Wednesday 16 June 2010

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:

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