do your kids help you when working in the kitchen? How do you get them involved?
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Your jam looks delicious! And your kids look like great helpers. My kids love to help in the kitchen, too. Today, my daughter made corn bread for my husband’s birthday. I have her follow recipes mostly on her own now, and she’s doing a great job. My two youngest boys like helping in the kitchen, too.
The jam looks delicious 🙂 I’m glad that it set up so well for you…the kids must be so proud of themselves!
My kids are still so small that they can’t do too much in the kitchen right now, but I do have them mix things for me sometimes. My daughter is getting good at cracking eggs and beating them up to make scrambled eggs.