The perfect taste of summer that you can have any time of year! Jam is easy to make with patience and the right equipment. It's shelf-safe and absolutely delicious on bread and in desserts! It takes 1-2 hours to make a single batch.
You can use fresh or frozen berries to make jam!
The reason this recipe is general is because the recipe for jam is specific to each container of pectin used. For example, one brand may want 6 cups blueberries with 7 cups sugar, but another brand may want 4 cups blueberries with 4 cups of sugar.
The point is, I will show pictures and tips on how the process goes, but the actual recipe needs to be found on/in the pectin package.
If you want to make more than one batch of jam, you HAVE to make one batch at a time. It doesn't work to double the berries, sugar, and pectin in one pot, you'll simply have to make two separate batches.
Strawberries picked with my brother, frozen, and unthawed for the jam making process. When measuring berries for the recipe, measure the MASHED berries, not the fresh ones.
I put them through the food processor, but they can be mashed with a hand masher. I only put about 1.5 cups in the processor at a time because I want them to be uniformly mashed and putting a lot in at one time kind of messes that up.
You want them slightly chunky so the jam has some texture to it. The berries will cook down and become less chunky anyway.
Since these were frozen they will have a lot of liquid but this can be added to the jam as well.
3 3/4 cups mashed strawberries mixed with 1/4 cup lemon juice. This is right before I started cooking it down.
Before cooking down the berries, the sugar needs to be measured out (Here is 7 cups).
Add the berries, pectin, and lemon juice to the pot. Also mix in 1/2 tsp. of butter, which will reduce the foam that forms in the jam. You want to use a large pot because it will bubble up and double in size from start to finish. Some pectin instructions have you add the pectin after heating it up, make sure to read the package instructions carefully!
Let the mixture come to a rolling boil (that can't be stirred down) and boil 1 minute before adding in the sugar.
After boiling for 1 minute, add in the sugar. Mix it in and let the mixture heat up to a rolling boil again (next picture).
Once the sugar is mixed in and brought to a rolling boil (can't be stirred down). Boil for another minute, stirring constantly.After that one minute, take the mixture off the heat.
Finished mixture! It's ready to add to the clean jars!
Bring the brand new (can't re-use old ones) sealing lids to a boil and boil for five minutes. You can do this while the jam is cooking. Meanwhile, pour the jam into the clean jars with the help of a funnel (next picture).
Using a canning funnel and ladle to fill jars!
After filling, use a towel/rag to wipe off the rims. This shows blueberry jam but this is an important step. This is very important because any material on the lip of the jar can prevent proper sealing of the lid and make the jam unsafe to store on a shelf or eat unless it's refrigerated immediately.
After adding the boiled lids and twist caps on top. The halfway filled one will not be able boiled or shelf-safe, so after capping and sealing it it will have to go immediately into the fridge. The other four can finish being capped and then boiled.
After placing the jars in the hot water bath canner and starting to fill. These need to be covered until there's 1-2 inches above the jars (next picture).
After getting the water 1-2 inches above the jars (pot gets very heavy!). Place it on the stove, cover, and bring to a light boil (it takes a while).
The large hot water bath canning pot on the stove, heating up to a low boil.
The water is at a low boil, not too high of a boil that the lid moves a lot and water comes out of the top. At this point they need to boil for 10 minutes. After that the pot needs to be taken off the heat, the lid removed, and let sit for 5 minutes.
After all the boiling is done, place on a towel, not touching, and let cool ~12 hours before storing. As they cool the lids will "pop" when the part in the middle that puffs up will go down, sealing the jar so it can be stored on a shelf at room temperature. If for any reason after the 12 hour period any of them haven't popped, they need to be stored in the refrigerator/freezer because they haven't set right.
IMPORTANT: ALSO, while they rest like this they SHOULD NOT BE PICKED UP, TILTED, OR MOVED IN ANY WAY. While they are cooling the jam is setting, so moving it around screws this up.
Aren't they beautiful?
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