It’s Strawberry Jam Time!
I haven’t posted in a while. I’ve been writing a lot in my personal journal, and not so much here. I’ll try to be more consistent. I’ve been busy nursing a knee injury (you can read more about it here).
My sweet hubby bought 8 flats of Strawberries on Saturday night. I had forgotten to have him buy more pectin and lids. Being the awesome husband that he is, he bought the rest of the needed items early Monday morning before going to work. I love my man!
The kids were so helpful this morning. My 7yo, Aurora, helped me prep the kitchen. She was so excited to help cut strawberries…for about half an hour, then she went off playing. My 10yo daughter, Ella, helped me wash and cut a lot of the strawberries. By about 2pm though, both girls were tired of strawberries, except the eating part. Even my 15mo baby, Peter, had a pink strawberry face today! He really needs the vitamin C with the cold he’s been fighting.
I froze about half of the strawberries for smoothies, and the rest were turned into a yummy low-sugar jam. It has no white sugar, just natural fruit sweetness and honey.
My sweet husband brought home dinner (Subway subs-I had a yummy Veggie patty one), and then he took over getting the rest of the strawberries done. He really wanted me to make some strawberry banana jam, so I tried it. It was yummy and took less honey because the ripe bananas are so sweet. By the time we were done, we had 21.5 pints total. One pint didn’t seal, so we put it in the fridge. I didn’t want to reprocess one pint!
For my future reference and any interested parties, here’s the recipe I used for my jams. Keep in mind I live in the Salt Lake City area of Utah, and the steam canner processing will vary due to location.
Strawberry Jam made with Honey
- 3 c. crushed Ripe Strawberries*
- 3/4 c. 100% White Grape Juice**
- 1/2 c. Honey***
- 1 box No Sugar Needed Sure-Jell Fruit Pectin
Mix above together in pan (I use a stock pot); bring to rolling boil on high heat (stirring constantly); boil 1 minute (still stirring-beware of spitting jam!); remove from heat; skim foam; ladle into clean hot jars; clean off jar top; add new hot lid; put on ring; process in steam canner for 20 minutes; remove from canner; let cool 24 hours before moving to storage. Expect a soft set and a lightly sweet flavor. Each batch makes 2 pints. I recommend making one batch at a time and processing when you have enough jars.
Strawberry Banana Jam made with Honey
- 2 c. crushed Ripe Strawberries*
- 1 c. mashed Ripe Bananas (2 large)
- 3/4 c. 100% White Grape Juice**
- 1/4 c. Honey***
- 2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
- 1 box No Sugar Needed Sure-Jell Fruit Pectin
Mix above together in pan (I use a stock pot); bring to rolling boil on high heat (stirring constantly); boil 1 minute (still stirring-beware of spitting jam!); remove from heat; ladle into clean hot jars; clean off jar top; add new hot lid; put on ring; process in steam canner for 20 minutes; remove from canner; let cool 24 hours before moving to storage. Expect a soft set and a lightly sweet flavor and foamy jam because bananas make it that way. Each batch makes 2 pints. I recommend making one batch at a time and processing when you have enough jars.
*I gently crush my strawberries in my Vitamix for a few seconds, a cup or so at a time.
**Water will do, but more sweetener will be required.
***You may need more or less depending on how sweet your strawberries are.
