Strawberry Jam in Mason Jars

*ya, dis mah jam. Like, literally... it's my jam.

Certo Strawberry Jam

When I was younger, my mom took us every year to pick strawberries from a local farm. We’d pick basket upon basket of strawberries, eating probably a third as many while out in the field. We would eat some fresh for the next few days, and my mom invariably would slice some up and serve them with angel food cake and whipped cream… a summer staple. The rest, though, were reserved for jam.

My mom made her jam in a giant yellow pot on the stove. It was a simple recipe: purée the strawberries, add sugar to taste, and boil to thicken. Sometimes, after it was finished thickening she would pulse it in the food processor a few times to get the big chunks out, but not always. Then, we’d pour it into peanut-butter jars and store them all in our big chest freezer. It didn’t matter what time of year we opened one of those jam jars, the smell and taste of summer always came through. It was heavenly.

Now that I’m grown up (ish), I wanted to try making my own. I also wanted to try canning it, because we don’t have a chest freezer. After asking around, the consensus was that Certo’s own recipe is the way to go, so that’s what I did… mostly.

The Certo recipe calls for very specific, precise measurement… not my forte, I’ll admit. I tried to follow their rules but frankly, I didn’t, and my jam turned out amazing. I would say if you’ve never made jam before, go straight to the Certa site and follow their recipe. If you’re a little more comfortable, read on!

What you need:

2 pints fresh strawberries (I got mine at the grocery store, conveniently packaged in pint containers. Score!)

7 C sugar

½ tsp butter (optional)

1 pouch fruit pectin (Certo obviously recommends Certo brand, which I like)

Canning supplies:

Boiling water canner and enough water to fill it half way, jars, lids, etc.

You’ll want to prep your jars ahead of time. Wash your jars and screw bands in hot soapy water, rinse, and set aside. Put a small saucepan on the stove with your flat lids and heat until it bubbles, then remove from heat and set aside. I kept mine in the sauce pan on a trivet and that was easiest for me. Have your supplies near at hand and ready to go.

What you do:

• First, fill up your boiling water canner about halfway, and set on high or medium-high heat to start the water warming. Ideally, your water will be boiling by the time your jam is ready.
• I hate lumpy jam. This was definitely a consideration when I adapted this recipe. I used 2 pints of strawberries which was close to 4 cups of raw, prepared berries. I cut off the stems, sliced them in half, and then threw them in the food processor. I basically puréed them before even cooking. You could, I suppose, do this later. The end result was about 6 Cups of pureed strawberries.
• Next,  I threw the strawberries into my cooking pot on medium-high heat. As the strawberries warmed, I turned the heat up a little (to 6 or 7 on my burner).
• Once the strawberries start steaming, add your sugar and stir well.
• Bring the heat up to high (not max), stirring frequently.
• Add the butter if you want to in order to reduce foaming. I didn’t bother with this, but I did scoop off some of the foam with a slotted spoon.
• Bring your strawberries and sugar to a full rolling boil. That means that it doesn’t stop boiling when stirred.
• Stir in the pectin, then return your mixture to a full rolling boil. Once there, let it boil for another minute or two, stirring constantly and skimming off foam frequently.
• Remove from heat. Skim any remaining foam.

Canning:

•  Ladle jam immediately into prepared jars, filling almost to the top (within 1/8 of an inch).
• Using a damp paper towel, wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with hot flat lid and screw bands on tightly.
• Place jars on elevated rack rack, the lower into canner full of boiling water. The water should cover the jars by a good 2 inches.
• Boil jars for 10 minutes.
• Remove jars from canner and place upright on a rack to cool. I used my cookie rack and it worked just fine. Let the jars cool completely before you do anything else.
• Once cooled, check your seal by pressing the middle of the lid. If it springs back, the lid is not sealed and you’ll need to freeze or refrigerate your jam. If you are going to freeze it, remove some of the jam first or you may burst your jars.