This weekend we decided to make some jam, freezer jam. We had a recipe from, none other than, America Girl. Kit Kittridge has a cookbook with a great little recipe for jam.
The difference in freezer jam and regular canned jam is that the freezer jam cannot be stored on a shelf. It has to be put in the freezer or consumed within about 3 weeks.
There is a key to canning properly and that is
measurement. All of your measurements have to be exact or else your jam will not set properly. We used a scale and measured the 20 oz. of strawberries the recipe required.
Mashed the strawberries up with a potato masher....
....let the sugar and strawberries set for 10 minues, then added the fresh lemon juice and liquid pectin (you can buy at the grocery store). Stir for 3 minutes and pour into containers.
And there you have it! Beautifull jars of jam. What is the difference between jam and jelly, you ask? Jelly has the fruit strained out where jam has fruit chunks left in it. We, as a family, love the fruit chunks so we always make jam. And everyone I know that cans food always asks for the jar back when the recipient is done, that way you can swap out an empty jar for a full one and save money.
The difference in freezer jam and regular canned jam is that the freezer jam cannot be stored on a shelf. It has to be put in the freezer or consumed within about 3 weeks.
There is a key to canning properly and that is measurement. All of your measurements have to be exact or else your jam will not set properly. We used a scale and measured the 20 oz. of strawberries the recipe required.
Mashed the strawberries up with a potato masher....
....let the sugar and strawberries set for 10 minues, then added the fresh lemon juice and liquid pectin (you can buy at the grocery store). Stir for 3 minutes and pour into containers.
And there you have it! Beautifull jars of jam. What is the difference between jam and jelly, you ask? Jelly has the fruit strained out where jam has fruit chunks left in it. We, as a family, love the fruit chunks so we always make jam. And everyone I know that cans food always asks for the jar back when the recipient is done, that way you can swap out an empty jar for a full one and save money.
They did a freezer jam thing at the Taste of Home show and I want to try it. Would definitely do strawberries too! Yummy!
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