The Glorious 4th

Get out your maslin pans and muslin bags - it's jam making time again! Our local PYO (Scaddows Farm) opened its doors today to the strawberry-picking public and we were there nice and early for a good rummage in the plants.

To be fair, Leigh has already made a start on his preserves this year, knocking out a couple of batches of elderflower cordial, some pear and walnut chutney, apple and elderflower jelly, and pear and vanilla butter already! But it was strawberries today. We went to Scaddows last year and got a bumper load of strawberries, and then later in the season they also have raspberries, blackcurrants and gooseberries. So we knew we were onto a good thing. Of course we had our little helpers





although strangely as you can see, Leo's punnet looks rather empty. We soon discovered why



perhaps they should have been weighing children in and out rather than the punnets!

Had a great time and there's now 4 jars of apple and strawberry jam sitting on the side, with another lot of strawberries in the freezer for more jam when more fruits are available, and still more for cooking with and making smoothies. Wonderful.