Yes You Can: Simple Fruit Jams

Posted on August 10, 2018

by Kathryn M

With summer weather, fruit is in season across northwest Ohio. What better way to preserve the sweetness of the summer sun than setting away your own jar of happiness? Canning is not nearly as difficult as it sounds. Following these simple steps, you too can stock your pantry.

Prepare

Purchase pectin and carefully read the instructions that come with it. Be ready to follow these instructions quickly.

Wash jars, and lids with hot soapy water. Keep jars filled with hot water to keep them warm until ready to fill with jam. Prepare bands and lids by placing in a shallow saucepan of gently boiling water.

Wash and prepare fruit. Kids love mashing berries, and this is a great way to involve them before things get too hot.

Measure both fruit and sugar carefully and have them ready too.

Cooking

Typically, you will add pectin and bring fruit to a full boil. Depending on the type of fruit, you may also need to add a small amount of butter or lemon juice.

Add sugar and return to a full boil. The pectin recipe will tell you how much sugar as well as how long to boil.

Canning

Empty one jar of water at a time and fill with jam. Wipe mouth of jar clean and screw on warm lid and band.

Place filled jars in a water bath (large stock pot or canning pot with water) and process for prescribed time (usually several minutes).

Turn off heat and let water bath cool for at least 5 minutes before removing jars.

For More Jam Recipes and Canning Tips …

Check out these great titles

Ball Canning Back to Basics: A Foolproof Guide to Canning Jams, Jellies, Pickles and More
Ball canning back to basics : a foolproof guide to canning jams, jellies, pickles & more

From making your own sweet jams and preserving whole fruits, to the fundamentals of brining vegetables, Ball Back to Basics focuses on the building block techniques and classic recipes that every canner should know. The book begins with in-depth information on the equipment you need, preparing your fruits and vegetables, and food safety guidance. Each canning and preserving method is thoroughly explained with step-by-step photographs and beginner-friendly tutorials highlighting key steps. Packed with 100 foolproof recipes for the modern pantry, a wealth of variation ideas for low-sugar and flavor change-ups, and time-tested tips from the most trusted authority in home canning, this handy teaching cookbook is designed to ensure success.

Jam Session: A Fruit-Preserving Handbook” by Joyce Goldstein
Jam session : a fruit-preserving handbook / Joyce Goldstein ; photographs by Ed Anderson

The right-sized handbook for fruit preserving, with 75 basic and special recipes for jams, jellies, chutneys, and compotes, by chef emeritus and master preserver Joyce Goldstein. “Jam Session” is the lushly photographed and selective guide to making all-natural fruit preserves, organized by type of fruit and seasonal availability, with descriptions of the best varieties for preserving plus master recipes and contemporary variations for each type of fruit.

Savory Sweet: Simple Preserves from a Northern Kitchen” by Beth Dooley
Savory sweet : simple preserves from a Northern Kitchen by Beth Dooley & Mette Nielsen

From corn salsa to carrot lemon marmalade with ginger and cardamom, crispy pickled red onions to garlic scape pesto with lemon thyme, and caramel apple butter with lemongrass to puttanesca sauce to jam, these recipes bring the best of the sweet and the savory to every menu. Low tech, simple, and fast, they eschew hot-water-bath methods in favor of chilling and freezing, keeping flavors and colors bold and bright; and they ease up on sugar to make way for the true savory sweetness of nature s finest food. “Savory Sweet” is not your grandmother’s canning cookbook but it is likely to be your grandchildren’s.

Jams & Jellies: Our Very Best Sweet & Savory Recipes” from Better Homes and Gardens
Jams & jellies : our very best sweet & savory recipes from Better Homes & Gardens

Over 100 delicious and foolproof recipes for mouthwatering jams, jellies, and preserves from the canning experts at Better Homes and Gardens.

Also available in eBook.

Foolproof Preserving: A Guide to Small Batch Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Condiments, and More” by the editors at America’s Test Kitchen
Foolproof preserving a guide to small batch jams, jellies, pickles, condiments, and more by the editors at America's Test Kitchen

A detailed guide to home preserving offers more than one hundred recipes, from sweet jams to whole fruits, along with detailed tutorials, troubleshooting tips, equipment information, and insights into the science behind canning.

Also available in eBook.

Jam On: The Craft of Canning Fruit” by Laena McCarthy
Jam on : the craft of canning fruit / Laena McCarthy ; photography by Michael Harlan Turkell

In “Jam On,” New York’s ‘Jam Queen’ Laena McCarthy shares her love of making inventive handmade jam with delicious recipes and canning techniques. Her down-to-earth approach and unique, easy method allows even the novice cook to make fresh and exciting jam.


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