Making home made strawberry jam

[maxmillan]

I plan to make an assortment of strawberry jam. In particular, I want to combine apples and strawberry so I won't have to use store bought pectin. I also want to reduce the sugar by about a third.

However, I see that there are different kinds of preserve methods. I know you're suppose to sterilize the jars and lids. My mom usually pours her jam into sterilized jars but does not heat the lids to seal it. She stores it in the fridge and freezer. Some people boil the jars and lids to seal it and store it in their pantry.

I don't have home canning pots, tongs, etc. Is it necessary to go through the whole boiling method if I don't use store bought pectin and use less sugar? I want to store it in the fridge or freezer and want to avoid poisoning myself. I don't want to use wax either.

I just want the simplest method, use the least sugar and be able to store it either in a freezer or a pantry. People tell me home perserving is simple but I'm confused with the different information I see out there.

Thanks for your help.

[JAZ]

I know you said that you don't want to use pectin, but I would recommend buying some Ball Fruit Jell pectin for freezer jam. It requires much less sugar than regular pectin and gives reliable, good results.

If you use apples with the strawberries, you'll dilute the strawberry flavor -- you'll end up with apple-strawberry jam, which will probably be good, but won't be strawberry jam.

Freezer jams in general require less sugar and also don't require sterilization or sealing jars. Just make sure you get a pectin that's formulated for freezer jams.

[Badiane]

I have learned a great deal about jam making in the last few years, and I will tell you my experiences, hopefully they will be helpful.

If you want to use a lot less sugar (which you do), forget about being able to store it in the pantry. Even if you seal it, it won't keep. Sugar is what preserves the fruit. You will have the best luck with freezing it. Oh sure, it will be okay in the pantry for a while...but then the top will turn black and it will be yucky.

If you want to store it in the pantry, you need to sterilize the jars and the lids. you need to fill the jars while they are hot and put the lids on right away. This will keep the creepies out. If you only want to freeze or fridge it, it's not such a big deal, as your mother will tell you. I sterilize my jars by putting them upside down on a cookie sheet and putting them in the oven at 250 for 10 minutes. Sterilize the lids by dropping them into a small pot of water that has just boiled and been removed from the heat. You can purchase a handy magnetic wand in the canning section at your local supermarket for less than three dollars. That solves the issue of pulling the lids out of the water without touching them.

You do not need to heat process jams. So you don't need the big canning pot.

I would recommend that you use a Christine Ferber (or other european style) recipe, as they are a) designed for small batch jamming, b) don't use that much sugar and c) don't use pectin, commercial or otherwise. I don't think any of her strawberry jams even use apples in any way. I have several recipes if you want them, just pm me and I will send them along.

[CaliPoutine]

I can a lot of jam every summer. I use a pectin made for low sugar jams. The recipe says you can use anywhere from 1-3 cups of sugar or substitute. I've tried it with splenda too, but I just prefer to use about 2 cups of sugar. After I pour it into sterilized jars, I do boil the jars for 10 min. You don't need fancy equipment, just a large stock pot. I use one of those blue orka type silicon mits to put the jars in and out of the water.

I must be doing something right because I've won awards for my jams!!!

[jmcgrath]

I plan to make an assortment of strawberry jam.  In particular, I want to combine apples and strawberry so I won't have to use store bought pectin.  I also want to reduce the sugar by about a third.

However, I see that there are different kinds of preserve methods.  I know you're suppose to sterilize the jars and lids.  My mom usually pours her jam into sterilized jars but does not heat the lids to seal it.  She stores it in the fridge and freezer.  Some people boil the jars and lids to seal it and store it in their pantry.

I don't have home canning pots, tongs, etc.  Is it necessary to go through the whole boiling method if I don't use store bought pectin and use less sugar?  I want to store it in the fridge or freezer and want to avoid poisoning myself.  I don't want to use wax either.

I just want the simplest method, use the least sugar and be able to store it either in a freezer or a pantry.  People tell me home preserving is simple but I'm confused with the different information I see out there.

Thanks for your help.

