Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Canning Strawberry Jam: Step-by-Step Instructions



RECIPES AT THE TOP:  CHIT-CHAT AT THE BOTTOM. (But read the step-by-step instructions completely if you are a canning beginner. Surejell requires a certain order to things for it to work.)


STRAWBERRY JAM USING SUREJELL POWDER PECTIN

  • 5 cups mashed (stems removed) fresh strawberries (approximately 3 pounds whole strawberries made 5 cups for me; measure them mashed)
  • 7 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/2 Tablespoon butter/margarine (optional) (helps a little with foaming)
  • 1 box powdered original Surejell pectin 
  • 10 (8 oz) canning jars w/ lids & rings (new lids/rings)
Instructions:

*Step-by-Step instructions listed in the chit-chat below - WITH LOTS OF PICTURES!

Place mashed strawberries in a large pot (like for cooking chili).  Sprinkle w/ powdered pectin (only Surejell works for me.)  Stir to blend.  

Measure 7 cups granulated sugar into a separate container (bowl) and have ready to go.  Don't add it yet to the strawberries in the pot!

Heat strawberry/pectin mixture to boiling, stirring super often.  Once boiling at a "full rolling boil" that doesn't stop, time 1 minute.  

Dump all sugar in at once.  Stir well.  Heat to boiling stirring nearly continuously.  Watch for a hard boil.  Time 1 minute after "full rolling boil" is in action.

After this 1 minute is up, remove the pot from the burner to stop the cooking process.

Ladle into sterilized jars.  Clean jar rims with a clean, wet cloth & add lids/rings - hand tightened.  Not super duper tight.

Hot water bath in a canner (water over the upright jars by 1-2 inches) 10 minutes.

***

Back in the DAY, my girls used to help me do canning projects all the time. Well, now they are grown.  One of my girls recently wanted to try canning jam on her own.  She lives a few hours away and with this dang virus raging, I can't be there with her to boss her through this process.  Blogging to the rescue!

Disclaimer:  I am not a pro at home canning.  You should always consult your local extension or USDA sites for official canning safety guidelines.  I try to practice all official safety measures, but wanted to link here for any beginners.  Please read about canning fruit jam to get the basics before trying any recipes.  Here is the link to making jam using pectin found at the National Center for Home Food Preservation.  

Timing is everything with cooking in general so I wanted to document my process here in case there are any other beginners who, after reading the above link, want to see how I can jam AT HOME MY WAY.

First thing out of the gate is that I ONLY use Surejell powdered canning pectin.  I am not being paid to say that.  I have used other pectin products and had bad results.  Canning jam is too much work to have it not set up.  I have used the low sugar Surejell and while it did use less sugar, it wasn't the taste I was after.  It is more like dense fruit and just didn't taste like jam to me.

Strawberries have been a great price for me right now (July).  I've seen strawberries at around $1.00 per pound.  I decided to splurge and bought organic strawberries at $2.00 per pound (at my local Walmart).

My below post will include a ka-zillion pics -but when newbies want to do canning without their mentors, they will want to have something to see.  No one wants all of that work and then to end up with strawberry juice. 

Here we go!


Canning:  Strawberry Jam

What you need:



Three packages of 1-lb strawberries = 3 lbs fresh (not frozen) strawberries



One box SureJell Original Fruit Pectin (powder)

You need lots of sugar (7 cups) to make jam - 
so get a new bag.


Equipment needed:



You need at least 10 jars w/ lids & rings to be safe.  
(Don't want to run out of jars and have jam left so make sure you have 10 jars ready to go.)


Canning Pot (21.5 Quart) w/ rack

Canning Tongs (absolute - must have item)

Canning Funnel (absolute - must have item)


Things you need but probably have at home:

  • Cooking Pot (like you might make  pot of chili in)
  • Potato Masher (for mashing the berries or a blender)
  • Long spoon for stirring (I use a wooden one.)
  • Ladle - for dipping jam into jars.
  • Large Towel, dishcloths, potholders
  • Dishwasher for sterilizing jars - or can boil them w/ lids in the canner

LETS GET THIS PARTY STARTED!  

