Strawberry Jam

[daffodil]

How do I make strawberry jam? And can I sell it or are there certain restrictions I have to follow (in Ohio)?

[Anon001]

The best thing to do is get a book from the library on jellies and jams...

I will make a couple comments. With any fruit, I first cook it down and get the juice. This juice is strained for jelly. Then I take the pulp and grind it up and make my jam. Fruits give you two-for-one. I never understood someone making JUST jelly or JUST jam when they can get twice the bang for the amount of fruit.

You will need fruit jars (canning jars. I grew up hearing them called fruit jars) and lids or paraffin wax to seal the tops. You need a stock pot to cook down the fruit, a jelly strainer or some way to filter the juice for your jelly. Jelly is a pure liquid with absolutely NO pulp or any particles in it at all.

You will also have to either learn to make your own pectin which can be difficult and frustrating if you aren't already experienced at it, or you can buy Sure-Jell. You will also need sugar. Buy the sure-jell and it will give you instructions on the proportions of fruit/water, sugar, sure-jell, etc for your jellies and jams. Follow the instructions to the letter and you will get perfect jellies and jams every time.

[CanNerd]

For selling you will need a business license and a place outside the home to make the product in a sanitary environment, which will be regularly inspected by health officials. You need to check with the health department or other state agency to get all the requirements to comply with before you can sell food of any kind to the public. It's complicated. And of course you will need lots of liability insurance in case you accidentally poison someone.

[Anon001]

For selling you will need a business license and a place outside the home to make the product in a sanitary environment, which will be regularly inspected by health officials. You need to check with the health department or other state agency to get all the requirements to comply with before you can sell food of any kind to the public. It's complicated. And of course you will need lots of liability insurance in case you accidentally poison someone.

Daffodil,
You need to check with your state Department of Agriculture. They take care of those regulations. In some states, as CanNerd stated, it is complicated but in some states it isn't. In some states you don't have to have any special place and can make the in your own kitchen with no inspections. In my state, if you do that, you can only sell to the consumer but you cannot sell for resale. In other words, you cannot sell to a grocery store, restaurant, hospital, etc. However, it also depends on the type of food item you are selling. Also, some states require the nutritional label that states the ingredients, number of calories per serving, etc. But, in Kansas you have to sell at least $50,000 dollars a year before being required to use a nutritional label. The regulations can be complex or can be almost nothing.... It varies from state to state.

Another example is that I can sell all the dairy products I want out of my home and they don't have to be pasteurized or anything provided I don't advertise or sell to a reseller and I am not subject to any inspections at all. But, I can only sell to individuals. I may not be able to advertise, but I can put a billboard on my place next to the road if I wish. However, I often see ads for eggs, milk, etc.....

So, the only accurate and reasonable advice anyone here can give is to contact your State Department of Agriculture. Maybe someone from your state can chime in with more help on who to talk to to get the regs for your state.

[daffodil]

Where I used to live an Amish guy was selling raw milk. People came to him to get it. They sent and undercover guy in and then arrested the Amish guy for selling raw milk. Ridiculous. If you want raw milk you should be able to buy it. I feel the same about other food products. If I go to a stand or farmer or such I'm not expecting labels and other stuff. It's my choice (or it should be my choice!) where I choose to buy from. If I'm that worried about catching something or getting sick then I would shop at the store. It's ridiculous the rules and regulations the government makes. Personally, I'm tired of them (the govt) "protecting" me. I guess I'll just make the jelly/jam for myself. I'm just not good at following all the "rules". I see alot of people selling eggs though. Maybe cause it doesn't come out of the person's house. Maybe the chicken's butt is a little cleaner than some peoples kitchens!

[Dawgus]

Daffodill

We're in Ohio too, and looked into selling at a local farmers market near Akron. The health dept is VERY strictly regulating what can be sold. Nothing home canned at all, no eggs, nothing perishable. At first they were allowing the sale of home-baked breads, now they want to come inspect your home if you want to sell baked goods....ugh. I totally agree, it's rediculous.

We've already started making jam here for ourselves though. Our strawberries are doing great, and we've managed to pick close to 24lbs so far. We need as much as we can though, I am an admitted pb&j addict, lol.

[daffodil]

Daffodill

We're in Ohio too, and looked into selling at a local farmers market near Akron. The health dept is VERY strictly regulating what can be sold. Nothing home canned at all, no eggs, nothing perishable. At first they were allowing the sale of home-baked breads, now they want to come inspect your home if you want to sell baked goods....ugh. I totally agree, it's rediculous.

We've already started making jam here for ourselves though. Our strawberries are doing great, and we've managed to pick close to 24lbs so far. We need as much as we can though, I am an admitted pb&j addict, lol.

How many jars does 24 lbs. of strawberries make? How many pounds would I need to make like 10 jars of it?

[NCLee]

Here ya go.
http://www.freshpreserving.com/filebin/pdf/preserving_guide/PurchaseGuide.pdf

This is a good one to print out for your canning notebook.

This is another one with procedures, yields, and recipes.
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/usda/8_USDAcanningGuide7_06.pdf

Hope these help.

Lee

[leera]

I just picked my supply of strawberries yesterday,already have them put up in the freezer until I have more free time,but more than likely we will just end up eating them on shortcake....yummy....

Strawberry jam is probably the easiest of all of them to make.Get yourself a copy of the Ball Blue Book,there's a new issue out this year.

You will need:

Jars(I use half pints and pints only)
Lid and rings
Sure Jell, there is regular and low sugar to choose from
water bath canner,if not using a freezer jam recipe
a pan to simmer to lids in
lid lifter
funnel
jar lifter
something non metal to get air bubbles out(I use a plastic knife)
clean towels,or hot pads
clean work space,and a clean draft free place to set the finished jars to cool and seal.

I use a big stock pot and boil my jars to sterilize them.

Most recipes call for 6 cups of crushed berries,to yield one batch of jam.Never try doubling a batch to cut time,if a batch isn't going to set up right,then it'll only be one batch and not a whole lot more......

Sometimes you can follow directions to the letter,and a batch will still end up runny.....

I don't know all the rules for selling home made products,but I do know that to sell commercially most places will require a stainless steel work area,a license,etc.......quite possibly more trouble than it's worth....check with your local AG department to find out....