Adventures in Jam Making

Recently I had to take my grandmother to an optometrist appointment. After the appointment, I dropped her off at her church where she and my grandpa help run the local food basket. She asked me to come inside as she wanted to introduce me to some of her friends. So I did as there is almost nothing I would not do for that woman.

So she is introducing me around and before I know it I have a whole crate of strawberries in my arms. Grandma is grinning at me and sends me on my merry way. I stop by my house to drop off the strawberries before heading into work. All the while I’m wondering what in the sam hell am I going to do with a whole crate of strawberries. Obviously I am going to have to freeze some of them or give a good portion of them away. There is no way the husband and I could eat that many strawberries before they went bad.

Then it hit me…I’ll make some jam! The fact I have never made jam before in my life didn’t faze me in the slightest. Come on where’s the adventure in that? I had a big stock pot I could use to boil the jars and I had 6 pint jars left over from some project in my pantry. What else did I need? I took a third of the strawberries, freezing the rest, and set aside my Sunday morning and afternoon for the great jam experiment.

After looking at various recipes I found one that didn’t use additional pectin and that intrigued me.  It called for 3 cups of strawberries to 1 and a half cup of sugar to the juice and zest of one lemon.  It sounded pretty good and I decided that was the recipe for me. See to make jam you need three things besides your fruit: Pectin, sugar and acidity. Pectin is a natural substance found in most fruits. Additional pectin is normally added to help in the gelling process. And sugar is also a natural thickener when it cooks down. So I get everything together and decide let’s rock this.

I happily chop strawberries into bite size pieces when I come to my first decision. 3 cups barely put a dent into my gallon bag of cleaned and hulled strawberries. The recipe makes 2 pints and I have 6 jars. Let’s triple the recipe! It made perfect sense at that particular moment. I go about my merry way and chop 6 more cups of strawberries, thankfully using all I had out. I mash the strawberries slightly, add the sugar and lemon juice/zest and set it to slowly cook.

It took FOREVER to get to a boil. And then once at a boil, to get to the prerequisite 225 degrees. While the berries were cooking, I run all the items needed through the dishwasher to sterilize everything.  Then I get my stock pot filled with water and set that to heat, knowing it will take a while to get to a boil. Finally the berries reach 225 degrees and after much trial and error and spilling of hot jam on my fingers I get 4 jars filled. So much for the 6 but that’s okay, I think to myself. The lids get put on and rings tighten. Now I come to an issue. How am I going to get the jars filled with HOT jam into the boiling water? Hmmmm.  I grab a pair of tongs and slowly lower the jars into the pot.

Whew. That was nerve wracking. I set the timer and let the jars process. This is the part I’ve been nervous about. What if I don’t get a good seal? How will I know? Can I reseal if it doesn’t work the first time? And blast it I have to get these jars out of the pot now! Again carefully and burning my fingers again, I get all 4 jars out and onto my counter. And now the hardest part for me. The waiting…yep you have to wait for a good while the sealing process happens, like a good 12 hours after you boil them. 

I cannot begin to tell you how many times I looked at the jars throughout the rest of the afternoon and evening. I press down on the lids and they didn’t move. Yay! That is a good sign and I impatiently wait until the next morning to finally crack one of those bad boys open.

The seal is good. It took me a good two minutes trying to open the jar. But then I’m slightly defeated. The jam is slightly runny. It tastes delicious though. The lemon is such a nice touch. It cuts through some of the sweetness and adds a depth of flavor to the jam. The husband and I both enjoy it even though it is not a thick as we prefer.

It’s been a few weeks since my great jam making adventure and the jam has thickened up considerably. Here is what I have learned and gleamed from my experience and subsequent research:

1. I need to invest in some more equipment like a jar holder to easily lift them in and out of the boiling water and a jar funnel. The burnt fingers were not so fun to deal with the next day.

2. Do not try to make such a large batch at once. One it will not take as long and I think that might have had something to do with it not gelling enough.

3. Make sure to try a gelling test. One such test is to put a plate in the freezer when you start cooking. When you think you the jam is done or close to, drop a small spoonful of the liquid on the plate. It should gel and if you run your finger through it, it should not run back together.

4. Be patient. Jam/jellies/preserves take time to cook and break down. Patience will always be key.

Now will I do this again? Absolutely! My mom loves the jar that I gave her and has informed me that she is no longer going to buy strawberry jam as I am going to make it for her.  The husband and I are thinking that jams may be the Yule gifts this year. So now I am thinking of flavor combinations I would like to try to make. I’m also beginning to eye marmalades….after all it can’t be too hard can it?