Can It Up! Cranstrawberry Jam

The theme for the November Can It Up! Challenge is Cranberries. I had a hard time deciding what to make for this month’s challenge. I’ve never been a fan of canned cranberry sauce so I don’t eat it. It wasn’t until I tried fresh cranberry relish that I actually enjoyed it. When I found this recipe for cranberry jam, I thought it would be a good alternative to cranberry sauce/relish. It has fresh cranberries and oranges and frozen strawberries. I figured you couldn’t go wrong with those ingredients.

 

The recipe called for frozen strawberries in light syrup. I had some strawberries in the freezer from my strawberry-picking excursion in the Spring so I used those instead. I had more than the recipe called for but less than enough to double the recipe so it ended up making about half again as much. I added more cranberries and oranges. My adapted recipe is listed below.

This jam was perfect for Thanksgiving Dinner. Due to the additional cranberries and oranges and the lack of sweetener in the frozen strawberries, this jam turned out more like a relish than a jam. We enjoyed it as relish on slices of turkey and as jam on the Pocketbook Dinner Rolls I brought.  You’ll learn about the rolls in another post.

 

Cranstrawberry Jam

Makes: About 8 cups

Adapted from: The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard

Ingredients:

• 24 ounces frozen sliced strawberries, thawed
• 12 ounces fresh cranberries
• 2 large unpeeled oranges, cut into large pieces
• 5 cups granulated sugar
• 2 pouches liquid fruit pectin
• 3 tablespoons orange juice

 

Directions:

Step 1: Prepare the fruit

Place the strawberries in a large non-reactive pot. Coarsely chop the cranberries and orange in a food processor.  Add to the pot with the strawberries.

 

Step 2: Cook the jam until it thickens

Stir in the sugar and bring the pot to a full boil over high heat and boil hard for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

 

Step 3: Add the pectin

Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the pectin and liqueur, if using.

 

Step 4: Ladle the jam into jars

Ladle the jam into hot, sterilized mason jars, leaving 1/2-inch headspace. Release the trapped air using a Bubble Remover and Headspace Tool. Then add the lids and rings, and process the jars in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes. For more information on water-bath canning, refer to the National Center for Home Preservation web site.  

I ran out of jelly jars so I used pint-size jars. I didn’t quite have enough jam to fill four jars completely so one jar went in the refrigerator instead of being processed in the water-bath canner.  That’s the jar I took with me to Thanksgiving Dinner. 

 

Step 5: Let jars rest on counter overnight

Turn the heat off. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove the jars, and let them sit on the counter for 24 hours to cool and ensure they are sealed correctly. You should hear the lids pop if they are sealed properly.

Step 6: Store jars in a cool, dry place.

Place the sealed jars in a cool, dry place for storage for up to a year. If any of the jars do not seal properly, place them in the refrigerator. They will last for a couple of months in the refrigerator.

 

Thanks to Hima of All Four Burners for hosting the Challenge. It’s time to Can It Up!

Happy Canning!

Cathy

 

Canning resources:

• Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
• The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving
• Keeping The Harvest: Discover the Homegrown Goodness of Putting Up Your Own Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs
• National Center for Home Preservation

Strawberry Vanilla Jam

I love strawberries and making jam.  So, I set out to make some strawberry jam, but not with just any strawberries, mind you. I went straight to the source – the strawberry patch -- at Washington Farms.

Strawberry season started early this year, and I didn’t get there until mid-May, but I still managed to pick two buckets full of berries. I froze a bunch in zip lock bags so they wouldn’t go bad before I had time to make the jam.

I found a recipe that was easily adaptable to the amount of strawberries I have on hand. This is the first batch of strawberry jam for the season.  It’s a beautiful color and tastes great, with just a hint of vanilla.

 

Strawberry Vanilla Jam

Adapted from: Put 'em Up! by Sheri Brooks Vinton

Makes: About 4 1/2 Cups

To provide the right amount of pectin and flavor to the jam, it is recommended that you use a combination of ripe strawberries and not so ripe strawberries.  Fortunately, I was able to find some of each.

 

Ingredients:

• 10 cups strawberries, hulled and halved if large
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 + 1 T lemon juice
• 1 vanilla bean

 

Directions:

Toss the strawberries with the sugar in a large bowl and let the mixture sit overnight to coax out the juices. 

I started this process with frozen strawberries and put the bowl in the refrigerator overnight. 

 

I took the berries out of the refrigerator the next morning and left them on the counter to thaw completely.

