So you 'd like to make your own fruit jam? It's the summer and you can have fresh berries. Mr Smith only likes strawberry jam so I thought this would be a fun project with my MIL in town. Because #1 Jam is expensive either way. #2 I love fresh made jam. I feel more at ease when I know what's in it*
Here is my advice with making this little dream happen.
#1 Choose between freezing, canning or both
Freezer jam is a much simpler process. And you don't have to have any canning equipment.
But it requires more pectin per cup of strawberries (which is more expensive) and if you plan on making a lot of jam, you'll have to have the freezer space and not be worried about an electrical outage that would cause it all to spoil.
Either method, they should be eaten within a years time.
#2 Buy materials: Pectin, Jars, Strawberries, Lemon Juice…
2 gallons of strawberries made
6 pints of canned jam & 6 pints freezer jam = 12 pints
(when you don't eat a lot of them…)
(when you don't eat a lot of them…)
Half pint containers are cute and make for good gifts
Freezer Jam
Use the recipe on the Pectin box
Here is what I learned from doing it not really knowing what I was doing at first:
All you are cooking is the pectin & water. You add it to the sugar & berries. You pour it into clean, freezable jars or containers. The only tricky part is measuring things out.
Make sure you try and double or triple the recipe to fill the jars quickly.
You can use the high sugar Pectin that a lot of recipes show, but I won't. I'm not a sugar person. There are low sugar options that promise better "set" results. But you could also just add less sugar and risk it being a little more runny (I didn't add a full 4 cups and it was plenty jelled). I like it both ways. My preference from now on is the Ball RealFruit Pectin, because I think it's more bang for your buck. Don't be shocked when you find that pectin is a little pricey because we were.
Canning Jam - Hot Water Bath
Read this from the Pioneer Woman: Canning Strawberry Jam Part I and Part II
Here is what I learned from doing it not really knowing what I was doing at first:
Go ahead and find a canner bath at a thrift store or borrow one from your neighbor. It will save you some anguish. Same with a funnel & tongs.
Pectin goes further when you cook the fruit. More bang for your buck.
You can use the high sugar Pectin that she shows (her recipe is better than the box that has 2c strawberries to 4c sugar), but I won't. I'm not a sugar person. There are low sugar options that promise better "set" results. But you could also just add less sugar and risk it being a little more runny. I like it both ways. My preference from now on is the Ball RealFruit Pectin, because I think it's more bang for your buck. You don't need a new package every batch. But don't be shocked when you find that pectin is a little pricey.
Make sure you really read all the steps from the recipe linked above before and during the process.
Make sure you heat up the lids while the jars are simmering (these need to be good to go when the jam is done cooking) for sanitation and proper sealing.
Because you will freak out when you're waiting for your jars to seal.
And you'll want to touch them when you're told to leave them alone. You will touch them.
And somehow mine still stayed sealed when I feared they didn't boil long enough, the boil wasn't hard enough, the lids weren't clean enough and when we forgot to heat the lids.
*I think it's a worthy summer project and think that it's healthier and better than what Welches has to offer, but I still don't understand what Pectin is. We talk about doing things from scratch so you know what's in it, but yet you can't make jam or jelly without this mysterious Pectin that comes from a manufactured lab. So, ya know. Not 100% preservative free, but is that a reason to worry? Someone can explain it to me someday.
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