Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Strawberry Jam

Jam without pectin proves to be a long process of condensing the berries and sugar to thicken it. I LOVE the caramel-y flavor the slow boiling down gave the strawberry-cranberry preserves (recipe found in Frances Bissell's Preserving Nature's Bounty, if you are interested), but I just don't know if I can take the 3 1/2 hour process for any future batches. I mean it isn't as if regular pectin jams don't taste good or anything; they are delicious too. (There is also always the possibility that I did it too long. Since it was my first time, I wasn't sure when it was really "set" and ready to funnel into the jars. Perhaps for a seasoned jam connoisseur it would only take 1 hour?) Either way, I'm very proud of this:

My first non-freezer jam sealed in a real water bath!
Woot woot, summer canning here we come! :)

P.S. for those of you, like me, who have never cooked jam before, the pink in the above photo is a foam that comes out as it boils. We skimmed it off before putting into the jars... and it made a delicious topping on our frozen yogurt!

7 comments:

  1. You amaze me. It looks delish. I could use a yummy piece of toast right now!

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  2. That looks amazingly yummy! I LOVE homemade jam and I don't think I will ever go back to store bought. Here's a little trick to help have virtually no foam next time around...add a tablespoon or two of butter (not the spreadable kind, the real stuff). My sister is a canning-fanatic and learned that trick from a friend. Whenever I make a batch, I have only two little swooshes of skimming the foam with the butter. Hope that helps! :)

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  3. Elisa,
    You are my hero. That's all I can say about that.

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  4. I'm glad you posted this because I made some freezer jam a few months ago and I just really detest the flavor of the pectin, I don't know what it is. Now I know you can make it without it, just have to dedicate some more time. Thanks!

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  5. That's about the prettiest jar of jam I've ever seen. Well done.

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  6. I am totally impressed by your cannery skills! I've never even attempted that, and your turned out so beautiful! and it looks yummy! You're so cool! :-)

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