Strawberry Jam - Easy / Basic Recipe
Safe and easy recipe if you are new to making your own fruit preserves.
Equipment
- 1 Water bath canning set (21.5-quart pot, lid, basket and canning tool set)
- 8 8-ounce canning jars with lids
- 1 6 or 8 quart saucepan for making jam
- 1 Silicone Spoon
Ingredients
- 5 cups crushed fresh strawberries Wash, dry, and remove stems.
- 1/4 cup lemon juice Use bottled, not freshly squeezed.
- 6 tbsp pectin Ball brand Real Fruit is a good choice for beginners.
- 7 cups granulated sugar
- 1 large ladle
Instructions
- Thoroughly clean / sanitize jars and lids. Have them set aside and ready.
- Place basket in the canner pot. Fill pot with water. (When jars are added to the pot later in process, there should be enough water to allow them to sit 1-2 inches below the surface). Bring to a boil. On my stove, this takes some time, so I get the water to boiling while I am prepping the jam. If it boils down a bit, I just add a little more water.
- In the meantime, combine fresh crushed strawberries and lemon juice in a saucepan.
- Stir pectin into the strawberry/lemon juice mixture. Do this a little bit at a time. Gradually add until well blended.
- Using a silicone spoon, stir strawberry / lemon juice / pectin mixture constantly over high heat until it comes to a rolling boil. You will know you have reached the proper boil when you cannot settle it or stir the boiling action down with your spoon.
- Add all of the sugar and continue stirring constantly until the mixture comes back to a full rolling boil again. Keep this boil for 1 full minute while still stirring.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat. There will be foam on the top. Skim this off.
- Ladle the hot mixture into hot jars. (I keep mine in a warm oven on a baking sheet lined with a towel). Leave 1/4" of open space between the jelly surface and the rim of the jelly jar.
- Use the de-bubbler tool in your canning supplies kit to remove any air bubbles. The end of this tool also has a handy head space measurer. After removing the air bubbles, see if the level of the jam has dropped and add more until you reach that 1/4" of open head space.
- Once jars are filled, wipe the rims with a damp cloth to remove any spills or spots of jam.
- Center the flat, round lid on the jelly jars. There is a tool in the canning supply kit that aids in keeping the lid clean. It is a stick with a magnet tip so you do not have to handle the underside of the lid with your fingers.
- Screw the jar rings on finger-tight. You don't need to crank them down. Think tightening with your fingers/not your wrist.
- Using jar tongs in your canning kit, place jars in the basket of the boiling water bath of the canner.
- Place lid on the canner and continue to boil for 10 minutes. **Adjust this time to your altitude.
- Remove the hot jars from the water bath using the jar tongs. Let the jars sit, undisturbed, for 12-24 hours. You will hear them "ping" as the raised bubble in the center of the lid is sucked down and flattened.
- After 12-24 hours remove the jar rings and check to see if the center bubble on the lid has flattened. You can lift jars by the cap to ensure the seal is tight.
- Store finished jam in a cool dark place without the rings. Rings can hold the lid down, providing a "false seal." Save the rings though. After you open the jar you can use them when storing jam in the refrigerator.