←

What's the problem with pectin? Is it a Kosher issue? if not, use pectin and forget the apples.

Sterilize both the jars and lids.

It is necessary to go through the whole boiling method, but sugar is not required. It depends on whether you want a strawberry spread or strawberry jam. If you want jam, use the recommended amount of sugar.

Jim

[sanrensho]

Freezer jam is the way to go in terms of minimal fuss, tools and process. That is, if you have the freezer space. Use whatever containers you have around, as long as you can reasonably seal them from moisture getting in.

I actually prefer the taste of freezer jam as it tastes much fresher to me.

[The Old Foodie]

I've never bought pectin in my life , and I regularly make strawberry jam for which I am moderately famous around here (modest little cough here ...)

I add the juice of a lemon to the batch - it seems to do the trick, and does not obviously add to the flavour, so is better than making apple-and-strawberry jam.

I dont understand this thing of re-boiling jam in a water bath after it is cooked and jarred. Sounds flagrantly neurotic to me. And will reduce the flavour (less cooking = more flavour) Any bugs that can survive a high sugar environment DO NOT harm humans. A bit of jam mould - should it happen - can be scraped off if you dont want to waste the jam. No-one ever got even slightly sick from jam mould. It is unaesthetic though.

Jam (with a lot of sugar) is a very different thing from something like beans, which can be dangerous if not done properly.

I sterilise jars by putting them in a cold oven, switching it to 120 Celsius (usually after running them through the dishwasher, which is probably hot enough to do the job anyway), and when it has been at that temp for 10 mins it is OK. Fill the hot jars with hot jam (I use one cup of sugar for every cup of cooked fruit, for every jam I make - and strawberries only take moments to soften) - invert the lids if you wish (I dont usually bother as one always seems to leak and make a mess).

If you are a novice at preserving, jam is a good place to start because it is so safe.

Take the pan off the heat just BEFORE you think it is cooked, as it continues to "cook" from retained heat for quite a while.

Good luck. Let us know how it turns out!

[Lee Ratliff]

I'd recommend getting the Ball Blue Book. You should be able to pick it up for US$5 or so. It is generally recognized as the bible of canning and freezing. Some of the methods discussed in this forum are no longer recommended by preserving experts.

[jsolomon]

The proper method for making homemade jam begins with the two words, "hey, Mom..."

[Bond Girl]

I have Christine Farber's "Mes Confiture" but my usualy method of Strawberry jam, which gets lots of requests from friends (who didn't have the good sense to know that it costs about $10 to make a jar), is to cut them in quarters, squeeze in the lemon juice, and throw lots of suar on them . Heat them up, skim frequently, and taste frequently on a cold plate. If they are not tart enough, I squueze in more lemon juice. When the whole mess reaches 220 degrees on the thermometer or if it sets on a ice cold plate. I spoon it into a sterilized jar and screw on the lids.

[maxmillan]

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions. They have been tremendously helpful. I'll be picking berries all season and this will be very informative, not to mention much more easier than I thought.

[tino27]

Not to steal this thread away, but I have a very similarly related problem.

I've been making jam, both strawberry and blueberry using frozen fruit (it was cheaper at the time), sugar, and pectin since last winter. Everything has always come out just fine.

Two weeks ago, I decided that fresh strawberries were at a price point where it would be cheaper to use them instead of the frozen. So I made a quadruple batch using the exact same recipe (four single batches, not one quad batch). The only differences?

1) Fresh berries instead of frozen

2) I used the Sure-Jell Certo liquid pectin instead of the Ball brand (this was accidental -- I picked up the wrong box at the grocery store)

End result? All four batches have failed to set (and it's been over a week now). On Sunday, I made French Toast and opened up one of the smaller jar and had strawberries and syrup on my toast instead of maple syrup. While the flavor was fabulous, I'd hate to think that I have twenty-five jars of strawberries in syrup and no jam. Is there a way to save what I already have? (BTW, I processed the jars for 10 minutes after jarring, so the contents are preserved)

Thanks for any guidance you might be able to provide.