Gluten Free & God Seeking: Just Like Grandma's Strawberry Jam (With Less Sugar!)

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Just Like Grandma's Strawberry Jam (With Less Sugar!)

On Monday I went strawberry picking with some of my grandchildren. After about an hour of picking, my 5 year granddaughter only had 11 strawberries! We both laughed when I told her, you must be picking 1 and eating 2!

If you've never done a U-Pick, you really need to try it this summer. It's a great way to spend time with family. I told my grandkids that when I was a little girl at my grandparent's farm, our grandmother got us strawberry picking by telling us she would make us some strawberry shortcake. Of course, we were like, deal!

I remember my grandmother's homemade jams--blackberry, strawberry, and plum--they're so much better than store bought! And I have enjoyed keeping this tradition alive. I am planning next week to pick more strawberries and invite some of my grandchildren over to help me make jam.

Home Made Strawberry Jam

1. Prepare boiling water canner: Fill your canner half full of water and put it on medium high heat. It takes about an hour to start to boil. Make sure there's enough water to go 1-2" above the jars.

2. Prepare jam jars, bands, and lids:
(1) Put jars and screw bands in hot soapy water and wash them or put them in the dishwasher.

(2) Then fill jars with boiling water and let them sit until ready to fill.
(3) Put a small pan on the stove when the jam is almost ready to boil with a few inches of water. When the jam is hot , put the lids you'll need in, and let them sit in there until ready to use. The water doesn't need to boil this is just to soften the seal.

3. Prepare strawberries: Crush with a potato masher enough strawberries to make 6 cups. As you can see from my pictures, I very carefully doubled this recipe knowing that if I wasn't accurate, it might not set up right. I've done this before without any problem. Just make sure you don't overcook the pectin because that could cause it to lose its thickening properties.

4. Put strawberries into a pot:

(1) Then stir 2 box of Fruit Pectin for Less or No Sugar Needed Recipes with 1/4 cup of sugar. Slowly add it to the berries and whisk it to make sure it doesn't clump together.
(2) Add 1 1/2 cups of apple juice concentrate to the crushed strawberries.
(3) Then add 2 teaspoons of butter to keep the foam down.
(4) Bring jam to a full rolling boil. A full rolling boil is one that doesn't stop bubbling even while you're stirring it.
(5) Stir in 1/2-2 cups of sugar; I usually taste it and see what's needed to keep the sugar level down.
(6) Let the jam boil for just 1 minute stirring constantly.--I usually put it on a timer. Skim off any foam on the top.

5. Fill the jars & put into the canner:
(1) Empty the glass jars one at a time of theirhot water and put a funnel on the mouth of the jar and ladle the hot jam into it. Be careful to leave about 1/4" at the top.
(2) Wipe the rim carefully, and take a lid out of the saucepan with a fork and then put a band on the jar and tighten it.
(3) Place jars into the water canner and put the timer on for 10 minutes when you hear it starting to boil.

6. After processing: Take out the jars with tongs and place upright on a flat surface and allow them to cool. Don't disturb the jars for 24 hours. Then you can unscrew the bands and check the seals. Press down on the center, and if it flexes up and down often making a popping kind of sound, it's not sealed. If they're sealed, there is a little depression on the lid. If any of the jars didn't seal, you have to redo the process or stick it into the frig or freezer.

7. Storage: Store your jars in a cool, dark place for up to 1 year, but it's best to eat them up within 8 months as the longer they sit, the runnier the jam usually becomes. When you open a jar, it will last for about 3 weeks in the refrigerator.