Summer Strawberry Jam

Last summer, my mom and I took a field trip to a berry farm and after picking black raspberries and boysenberries, we canned our own homemade jam. You can read all about it on this post, but one thing we never really admitted was how weird the jam actually turned out. While it tasted great, we overused pectin, and the consistency was more like hard jello than spreadable jam. I don’t think either of us actually used all of the jam we made. Sorry to those of you who received the test jam as gifts! :)

This past week, we decided to give homemade jam another shot. We found a recipe without pectin, since we were both a little scarred from our last experience with the crazy stuff! All we needed for this Strawberry Jam recipe was two quarts of strawberries and six cups of sugar. Here’s the full recipe if you want to try making this at home:

 

After washing the strawberries, we removed the stems. Then we added them to a large bowl and crushed them using a potato masher.

 

 

 

Next, we combined the strawberries and sugar in a large pot. We stirred it often as the sugar dissolved and the mixture started to boil.

 

When the jam was almost done cooking, we scraped the foam layer off the top. We also tested the jam in a few different ways to make sure it was completely done. We tried the spoon test (pour the jam off a spoon and evaluate its texture as it slides back into the pot) and the plate test (put a plate in the freezer, add some jam on the cold plate, if the jam is sticky, it is ready) but we weren’t ever really confident in what these “test” results were telling us. If any of you have insight on this process, we’d appreciate it! Eventually after about 30-45 minutes on the stove, the Girls Team decided it was time to can the jam.

 

If you want a lot of details on the canning process, our post from last summer is more thorough. Essentially, we sterilized the jars and lids, ladled the jam into the jars making sure nothing dripped on the sides, and then added the jars back into the boiling water for sealing. The canning and sealing process took about 25-30 minutes.

 

 

 

The next morning we tried the jam at breakfast. It was delicious! And most importantly, the texture was smooth and spreadable – not too thick and not too runny.  While this recipe didn’t make as many jars of jam as the one from last summer, we were shooting for quality over quantity and definitely found it.

 

 

Even though we’ve attempted many craft projects and recipes during our time with MIHM, we are never done learning! It was nice to attempt a recipe again and know it was successful and an improvement over the first try.

And lastly, happy 4^th of July weekend to everyone! We have a special July 4^th Edition of MIHM featuring some special guests so stay tuned!