Our Story Goes On: DYI Strawberry Jam Party Favors

So I have had several people ask how I made the party favors for Miss C's 3rd birthday party, Strawberry jam. So here is my first ever DYI and If I have to predict probable my last! I'm not much of a "homemaker". Where the heck did that term even come from??

How to Make Homemade Old-Fashioned

Strawberry Jam - Easily!

Making and canning your own strawberry jam is also quite easy. Just scroll down this page to see how to do it, in easy steps and completely illustrated. These directions work equally well for strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry, boysenberry, dewberry, gooseberry, loganberry, marionberry, peach, plum, damson plum, tayberry, youngberry, etc.; by themselves or mixed berry jam. Any variations will be spelled out in the directions inside the pectin.

Ingredients

- Strawberries - preferably fresh, but frozen (without syrup) works, too. A batch requires

5 to 6 cups of crushed berries, so you'll need about 10 cups of raw whole strawberries.

-Pectin (it's a natural product, made from apples and available at grocery stores (season -

spring through late summer) and local "big box" stores. It usually goes for about $2.00 to

$2.50 per box.

-Sugar - About 4.5 cups of dry, granulated (table) sugar.

Yield

About eight 8oz jars minimum but usually I get twelve 8oz jars

Equipment

 Jar funnel ($2 at Target, other big box stores, and often grocery stores; and available

online - see this page) or order it as part of the kit with the jar grabber.

 At least 1 large pot; I prefer 16 to 20 quart Teflon lined pots for easy cleanup.

 Large spoons and ladles

 1 Canner (a huge pot to sterilize the jars after filling (about $30 to $35 at mall kitchen

stores, sometimes at big box stores and grocery stores.).

Ball jars (Grocery stores, like Publix, Kroger, Safeway carry them, as do some big box

stores - about $7 per dozen 8 ounce jars including the lids and rings)

 Lids - thin, flat, round metal lids with a gum binder that seals them against the top of the

jar. They may only be used once.

 Rings - metal bands that secure the lids to the jars. They may be reused many times.

Optional stuff:

-Lid lifter (has a magnet to pick the lids out of the boiling water where you sterilize them.

($2 at big box stores or it comes in the kit at left)

- Jar grabber (to pick up the hot jars)- Big box stores and grocery stores sometimes carry

them; and it is available online - see this page. It's a tremendously useful to put jars in the

canner and take the hot jars out (without scalding yourself!). The kit sold below has

everything you need, and at a pretty good price:

Strawberry Jam-making Directions

This example shows you how to make either Strawberry jam or Strawberry -

Raspberry - Blackberry Jam - also called Triple Berry Jam (my favorite, and

everyone I give a jar to, says it has become their favorite, too!) But you can use

this recipe to make any type of jam; where there is a difference, I will point it

out! The yield from this recipe is about 8 eight-ounce jars (which is the same as 4

pints).

Step 1 - Pick the berries! (or buy them already picked)

It's fun to go pick your own and you can obviously get better quality ones!

As mentioned in the Ingredients section; you may use frozen berries (those without syrup

or added sugar); which is especially useful if you want to make some strawberry jam in

December to give away at Christmas!

How much fruit?

Strawberry Jam can ONLY be made in rather small batches - about 6 cups at a

time - like the directions on the pectin say, DO NOT increase the recipes or the

jam won't "set" (jell, thicken). (WHY? Alton Brown on the Food Channel says

pectin can overcook easily and lose its thickening properties. It is easier and

faster to get an even heat distribution in smaller batches. It takes about 8 cups

of raw, unprepared berries per batch. For triple berry jam, I use 4 cups of

mushed (slightly crushed) strawberries, 1 cup of raspberries and 1 cup of

blackberries. For strawberry-only jam; you’ll need 6 cups of mushed strawberries.

Step 2 - Wash the jars and lids

Now's a good time to get the jars ready, so you won't be rushed later. The dishwasher is fine

for the jars; especially if it has a "sterilize" cycle, the water bath processing will sterilize them as well as the contents! If you don't have a dishwasher with a sterilize cycle, you can wash the containers in hot, soapy water and rinse, then sterilize the jars by boiling them 10 minutes, and keep the jars in hot water until they are used.

NOTE: If unsterilized jars are used, the product should be processed for 5 more

minutes. However, since this additional processing can result in a poor set (runny

jam), it’s better to sterilize the jars. Put the lids into a pan of hot, but not quite boiling water (that's what the manufacturer's recommend) for 5 minutes, and use the magnetic "lid lifter wand" to pull them out. Leave the jars in the dishwasher on "heated dry" until you are ready to use them. Keeping them hot will prevent the jars from breaking when you fill them with the hot jam.

Step 3 -Wash and hull the fruit!

I'm sure you can figure out how to wash the fruit in plain cold water.

With strawberries you must remove the hulls. With other berries, just pick off any stems and leaves.

