Look how lovely they turned out! And I was able to get them to seal properly, which is ultimately what I really wanted to try, not just making the jam itself. The best part was I only spent about $10 on the equipment I needed, because I made a small batch without using a water bath canner. Turns out strawberry jam is very easy to make. You need:
A large (enough) stock pot
A sauce pan
Four 4 oz. mason jars (or two 8 oz.) with rings and fresh lids
Prep bowls
Clean dish towels
A chilled bowl (I used a small Pyrex bowl)
A jar lifter (the green tong-looking thing)
Regular tongs
A canning funnel
A canning funnel
A metal trivet or canning rack that fits inside your stock pot
A 10-12" skillet or electric skillet of comparable size
In lieu of a stock pot you can use an actual water bath canner if you have one. I didn't, and they can be pricey so I didn't want to go buy one. I chose to use four 4 oz. mason jars for a couple reasons: First, they're short and squatty so you don't have to have a giant cauldron when you are processing them. Second, Josh and I don't go through that much jam. 4 oz. is small enough that when I open it, I will use it up in a couple weeks if not a few days. I had purchased a jar lifter, but I have pretty small hands (my ring size is a 4) so I found the jar lifter kind of difficult to manage. I had purchased some regular tongs, and I actually had an easier time using those (although they resulted in slightly more precarious jar lifting) instead of the jar lifter. Tongs and/or a jar lifter are important to have when you're lifting glass jars into and out of boiling water.
Next, gather your ingredients, which are as follows:
3 c. hulled, chopped strawberries
1 c. granulated white sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
I didn't know the name for the process of cutting off the calyx (the green stem) of a strawberry, but that is what "hulling" is (I also didn't know the green stem was called a calyx). 3 cups chopped strawberries is about 1 lb., or the size of one typical carton. I used exactly 1 lb. and one strawberry (I felt like my third cup could really use that extra berry). This will condense down into about 2 cups of jam.
On an unrelated note, I stumbled upon my camera's macro function, which allows for closer-up shots. I wish I would've known this earlier! So here is a close up of the strawberries, which were beautiful and surprisingly perfect for how cheap they were.
On an unrelated note, I stumbled upon my camera's macro function, which allows for closer-up shots. I wish I would've known this earlier! So here is a close up of the strawberries, which were beautiful and surprisingly perfect for how cheap they were.
Next, place your metal trivet on the bottom of your stock pot, fill it with boiling water, and place your mason jars inside. Remove the lids and rings and set aside (the trivet or canning rack is supposed to keep your jars away from the direct heat of the pot when you're processing your jam).
Allow your mason jars to sit in boiling water for 10 minutes to sterilize them. You want the water to cover the jars by about 3 inches.
I've read that if you preserve your jam by processing them in a water bath (which is what I do later--as opposed to the inversion method, where you simply flip your jars upside down, allowing the heat of the jam and the jar to cause the lids to seal) that you really don't need to sterilize your jars beforehand. This is good news, because although I know I let my jars sit in boiling water, I really don't remember how long they were in there!
Next, you are going to want to fill your sauce pan with one or two cups water, and allow it to simmer (not boil), at which point you will place your lids in (you can put the rings in too, but you don't need to), allowing their rubber seals to soften. Once they've been in there a few minutes, you can turn off the heat and let them sit in the warm water.
While all this is going on, you can begin making your jam! Place all three ingredients in your skillet, and cook on medium heat, stirring pretty much constantly. Constant stirring is important if you're using an electric skillet, as they can tend to have hot spots. It will look something like this:
Allow your strawberries/sugar/lemon juice mixture to come to a roaring boil.
The amount of time it takes for your strawberries to cook will depend on how much moisture is in the berry. Usually you only need to cook them for about 8-10 minutes. I read that this is a faster cooking time than usual, not only because this is a small batch but also because you're using a wide pan, which allows the water to escape more quickly. You can skim off the froth that forms if you like--it won't hurt you, it just doesn't look as pretty when its in the jar. I didn't really care much about that--I was more interested in just getting my jars to seal.
Once your the sauce in your berries starts to turn from watery to syrupy, take out that chilled bowl. With a teaspoon, scoop out a small amount (about a 1/2 tsp) of your jam and place it on the chilled bowl and allow it to set for 30 seconds. Lift the bowl and let the jam run down the side. If the jam runs down easily, keep cooking your berries and try again later. You want the jam to thicken up such that it only ever so slowly creeps down the chilled bowl when you hold it up. When it does, you can turn the heat off your jam.
At this point I was so focused on sealing these jars correctly that I completely forgot to take pictures of the process! But the rest is simple. With your jar lifter or tongs, take you mason jars out of the boiling water and drain them, setting them down on a clean kitchen towel (rather than a cold kitchen counter--especially if you have granite counter tops!). Place your canning funnel into the mouth of the jar and fill it with jam, leaving about 1/8 of an inch space from the top of the jar. Leaving too much or too little space can prevent the jar from sealing properly. Wipe off the rim of the jar with a clean paper towel (a dirty rim can also keep the jar from sealing properly). With your tongs, fish out a lid and set it on top of the jar before tightening a ring around the lid. You might need to grip the jar with a paper towel or oven mit, as they will still be rather warm from boiling.
With your jar lifter or tongs, place the jars back into your stock pot and have them sit on the metal trivet at the bottom of the pot, just as before. If your water has stopped boiling, allow it to return to a boil. Once it returns to a boil, leave your jars in the boiling water for 10 minutes. After that time, remove your jars using your jar lifter or tongs and set them on the towel. Allow them to sit for about a half hour or so untouched. You should hear a "pop" sound when then jars seal. This website thoroughly explains how to tell if your jars sealed properly.
In the end, I put three jars into the water bath to process, and used the fourth jar to fill up with the leftover jam. There wasn't enough to fill the fourth jar properly, so I filled it up as much as I could, allowed it to turn to room temperature, and placed it in the fridge, where it will keep for between 2 and 4 weeks. Let your sealed jars cool (which should take between 12 and 24 hours) and store them for up to a year or give them away as gifts!
 | |
| The finished product! |
I don't think I will ever buy jam at the store again--this was sooo good! I don't think I've ever eaten homemade jam (at least not at an age I can remember). So that was my day today. In the words of Bob Marley, I was jammin' :)
But what is the point of jammin' without biscuits? This biscuit recipe was another Pinterest find, and win.
2 cups Bisquick
1/2 cup 7-up
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup melted butter ( or margarine)
Combine your Bisquick, 7up, and sour cream until it forms a dough. On a clean surface, spread flour our so your dough does not stick and pat out your dough until its about, oh, I'd say 1/2" to 1" thick and divide it into 9 pieces. My dough was stickier probably than it should have been, so I ended up just tearing off 9 equal pieces, and that worked just fine! Melt half of your butter and pour it into a 9x9 baking ban, making sure that it coats the bottom of the pan. Place your dough in three rows of three. Drizzle the remainder of the butter, melted, over the top of your biscuits. Bake at 450 until golden brown, about 15 minutes.
Wow, this is a long post. I meant to write about the book I've been collaborating on, and how my friend recently had a baby, and my aunt who is expecting twins, but that will have to be for tomorrow! Until then :)
No comments:
Post a Comment