Strawberry Season!

I love North Carolina.  I love that it's still primarily a rural, agricultural state. That we have mountains and beaches. But I really love the produce of spring and summer.

Strawberry season runs mid-April through late June in North Carolina, which means now is a pretty awesome time to go strawberry picking! There are tons of you-pick farms around the state, many in Wake County alone.  If you don't live in Wake County, you can find you-pick farms near you at this site.

Supporting local agriculture is a big deal in North Carolina.  When I was in graduate school, I did an independent study on community health planning, including how farm-to-fork and community gardens impact our lives, both economically and medically.  Besides the major metropolitan areas in NC (Charlotte, the Triad, the Triangle), the state is still heavily agricultural.  Supporting local produce means supporting your local farmers AND your state economy.  Not to mention, it's better for you and tastes better!

This past weekend, Aaron and I went strawberry picking.  Sure, I could go to the farmer's market and buy the strawberries I need to make jam, but it was a gorgeous day and it's cheaper when you put in some of your own labor.  We went to Buckwheat Farm in Apex.

Rows after rows of strawberries!

Aaron picking strawberries

Strawberries :)

This was just my bucket. Aaron had a full one as well.

We picked lots of strawberries and had homemade blueberry ice cream while sitting on the tailgate of the truck.  It did my southern heart good.

Isn't he cute with our strawberry haul?

The next day, I did my first canning of the season! With so much to work with, I made three different recipes: Strawberry Jam, Double Berry Jalapeno Jam and Strawberry Rhubarb Butter. I still have a ton of berries left over!

Left to right: strawberry jam, double berry jam, strawberry rhubarb butter

I used a different recipe for the strawberry jam this year.  The recipe I used last year kept turning out solid, not like jam.  I tried it two or three times and it came out the same every time, so this year I used a tried and true Ball recipe.  Aaron ate an entire 8 oz jar of the strawberry jam in two days, so it's safe to say that it turned out well.

The empty jar...in two days.

Aaron may love the jam, but fruit butters will always be my favorite.  This one might take the cake!

I'm really looking forward to the canning season this year because of Bertha, my 21-quart pressure cooker! I can finally can some vegetables, which you can't do in a water bath canner.  Now I just have to read the directions and watch the DVD so I don't send Bertha through the ceiling :)