Do you remember those 40+ lbs of strawberries I brought home for free the other day? Well, because the “do something with it now or they will rot” clock was ticking I decided to make a few batches of jam.
Normally I wouldn’t be making strawberry jam until the end of June when the berries are ripe here in Washington State, but this year, Christmas came a little early.
If you’ve never made homemade jam before you are really missing out. This year I am trying something new. Low Sugar Jams. And you want to know the funny thing about that? I’ve decided to make low-sugar jams a priority this year for 2 reasons. It’s less expensive, and you can’t tell the difference in taste {or at least I can’t}.
Plus, your dentist {and pocketbook} will thank you down the road.
Here is a simple recipe I found from Country Living Magazine.
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Recipe: How to Make Low Sugar Strawberry Jam
Ingredients
5 cup(s) (crushed) fresh strawberries
1 package(s) (3/4 ounce) reduced-calorie or lower-sugar powdered fruit pectin
2 1/2 cup(s) sugar
Instructions
Prepare six 8-ounce canning jars and their lids and bands for processing following manufacturer’s directions.
Heat jars in canner with enough water to cover to boiling. Meanwhile, in large bowl, with potato masher, crush enough berries in batches to measure 5 cups crushed berries.
In 5-quart Dutch oven, with wire whisk, gradually stir pectin into crushed berries. Let mixture stand 10 minutes. Meanwhile, place lids in small saucepan and cover with water; heat to boiling and set pan aside.
Heat strawberry mixture to boiling over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in sugar and return strawberry mixture to a rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove strawberry jam from heat. With metal spoon, skim off and discard foam as it accumulates on top.
Place jars and lids upside down on wire rack set over towels to drain. Spoon jam into hot, drained jars to within 1/4 inch from top of jar. Wipe jar rims clean. Seal jars. Process in boiling-water bath for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool on a towel.
Notes
Also, check out these tutorials if you’ve never used a canner before:
Tutorial: Hot Water Bath Canning
Tutorial: How to Use a Pressure Canner
Looking for a few more canning recipes? Search my Full List of Canning Recipes
Looking for a good canning book? Here’s a list of my favorites:
- Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
- The Blue Chair Jam Cookbook
- Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It
- Food in Jars
- The Amish Canning Cookbook
- Not Your Mama’s Canning Book
Kayla says
Mavis, I’m just wondering what kind of canner you use. I’m hoping for one on Mother’s Day and I know that you know your stuff. 🙂
stacie m. says
I was going to try the lower sugar jam this year too. It ends up costing so much to make a couple batches when you need 7 flippin’ cups of sugar! Do you notice any difference in the jelling with the low sugar pectin? Have you had any experience with the Pomona’s universal pectin? I was thinking of trying that this year.
jennifer says
awesome! I so wanna try this and you have my thinking gardening like I never have before….Thanks……I have also wanted to tell you the yummy baked pineapple you suggested for Easter I made with 1/2 the sugar….loved it……maybe you need to try that and see if there is a difference…..
Mavis says
Thanks Jennifer, maybe I will try suing 1/2 next time. 🙂
Leta says
I just found a low sugar strawberry jam recipe over at bayareabites. It does not use the boxed pectins, but simply lemon juice and the reduced syrup made from the berries juice. The lemon juice acts as a natural pectin with its acidity. Uses very little sugar by comparison to other low sugar recipes.
Susan Bienz says
When making the strawberry jam….. how can you do the lids/jars when you do NOT have a canner?