Classic Strawberry Jam

Classic Strawberry Jam

Growing up we always had a variety of homemade jams in the house. Strawberry, raspberry and peach were staples and every once and a while my Mother or Nanna would be adventurous and a new jam or jelly would join the rotation, like crab apple jelly or Saskatoonberry jam.

Needless to say jam making is serious business in my family.  It is not uncommon for 4 batches of jam to be made at a time, with jams being made in alternate years (aka strawberry this year, raspberry the next).  We had a jam bookcase in the basement because that’s how many jars we (like I said a serious business).

So this year for the the first time I made my Mom’s classic strawberry jam recipe (by-myself, though I may of called my mom once during the process).  Though really this was out of self-preservation. Once you’ve had homemade jam it is really hard to enjoy the store bought version.

Having a toddler in the house means jam making is not something you start on a whim rather is a result of careful preparation and a whole lot of luck that the little one had a late afternoon nap on the day I bought the strawberries (hello stars aligning).

Lessons learned:

• The longest part of jam making is the prep work: sterilizing jars & lids and stemming the strawberries.
• You don’t need a tonne of strawberries to make jam.
• I need a bigger pot.

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First Step: Jar Washing / Sterilizing

I used my dishwashers for this step on the glass wash setting and it worked great, total time saver!

Step 2 -Prep work

Wash the strawberries

I fill the sink with cold water and put the strawberries in a strainer and let them soak for about 5 minutes.  You’ll be amazed at how much dirt and straw comes off the berries.

Juice the lemons

Get your jars ready

Step 3 – Lets Make Jam!

Depending on how you like your jam – with chunks of strawberries or smooth – you can crush your strawberries in layers with potato smasher or you can use a food processor to  blend the strawberries.  Can you tell what type of jam I like?

I’m going to pause for the second to discuss the ridiculous amount of sugar that goes into classic strawberry jam – 14 cups in a double batch of jam – 14 cups!  I know that sugars acts as a preservative in this style of jam (and makes the jam super tasty) but the health nut in me cringed as I was counting the cups of sugar I was putting in 12….13…..14.  I was also super apprehensive that not all the sugar was going to fit in my pot.  So unless you are only making a single batch of jam I strongly urge you to borrow or purchase a “Jam Pot” – aka a giant ass pot you will probably only ever use for jam!

Okay moving on…

Step 4 – Get your stir on

Okay so I have no pictures of this step because I was stirring…constantly.  Once you’ve added your strawberries, sugar and lemon juice stir together on high heat until the jam starts to boil.  Then let it boil for 1 minute (set the timer) and keep stirring.  Once at a boil the jam with foam and start to rise quite rapidly – at this stage I was justing praying that the boil wouldn’t boil over (it didn’t but man it was close, bubbling to the very top!).

After 60 seconds. Turn off the burner and move the pot to another burner.  Add your liquid pectin and stir another 5 minutes.  This will help prevent the some of the strawberry bits from settling. You can also start skimming some of the foam off the top (especially if you want really clear jam).  The foam doesn’t bother me so I didn’t bothering skimming it off.

Step 5 – Now you jar

I used 3 different sized jars, 125ml (gifter jars) 250ml (small jars) and 500ml (large jars).  I found the easiest way to fill the jars was with a glass measuring cup. 2 cups fills 1 500ml jar.  I would not recommended ladling jam straight from the pot into the jars.  Remember you are still working with extremely hot jam and you want to take precautions to avoid burns.

Once you fill 2-3 jars, use a tea towel (or kitchen towel) to quickly tightening on the jar lids.

Within about an hour of fillings the jars you will start to hear the satisfying pop – pop – pop of the jars starting to seal themselves – success!

This jam will keep fine in a cool dark space for 12-18 months.

Ingredients

• 3 & 3/4 cups crushed strawberries (about 2 quarts)
• 7 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 pouch Certo Liquid Pectin

The original recipe and directions can be found here.

If you are anything like me, you bought WAY to many strawberries – like 4 quarts too many!  Other than sitting down and eating them by the bowl full I also have a great recipe for a Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble and Strawberry Banana Mini Muffins (toddler and husband approved!).

I would love to know what your favourite jam or preserve is – let me know in the comments below.

~ kate