Raise your hand if you love jams? Not the kind you dance to (although I have to admit I love those too) but the edible kind! I am pretty obsessed with jams, and by obsessed I mean I purchase and want to try them ALL! Give me all the jams! In particular, one of my absolute favorite type is strawberry jam, and what better time to talk about strawberries than the summer?!
When I purchase jam, I always look at the ingredients, and many times, I get a little dizzy when I see how much sugar and other preservatives are in there. Luckily I have found a few that have low sugar and very few ingredients. As much as I love buying jams, I love homemade even more. I used to think that homemade jam was one of the hardest things to make, but soon learned, it’s not. You just need fresh fruit and and some love.
Not only is homemade jam unbeatable in taste and flavor, it will make your house smell like a beautiful cloud of comforting paradise! (You will know exactly what I mean when you make this) For this recipe I like to use strawberries from the farmer’s market. If you have access to that, I highly recommend it. If you do not, store bought will work fine too. I would recommend organic strawberries as they are on the top dirty dozen list.
Lastly, I personally don’t like adding pectin to my jams. I want that homemade texture and feel and make it in small batches. I usually ake enough for my household and give away the remainder family or friends. Since I do not add any preservatives, my jams are watery in consistency. I don’t mind that one bit because it tastes so, so good! There are plenty of recipes out there for thicker jams, but this is recipe is for those who care more about the taste than the consistency. Without further adieu. let’s jam! 0:)
| Cook Time: 90 minutes | Prep Time: 5 minutes |
| Serves: 3- 4 cups | Total Time: 95 minutes |
| Ingredients 6 cups organic strawberries (washed and hulled) 3 cups organic sugar |
| Instructions 1. Thoroughly wash strawberries and hull the stems. (You can either cut them off or use a strawberry huller to remove them) 2. Place strawberries into a blender and blend until it resembles a smoothie. (If all the strawberries don’t fit, blend them in 2 separate batches) 3. Place blended strawberries into a medium saucepan (6 or more quarts) on medium high heat until it begins to boil. (About 3-5 minutes) I used my new saucepan to make this and absolutely love it! 4. Add sugar and stir until it is no longer visible. 5. As soon as it boils, bring it to a slow simmer by lowering the heat to medium low. 6. At this point you want to make sure you stir the jam about every 5 minutes so it doesn’t stick. Set your timer to 85 minutes. 7. In between stirring, your mixture will develop a lot of *froth like in the picture, you will need to collect this froth. Use a small bowl and a spoon, collect the froth from the surface using your spoon and dump into your bowl. When finished, discard the froth. 8. You will notice that below the froth, a nice darker red color will appear, that’s the part you want to keep. You will need to keep collecting until there is no more froth left. (usually after 30 minutes) 9. Once your timer is done, turn off heat and let it cool completely. (This may take several hours) 10. Once it is completely cool, pour them into jars and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks. It will slightly thicken when cold, but will be more liquid-y in consistency than a typical store bought jam. *The process of discarding the froth will help preserve your jam for longer. This step is important for that reason. I have tried it both ways, and believe it also tastes better when froth is properly removed. If you do not do this step, I would keep it in the fridge for 1 week instead of 2. |
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