We are a finely tuned machine.

Seven bowls with premeasured sugar line the back of the counter . Two large sauce pans share the stove next to a small pot filled with heated lids. Seven packages of Certo sit with a pair of scissors beside the lemon juice. Wooden spoons, measuring spoons and wet cloths are lined up beside the stove…

Thirty jars are washed and are set in cake pans on the two shelves in the stove at 200 degrees. Another eighteen are washed ready for their turn.

The strawberries arrived at 12:30. Our friends kindly brought them up from the southern tip of the island by boat, at a substantially less price than in our closest town.

Our daughter got to work hulling and slicing the berries. E ran one saucepot and I the other. I was five minutes behind him so we could take turns at the canning station which was set up on the breakfast bar. If we needed an extra hand to stir a pot while we were filling hot jars with jam, our daughter stepped in.

Two hours later we had forty some odd jars of strawberry jam with a few berries left for dessert.

One flat equals 10.175 pounds (12 quarts) @ $38.00.

7 batches of jam equals about forty-eight assorted jars at about 1.00 each (including sugar and Certo).

I am a jam making control freak with

an awesome team