 

Here are the thawed strawberries with all of their juices.

 

Transfer the fruit mixture to a large nonreactive pan.  I used my stainless steel Dutch oven.

 

Place a plate in the freezer to use to test the gel.

Bring mixture to a boil. Crush the berries to release the juices. Slit the vanilla bean, scrape out the seeds and add the seeds and the pod to the jam mixture along with the lemon juice.

Continue to cook the mixture, stirring frequently, until the jam reaches the desired gel stage, about 20 minutes. To check if the gel is set, remove the plate from the freezer and place a spoonful of jam on it.  The jam is ready when it doesn’t spread on the plate.

Remove the jam from the heat and let it rest for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to release air bubbles. Skim off any foam. I added a little bit of butter to the jam while it as boiling so it didn’t foam anymore. You can see the difference in the photos.

 

Remove the vanilla pod.  Then ladle the jam into hot 8 oz. jars, leaving 1/4 inch of headspace.  

 

Release the trapped air, wipe the rims clean; center lids on the jars, and screw on the jar bands.

 

Process the jars for 10 minutes in the water-bath canner. If you live in a higher altitude or need more detailed instructions on water-bath canning, please refer to the instructions at the National Center for Home Preservation.

 

Turn off the heat, remove the canner lid, and let the jars rest in the water for 5 minutes.  Remove the jars and set aside for 24 hours.  Check seals, then store in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year.

 

 

Happy Canning and Baking!
Cathy

 

Here are some of the references I use in my canning adventures.

• Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
• The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving
• Keeping The Harvest: Discover the Homegrown Goodness of Putting Up Your Own Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs
• National Center for Home Preservation

Making Jam: Favorite Strawberry Jam

This is my Favorite Strawberry Jam.  It says so on the recipe...

The good thing about this recipe is that it does not use pectin nor does it require standing over the stove stirring a boiling pot of jam for an extended period of time.  This was very nice indeed. It gets hot here in the summer and I was not looking forward to that part of the process.

That's one of my container strawberry plants in the photo.  My strawberry plants have produced some delicious strawberries but not enough to make jam.

So...

A couple of weeks ago, we went strawberry picking at Washington Farms. 

It was really hot that day, but it was fun picking our own strawberries.

I picked 2 buckets full so my family would have plenty to eat and I would have plenty for making jam. 

The strawberries were really ripe so I froze about 12 cups until I was ready to make jam.  I froze them on a baking sheet first.  Then carefully placed the frozen berries in a quart-size freezer bag. I ended up with 6 quart-size bags of strawberries. When I was ready to make the jam, I just took a couple of bags out of the freezer and let them thaw a little bit but not enough for them to get soggy.

To make this strawberry jam, I turned to what has become one of my favorite canning books: The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving by Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard.

Favorite Strawberry Jam

Makes: 2 1/2 cups

Their method uses standing periods alternating with much shorter cooking times.  It makes a jam that retains its lovely red color and fresh flavor.  Can't beat that!

Ingredients:

• 4 cups halved or quartered firm strawberries (depending on the size)
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
  

Directions:

Mix berries and sugar and let stand for 8 hours, stirring occasionally.  I started this process on Saturday morning and left for the day so I stirred it at the beginning and the end.

Place berry mixture in a medium stainless steel or enamel saucepan.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.

Add lemon juice, return to a boil and boil rapidly for 5 minutes.  

Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 24 hours.

 

 

Bring berries to a full boil over high heat and boil rapidly for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat.

 

Ladle into hot jars and process for 10 minutes. If you live in a higher altitude or need more detailed instructions on water-bath canning, please refer to the instructions at the National Center for Home Preservation.

Remove the jars from the canner and let them sit overnight on the counter.  Then the jam is ready to be eaten (or photographed in this case then eaten).  This jam tastes really good and it's easy to make, but it only made 3 cups.

Hmmm...that gives me an idea!  Since this particular recipe only used 4 cups of strawberries, I have some left for another batch of jam. I'm thinking of some jam for a certain can jam that is coming up.


Just saying...


Do check back next week to find out what I made for the tigress' Can Jam.


Happy Canning and Baking!
Cathy


Here are some of the references I use in my canning adventures. You might enjoy them as well:

• Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
• The Complete Book of Small-Batch Preserving
• Keeping The Harvest: Discover the Homegrown Goodness of Putting Up Your Own Fruits, Vegetables and Herbs
• National Center for Home Preservation