Step 4 - Crush the fruit

Then you just mush them up a bit - not completely crushed, but mostly. Most people seem to like large chunks of fruit but crushing them releases the natural pectin so it can thicken. You'll need about 6 cups, mushed up. If you want seedless jam, you may need to run the crushed berries through a food mill. The Villaware has a selection of screens, including a fine screen that works on strawberries. The Foley stops blackberries seeds, but most raspberry and all strawberry seeds pass through. They cost between $25 to $60. I just used a potato masher but for some of the other fruits this is helpful.

This is a great time to include your little chef it's easy and fun

Step 5 - Measure out the sugar, honey or other sweetener.

You'll need 4 cups of sugar (or about the same of honey). You can make a strawberry

jam with no added sugar if you use the "No added sugar pectin" but honestly, the resultant jam just isn't as good. It tends to be darker, more runny and less flavorful. But using the no-added sugar pectin with a

reduced amount of sugar, about 4 cups instead of the usual 7 cups, works GREAT!

After measuring the sugar, set 1/4 cup aside to mix separately with the pectin in the next step.

Step 6 - Mix the berries with the pectin and cook to a full boil

Strawberries don't contain much natural pectin, so you need to add a package and a half of the boxed

pectin, or the jam will be pretty runny. Mix the dry pectin with about 1/4 cup of sugar and keep this

separate from the rest of the sugar. This helps to keep the pectin from clumping up and allows it to

mix better! Stir the pectin into the berries and put the mix in a big pot on the stove over medium to high heat (stir often enough to prevent burning). It should take about 5 to 10 minutes to get it to a full boil (the kind that can not be stirred away).

Why use pectin? You may run into grandmotherly types who sniff "I never used pectin!" at you. Well, sure, and their generation took a horse and buggy to work, died of smallpox and ate canned meat and green beans that tastes like wet newspapers. Old fashioned ways are not always better nor healthier. Pectin, which occurs naturally in fruit, is what makes the jam "set" or thicken (together with sugars and acids in the fruit). The pectin you buy is just natural apple pectin, more concentrated. Using pectin dramatically reduces the cooking time, which helps to preserve the vitamins and flavor of the fruit, and uses much less added sugar. But, hey, if you want to stand there and stir for hours, cooking the flavor

away, who am I to stop you! :) Having said that, there are some fruits that have naturally high amounts of pectin and they simply don't need much or any padded pectin.

Notes about pectin: I usually add about 50% more pectin (just open another pack and add a little. At least make sure you have extra on hand incase you need to "remake" a batch. once it's boiling you won't have the option to run to the store if you run out and you need to thicken it up) or else the jam is runnier than I like. With a little practice, you'll find out exactly how much pectin to get the thickness you like. Another tip: as mentioned above, use the lower sugar or no-sugar pectin. You can add sugar to either and it cuts the amount of sugar you need from 7 cups per batch to 4 cups or less! And it tastes even better! On the other hand; I have never had success with the No-sugar pectin without adding ANY sugar. It always turned out runny and bland. You might want to try using the low sugar or no-sugar recipe with a mixture of sugar and Splenda; sugar and white grape juice, or just white grape juice - that will cut down the sugar, but still preserve the flavor.

Is your jam too runny? Pectin enables you to turn out perfectly set jam every time. Made from natural apples, there are also low-sugar pectins that allow you to reduce the sugar you add by almost half!

Yes is is a messy DYI and FYI this picture is my to runny batch that I had to add more Pectin in.

Step 7 - Get the lids warming in hot (but not boiling) water

Lids: put the lids into a pan of hot water for at least several minutes; to soften up the gummed surface and clean the lids.

Step 8 - Add the remaining sugar and bring to a boil again for 1 minute

When the berry-pectin mix has reached a full boil, add

the rest of the sugar (about 4 cups of sugar per 6 cup

batch of berries) and then bring it back to a boil and boil hard for 1 minute... If you bring it back to a full boil fairly slowly (on medium heat rather than high) that will help reduce foaming.

Remove from the heat.

Step 9 - Skim any excessive foam

Foam... What is it? Just jam with a lot of air from the boiling. But it tastes more like, well, foam, that jam, so most people remove it. It is harmless, though. Some people add 1 teaspoon of butter or margarine to the mix in step 6 to reduce foaming, but food experts debate whether that may contribute to earlier spoilage, so I usually omit it and skim.

But save the skimmed foam! You can recover jam from it to use fresh!

Step 10 - Testing for "jell" (thickness)

I keep a metal tablespoon sitting in a glass of ice water, then take a half spoonful of the

mix and let it cool to room temperature on the spoon. If it thickens up to the

consistency I like, then I know the jam is ready. If not, I mix in a little more pectin

(about 1/4 to 1/2 of another package) and bring it to a boil again for 1 minute.

