In A Jam

When I was growing up we never had store-bought jams or jellies, but after my mom was gone, I’d gotten pretty used to Smucker’s and others. However, a couple of years ago, with supplies of fruit from a Colorado peach farm truck that comes through the area in August and the boxes of Oregon frozen fruit from our church orders, I decided to try my hand at homemade jams. Now they’re a favorite and we don’t buy many jars at the store.

I think jams are the easiest to make and you get to use all the fruit without straining out the fiber so you get a bigger yield, and you do get a bit more nutrition. Jam is made from crushed or chopped fruits so it isn’t clear and firm like jelly and doesn’t contain small whole fruits like preserves, but is a semi-firm sweet spread. I also like to use recipes that include commercial pectin as the gelling substance; I have better luck getting a good gel. Commercial pectin comes in liquid and powdered forms and both give good results, but the methods of adding them and amounts of ingredients differ, so they are not interchangeable.

Find a good sounding recipe and follow it closely. This is not the time to be original! Sweet Spreads use a lot of sugar and the temptation is to reduce this, but don’t! The sugar is required for the recipes in order to gel and preserve the spread. If you’re cutting back on calories, just use less of the jam on your toast.

The other thing to follow closely is equipment and instructions. Use standard canning or jelly jars, not those saved from a commercial product. They should be sterilized before use and free of any chips. Used carefully and stored well, they can be reused for years (the ones I’m unpacking now are wrapped in newspaper from 1989).  Always use new flats (lids). Rings (the screw part) can be reused if they don’t become rusty.  All sweet spreads (jams, jellies, preserves, etc) should be processed in a water-bath canner for the recipe’s required time. (no more sealing with canning wax. I remember as a child that it was a special treat to open a new jar and get to lick the jelly off the wax)

The best reference for all canning, including jams, is the National Center for Home Food Preservation out of University of Georgia’s Extension Service. The website is www.uga.edu/nchfp.

Here are a couple of jam recipes I’ve done this summer that we will enjoy all winter:

Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam

Ingredients:

4 ¼ cups diced rhubarb

4 ¼ cups sliced fresh strawberries

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 (1.75-oz) packages powdered fruit pectin

½ teaspoon butter (optional)

10 cups white sugar

12 half-pint canning jars with lids and rings

            (this recipe made 14 half pints for me)

Directions:

1.     Place rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice, fruit pectin, and butter into a large kettle over medium heat. (Butter is optional but helps keep jam from getting too foamy). Stir the fruit mixture to help the juice start to form, and add sugar, about 1 cup at a time, stirring constantly until sugar is dissolved and the juice is starting to simmer. Turn up heat to medium-high, bring the mixture to a full rolling boil, and cook and stir for 1 minute. Skim off any foam that forms.

2.     Sterilize the jars and lids in boiling water for at least 5 minutes. With a jelly funnel and a soup ladle, pack the jam into the hot, sterilized jars, filling the jars to within ¼ inch of the top. Run a plastic knife or a thin spatula around the insides of the jars after they have been filled to remove any air bubbles. Wipe the rims of the jars with a moist paper towel to remove any food residue. Top with lids, and screw on rings.

3.     Place a rack in the bottom of a large stockpot and fill halfway with water (I like to use my big spaghetti cooker) Bring to a boil over high heat, then carefully lower the jars into the pot using a holder. Leave a 2-inch space between the jars. Pour in more boiling water if necessary until the water level is at least 1 inch above the tops of the jars. Bring the water to a full boil, cover the pot, and process for 5 minutes.

4.     Remove the jars from the stockpot and place onto a cloth-covered or wood surface, several inches apart, until cool. To help the jam set, don’t move or touch the jars until cooled. Once cool, lightly press the top of each jar with a finger, to check that the seal is tight (lid should be concave and not move up or down). Store in a cool, dark area.

Peach Jam

Ingredients:

1 quart finely chopped, pitted peaches

7 ½ cups sugar

¼ cup lemon juice

1 pouch liquid pectin

Directions:

Combine fruit, sugar and lemon juice in a large saucepot. Bring slowly to a boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Stir in liquid pectin. Return to a rolling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. Ladle hot jam into hot jars leaving ¼-inch headspace. Adjust two-piece caps. Process 10 minutes in a boiling-water bath (count time after water returns to a boil).

            This recipe is from the Ball Blue Book and is a little shorter on instructions because the book includes general directions for processing. But you should follow all the recommended steps.