Strawberry Jam

Happy Canada Day! What could be more red for Canada Day, than homemade Strawberry Jam.

I make a very simple Strawberry Jam. I use CERTO pectin and their recipe. It locks in all the fresh flavour of the strawberries. My strawberries were picked in the morning and jammed by the afternoon.

A flat of fresh strawberries from the Farmers’ Market

This is one recipe where I do not vary the ingredients from what is listed in the recipe. In particular, I always use the amount of sugar indicated by the recipe. Strawberries are a low acid fruit and the sugar is the preservation that you need to keep the jam from going bad. If you want less sugar, use a smaller amount of jam on your toast!

I also use my homemade jam as a filler between chocolate cake layers. Delicious!

Print recipe

Serves	1.7 litres or 7 1/2 cups
Inspiration	CERTO recipe insert

Ingredients

3 3/4 Cups crushed strawberries (about 2 quarts)
1/4 cup lemon juice
7 Cups granulated sugar
1 Pouch CERTO liquid pectin

Directions


Wash and rinse Mason jars and lids. Boil water and pour over the lids and into the jars, filling to the top.

Put the snap lids in a pot with water. Bring to a boil and boil at least 5 minutes to activate the rubber in the lid.

Slice the strawberries into a 4 cup measure. When it is about half full, crush the berries with a potato masher or your clean hands. Continue to add berries and crush a layer at a time, until you have reached 3 3/4 cups of crushed berries.

Add the crushed berries to a large stock pot (the mixture will double in size when it is boiling). Pour in the lemon juice and add all the sugar. Stir well to mix.

Bring to a full boil (means that you cannot stir down the boil with a spoon) and boil hard for 1 minute

Remove from heat and add only one pouch of CERTO (there are two in each box). Stir and skim the foam off for 5 - 7 minutes. The stirring will help to prevent floating fruit. The skimming, removes the foam that is on top (which you do not want in your jam). Discard the foam.

Empty the hot water out of the Mason jar and ladle in the hot jam up to about 1/4 inch from the rim. Wipe the top of the rim to remove any jam that may have spilled when ladling in the jam. Remove a lid from the pot of boiling water and cover the jam. Screw the ring on tightly. Place the jam on a heat proof board. Allow to cool on the board. You will hear the lid snap as the jam cools. Once the jam has cooled, check to see that all the lids have snapped. Label each lid with the date. If any of the jars have not snapped, then they need to be stored in the fridge and used first. Jars that have snapped will have a shelf life of about 12 months. Before using, always check to see that there is still a good seal.