I finally made it out to the strawberry stand last weekend and bought an entire flat of strawberries. That's 12 baskets. Needless to say, that is a lot of strawberries. We went through the entire flat in 48 hours. I made 2 batches of jam and we ate the rest. One batch of jam uses 2-3 baskets of strawberries, depending on the size. The recipe I like to use is my Grandma's, which you can actually use to make raspberry jam too, although I have never tried it. Her recipe originally called for a packet of unsweetened strawberry Kool-Aid, which I always thought was the secret ingredient that made it taste so good. I started this blog to try to get away from food additives, and Kool-Aid seems to be ALL additives. So I made a batch with the Kool-Aid and one without. I discovered that the secret to good strawberry jam is, in fact, the quality of strawberries you are using. I suppose if you have sub-par strawberries, the Kool-Aid would make it taste better, but I have found that leaving it out makes for sweeter and better tasting jam. Sorry Grandma!2 c mashed strawberries
1/4 c lemon juice
1 3/4 c water
1 package pectin
1 T butter
Mix all together and bring to a boil. Let butter melt completely. It helps prevent the jam from getting foamy.
Once the mixture is boiling, add 6 cups of sugar and bring to a boil again. Boil for 3 minutes. It will rise up and be a little foamy.
After the 3 minutes are up, turn off heat and pour into hot sterilized jars. I wash mine really well, or you can run them through the dishwasher and the keep them in a pot of boiling water until they are ready to fill. I keep the lids in boiling water too. Once the jam is in the jars, make sure there's none on the lip of the jar, so it will seal. Place the lid on top and secure with the rings. Let them sit for at least 24 hours to cool and seal. As they cool, you will hear that "pop" sound as they seal. If they don't seal, put the jars in the fridge and use right away.
I really like this recipe because it's quick and you don't need any special equipment, besides the jars. It's also the best tasting strawberry jam I've ever had. What kind of jam is your favorite?
So you don't need to boil the jars? Whoa I want to try this!!!! Also I never heard of putting butter in there. I really want to try this recipe, it sounds wonderful. So why are you able to skip the boiling jars part? That's the part that has always scared me away from cooked jam.
ReplyDeleteAna, you do actually boil the jars, you just don't process the jam. I'm not a canning wizard, but I believe that they don't need to be processed because the combination of lemon juice and cooking the jam kills any bacteria that might be in there. As long as your jars are sterilized you should have no problems storing them. I've been making this recipe for years and have never had a problem with it spoiling or molding. If you try it, you HAVE to use strawberries from the strawberry stand. It makes the best jam. :) Maybe I'll drop off a jar...
DeleteIf I recall correctly, if you turn your jars upside down for about an hour after you put the lids on, they seal faster. You'll have to ask Mom, though, to be sure. I think she's the one that told me. I love this jam...never made it with Kool-Aid, though.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard that. They seal pretty fast right side up...and you're not missing out on the Kool-Aid...
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