Store-bought jams and pickles? Perish the thought! Kim Leney is a do-it-yourselfer when it comes to canning and preserves.
Leney’s strawberry jam won the blue ribbon at the recent Summerfest competition, wowing the judges with her sweet confection. All contest entries were assessed based on taste, ingredients (local preferred), presentation, and texture.
Christine Klyn-Hesselink from Fenwick Berry Farm was on site on the Summerfest Friday to present the winner with a few prizes, including a mixed basket of farm fresh produce including strawberries, raspberries, cherries, and blueberries, plus a Summerfest T-shirt and water bottle.
Here's Leney’s winning jam recipe: four cups of strawberries, seven cups of sugar, a quarter cup of lemon juice, and one 85ml pouch of liquid pectin. That’s it. Simple, but delicious, she says.
“We have a huge garden at our family home in Wainfleet, and I do all of our preserving—jams, pickles and other vegetables, and relishes,” says Leney, who grew up in Fonthill.
It’s not her first win on the jam contest circuit.
“I did enter a contest at the Wainfleet Fair a few years ago, and won with my pickles and a peach jam,” she said. “Sometimes I change it up a bit, and add jalapenos for a little spice, or blend in various berries. I've mixed cherries with vanilla, and cherries with peaches. They turned out nice.”
She makes her products available to family and friends, but doesn’t sell online or in stores.
Canning and preserves are a solo enterprise for Leney.
“I don't like anyone in my way in the kitchen,” she said with a laugh.
Leney and her husband have six kids, who all prefer their mom’s homemade preserves and pickles.
“My son goes through a jar of jam a week,” said Leney. “At Christmas, everybody gets a care package of canned goods.”