  • OPEN the Surejell box and READ the instructions.    Surejell requires you follow the instructions to a T or it will not work.  If you add sugar in the wrong order, it will not work.  READ THE INSTRUCTIONS AGAIN.  (I know this BECAUSE?  :) yea.... )

  • Sterilize jars, lids, and rings in the dishwasher.
    • I place a colander on my dishwasher's top rack to hold the lids and rings to run in the dishwasher.  Looks like this:



  • WHILE the dishwasher is running, I wash my berries, and remove the stems/slice.  If they have been refrigerated, let them come to room temp.  They will mash easier at room temp.


  • AFTER the dishwasher is done. Keep the door shut to keep the jars hot.  Don't start the jam until the dishwasher cycle is complete and the jars are ready.


  • MASH the berries some more.  Try to mash the heck out of them.



  • MEASURE the berries into the cooking pot.  
  • You need 5 cups of MASHED berries.  Don't measure until they are mashed well.  (Burner is off at this point.)




  • SPRINKLE the mashed/measured berries in the pot with the Surejell powder.  Add 1/2 teaspoon butter/margarine.  This helps with foaming.  Not a biggy if you don't have any butter/margarine.  POT IS OFF STILL AT THIS POINT.


  • MEASURE the sugar in a SEPARATE BOWL.  (NOT in the pot with the berries.)  Carefully count the cups.  You need exactly 7 cups of granulated sugar IN A SEPARATE BOWL.



  • Turn your burner on.  Stir OFTEN.  You want the pot to heat to a full rolling boil.  That means when you stir the berries at boiling, the boiling continues and doesn't stop.  You should see lots of bubbles from the boiling.  Stir often because these precious berries will stick.


  • START timing:  Time 1 minute exactly at boiling.

  • AFTER 1 MINUTE:  DUMP in the sugar all at once.  STIR right away because sticking is a possibility.

  • KEEP COOKING and BRING TO FULL ROLLING BOIL again.  You want the sugar, fruit & pectin to resume to boiling.  STIR OFTEN.  

  • START TIMING 1 MINUTE AT A FULL ROLLING BOIL that doesn't stop when stirred.  

  • The jam should start to look shiny and start to get a little foam on it after this 1 minute cooking time.  



  • SHUT HER DOWN and REMOVE THE POT from the hot burner to a surface safe for a hot pot.  I use my off back burner.  Stir some more to make sure nothing is sticking.  This stuff is hot so be careful!

  • REMOVE hot jars, lids and rings carefully from the dishwasher onto some newspaper or a towel.  Dry the lids and rings with a clean towel.

  • Get your canning funnel out and move closer to your pot.  Right now I'm living in a tiny house and don't have a canning funnel.  It was tough canning without my normal equipment.  Using a canning funnel helps you get the jam ladled into the jars without making a huge mess.  

  • LADLE hot jam into hot jars just up to the bottom threads on jar.  Wipe the tops of the jars with a wet cloth and add lids and rings.  Not super tight.  Just hand tighten.



  • Place rack in canner and place the sealed jars of jam in the pot/rack.  The jars should be almost touching - not falling over. Must be upright.  (In this tiny house, I do not have a canner so used a tall pot with a thick towel in the bottom of my pot. Jars that sit right on the bottom touching a hot burner are likely to burst.  ASK me how I know this?  I really recommend using official canning equipment, however, especially for newbies.

  • WATER BATH:  Add some tap hot water to the canning pot of jars and place the pot on a burner.  About half full.

  • ADD remaining water needed to cover the jars by at least an inch or two.  I use a pitcher to do this.


  • Cover the canning pot with the lid and heat the water to boiling.TIME the FULL BOIL 10 minutes.  (Don't start timing at the first bubble.  Let it come to a good boil first.  Water may splash out on your stove.  It's ok. This helps clean off the sticky jam mess and I know you made one!)


  • TURN OFF the pot after 10 minutes of boiling.  

  • AFTER boiling stops, using the canning tongs, REMOVE the jars to a thick towel to cool, sitting upright.  Let them sit a few hours.  You should hear some pings as the jars seal over the next few hours.  
Note in this picture, the jar with plastic lid is not water bath canned. I always fill my last jar for my own refrigerator.  I put as much jam as I have left after filling my jars (which might not fill another jar completely or if I have run out of sterilized jars) into this jar for my own use.  I don't water bath this jar of jam.  I literally let it cool and keep it in the fridge.  



YOU DID IT!  You canned strawberry jam!  Write what they are and the date w/ a permanent marker on the lids. Now take some pics and start sharing these jewels on Facebook.  No - don't because you might have to share.  DO at least text some pics to your mom.


ENJOY!


Gina/ Mom 

















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