Notes about "set" (thickening or jell): It takes 3 ingredients for jams and jellies to set: pectin, sugar and acidity. The amount of pectin that is naturally occurring in the fruit varies from one type of

fruit to another and by ripeness (counter intuitively, unripe contains more pectin).

It takes the right balance, and sufficient amounts of each of pectin, sugar and acidity to result in a firm jam or jelly. Lastly, it takes a brief period (1 minute) of a hard boil, to provide enough

heat to bring the three together. Generally speaking, if your jam doesn't firm up,

you were short in pectin, sugar or acidity or didn't get a hard boil. That's ok - you

can "remake' the jam

Step 11 - Optional: Let stand for 5 minutes and stir completely.

Why? Otherwise, the fruit will often float to the top of the jar. This isn't a

particular problem; you can always stir the jars later when you open them; but

some people get fussy about everything being "just so", so I've included this step!

Skipping this step won't affect the quality of the jam at all. I usually don't

bother. You’ll also notice that the less sugar you use, the more the fruit will float

(chemists will tell you it is due to the decreased density of the solution!)

Step 12 - Fill the jars and put the lid and rings on

Fill them to within .-inch of the top, wipe any spilled jam off the top, seat the lid and tighten

the ring around them. Then put them into the boiling water canner!

This is where the jar tongs come in really handy!

Step 13 - Process the jars in the boiling water bath

Keep the jars covered with at least 2 inches of water. Keep the water boiling. In general, boil them for 10 minutes, which is what SureJell (the makers of the pectin) recommend. I say "in general" because you have to process (boil) them longer at higher altitudes than sea level, or if you use larger jars, or if you did not sterilize the jars and lids right before using them. The directions inside every box of pectin will tell you exactly. The directions on the pectin tend to be pretty conservative. Clemson University says you

only need to process them for 5 minutes. I usually hedge my bets and start pulling them out after 5

minutes, and the last jars were probably in for 10. I rarely have a jar spoil, so it must work. But you don't

want to process them too long, or the jam will turn dark and get runny. See the chart below for altitude adjustment to processing times, if you are not in the sea level to 1,000ft above sea level range.

Note: Some people don't even boil the jars; they just ladle it hot into hot jars, put the lids and rings on and invert them, but putting the jars in the boiling water bath REALLY helps to reduce spoilage! To me, it makes little sense to put all the working into making the jam and then not to process the jars to be sure they don't spoil!

Recommended process time for jams in a boiling water canner.

Process Time at Altitudes of

Style of Pack Jar Size 0 - 1,000 ft 1,001 - 6,000 ft Above 6,000 ft Hot Half-pints or Pints 5 min 10 15

Step 14 - Remove and cool the jars - Done!

Lift the jars out of the water with your jar lifter tongs and let them cool without

touching or bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight) You can then

remove the rings if you like. Once the jars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid has been sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it pops up and down

(often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jar in the refrigerator right away, you can still use it. Some people replace the lid and reprocess the jar, then that's a bit iffy. If you heat the contents back up, re-jar them (with a new lid) and the full time in the canner, it's usually ok.

Once cooled, they're ready to store. I find they last up to 12 months. But after about 6 to 8 months, they get darker in color and start to get runny. They still are safe to eat, but the flavor and texture aren't as good. So eat them in the first 6 months after you prepare them! Another trick is to keep the uncooked berries or other fruit in the freezer and make and can the jam as needed, so it's always fresh.
When you let them cool you will hear a popping sound as the lids seal.

Lil Chef C! She loves how messy this is

FYI if you have a spill wipe it up immediately. If it cools it hardens like a sucker to what ever surface it lands on

Summary - Cost of Making Homemade Strawberry Jam -

makes 8 jars, 8 oz each**

Total

$20.55 total

or about $2.56 per jar

(if you already have the jars, and just need new lids: $1.82 per

jar

* pectin use varies - blackberry jam needs very little, raspberry a little more, strawberry the

most.

** - This assumes you already have the pots, pans, ladles, and reusable equipment. Note that you can reuse the jars! Many products are sold in jars that will take the lids and rings for canning. For example, Classico Spaghetti sauce is in quart sized jars that work with Ball and Kerr lids and rings- some authorities do not recommend these, saying they are more prone to break, and while I have found that is true of mayonnaise jars, I have found the Classico spaghetti jars to be pretty sturdy.

Labels:

I use two labels when I am giving them as party favors or gifts. The top label says " Thank you for attending____ 3rd birthday" or "Merry Christmas from the collins" I also prefer to have have office max print them for me. regular sticker paper does not do well if it gets wet and most people put jelly in the fridge after opening so the condensation will cause pealing and water spots. Office max has glossy sticker paper and their printer does brighter colors than a home printer. Also it cost around $2 for both sets of labels, about 24 stickers, and saves the pain in the ass of me having to aline my printer and all that jazz! So I just change the wording on my templet and email it over to them and pick it up later that day.

But the labels can totally be done at home and still look great!