Jam - Raspberry or Strawberry
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0: Read the tips at the bottom of this recipe!
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1: Wash and sterilize jars, flat part of lids, tongs, scoop, funnel by boiling in water for 5 min. Don’t let the seal part of the lids touch the bottom of the pot.
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2: crush berries with a potato masher and for every 3-5 cups of mashed berries add 1 cup of sugar and one packet of pectin.
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3: Heat to a boil, stirring constantly.
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4: cook at a boil for 2 min for strawberries and 10 minutes for raspberries, stirring regularly.
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5: pour jam into jars, leaving 1/3 inch of space between the top of the berries and the top of the jar. Put flat part of lid on jars and screw on the round things.
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6: Boil full jars in hot water for 5 min with the lid on securely, to melt the seal on the lids. Water should cover the bottom 3/4 of the jars.
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7: Take jars out and put them on a cooling rack. After an hour or so the lids should pop down, indicating that the jars are sealed.
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8: wait until they cool, then store sealed jars at room temperature. Put any jars that didn’t seal in the freezer, or eat them first.
Tips
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use jars of all the same height so the water comes up to the same level on every jar,
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use jars of different volumes so that you can have as little leftover jam as possible
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lids can be used 3-4 times, unless they have cracks in the brown seal, or scratches on the bottom (these last can allow bacteria in).
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don’t move or open jars as they are cooling, as this could disrupt the setting process
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a funnel helps with pouring the jam into the jars quickly
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don’t get any jam on the rims of the jars, this could prevent the seal from forming
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make sure boiling water won’t overflow full jars or move the lids while the seals are softening.
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Use a large pot relative to the amount of berries. Volume increases by half very quickly when the mixture comes to a boil.
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Make sure your tongs can pick up a full hot jar without touching the lid
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Good Luck!