My husband’s Grandmother Carr used to make Strawberry Jam – and he would spread it over her toasted homemade bread. He loved it! It was a quite a treat! I have tried several times over the past years to duplicate her strawberry freezer jam, but usually ended up with strawberry syrup instead. This year I was determined to get it right. I experimented with regular Sure-Jell pectin (yellow box), the low sugar Sure-Jell (pink box) and Certo liquid pectin. I liked the jam made with the regular pectin the best. Here are the steps I used.
Enjoy!
Resources used: University of Wisconsin Extension Specialist, Christina Ward’s article from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Sure-Jell Directions.
http://archive.jsonline.com/features/food/jam-expert-gives-advice-after-sure-jell-directions-mix-up-b99301652z1-265379841.html
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Freezer Strawberry Jam
If you have had trouble getting your strawberry jam to set, try this recipe!
Servings: 6 8 oz jars
Ingredients
Jam with Original Sure-Jell
- 4 cups mashed or cut up strawberries
- 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice
- 4 cups sugar
- 1/3 cup pectin (Original Sure-Jell, yellow box)
Instructions
- Wash and remove strawberry stems.
- Mash strawberries with potato masher or use food processor to cut up strawberries, depending on the texture you want. Just pulse 3-4 times to avoid getting the berries too small.
- Place 4 cups of strawberries in a large pot, add 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Add the 4 cups of sugar (measure carefully) and then return to a boil. Finally, add the pectin and boil the mixture hard for 1 minute. Time carefully – too little or too much time will result in the jam not setting.
- Check the set of the jam. After finishing the final boil, remove the pot from the heat, remove a teaspoon or so of the jam mixture and put it in a small dish. Leave it alone for a few minutes while you get your jars ready. When you return, the jam in the dish will be set or not. If the jam is not set, just reboil it and add a little more lemon juice and pectin. My batch was too soft, so I added 3/4 tablespoon of bottled lemon juice and 3 tablespoons pectin and brought mixture to a boil – then checked the set again.
- To keep your jam clear and pretty, remove the foam that is on top.
- Clean and dry jars, Pour hot water, not boiling, over lids and let set.
- Stir jam and using a funnel, fill jars, leaving a 1/2 headspace.
- Wipe off top edges of jars; immediately cover with lids.
- Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours, or until set. Store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks or freeze up to 1 year. If frozen, thaw in refrigerator before using.
- If using the Sure-Jell's low-sugar pectin (pink box), use 4 cups of fruit, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 2 cups of sugar and 1 box of pectin. Same technique – boil strawberries first,with the lemon juice, add sugar boil again, then add the pectin and boil for one minute. Test. Fill jars. Wipe off top, cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours, or until set. Store in refrigerator up to 3 weeks or freeze up to 1 year. If frozen, thaw in refrigerator before using.
- If using Certo (liquid pectin): Put 1 3/4 cup crushed or cut up strawberries in a large bowl. Stir in 4 cups of sugar. Let stand 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix 1 container of Certo with 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice in a small bowl. Add to strawberry mixture and stir 3-4 minutes until sugar is dissolved. Fill jars and let set for 24 hours. Refrigerate up to 3 weeks or freeze up to 1 year. I would not recommend this method, jam is too grainy for me.
Notes
The original Sure-Jell jam recipe will work for most fruits – 4 cups fruit, 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice, 4 cups of sugar and 1/3 cup or 1 box pectin. Follow directions above.
