This recipe is from the Ball site. http://www.freshpreserving.com/tools/reference/pectin.aspx# It gives you all the directions but I have provided a step-by-step tutorial for making strawberry jam. This is geared for beginners like myself. Since I am a visual learner and couldn't find any pictorial help, I thought I would put this on here for others who need pictures too! You can also find what tools you will need on the Ball site. Don't be scared, just get in there and DO IT! (I was so terrified the first time I made jam, I knocked over my jars in the canner and dropped jam on the floor, burned myself, and swore I would never do it again!) But then you hear the jars seal and like magic, you want to do more!
Recipe:
For 6, (8 0z) half pint jars you will need:
4 cups, prepared strawberries
4 1/2 Tbsp. powdered Ball® RealFruit™ Classic Pectin
5 cups granualted
Ok, get your strawberries washed.
Take the leaves off and hull them, as shown here.
Then slice them into quarters.
Then, one cup at a time, mash them with a potato masher. I measured 4 cups of strawberries for 6 half pint jam jars. (8 oz) It ended up only making 5 jars but I think I left my strawberry pieces bigger.
Have your supplies ready. Your magnetic lid lifter, (not necessary but makes life so much easier!) your funnel, your jar lifter, ( a must, trust me) and your lids and rings. At this point you will also want to prepare your jars. You can boil them in a pot of water for 10 min to make sure they are sterilized or you can put them in your dishwasher if you have a sterilize setting. (Which I do) Either way works great but you will have to have more pots! You will also need to put your rings and lids in a pot of hot water. I boil a small pot of water, once boiled I turn off the burner then throw my lids and rings in until ready to use. IMPORTANT! DO NOT BOIL THE LIDS OR THEY WILL NOT SEAL! (Ask me how I know this, yep it was a disaster.) You will also need a jar rack or cake cooling rack that will fit in the bottom of the pot so the jars don't sit directly on the bottom of the pot. (Not pictured here, look down further on the page)
Get your canner water boiling. BTW, you can get theses at Walmart with the jar rack for $19!
http://www.walmart.com/search/search-ng.do?search_query=canner&ic=16_0&Find=Find&search_constraint=0
This is one brand of fruit pectin which helps thicken jam and jellies. There is also liquid pectin. Make sure you use the type of pectin the recipe calls for! You can make jam without it but you will have to find that recipe online somewhere! :)
So get your strawberries cooking, add your pectin (4 1/2 T) and stir in a little at a time. You can also add a little bit of butter to help keep the foam down. (That is the yellow thing in the pot) This needs to come to a roiling boil or hard boil. This means a boil that you can't stir and it stops boiling. When you stir and it doesn't stop boiling .......
Add the entire measure of sugar all at once! And stir! (Five cups for this recipe) You need to bring this to a hard boil. Make sure you constantly stir this or it or it will burn! When it starts to boil hard, time it for 1 min exactly. (This seems like the eternal min!) Then turn off the burner, remove it from the heat, and skim off any foam!
I take my jars out of the dish washer and put them under a towel to keep them warm. You can do this with your jars if you have boiled them as well.
Next fill one jar at a time, while keeping the others covered or in the pot to keep them warm, to 1/4 inch from the top. You may need to measure this so it will seal properly.
Be sure to wipe the rim and screw part of the jar. ( I don't know what else to call this bit? The part where the ring screws on. You get my drift!) This is important so the lids seal properly!
Next take your lids and rings out of the pot of hot water one at a time as needed.
Put the lids on then screw the ring on finger tip tight. NOT TOO TIGHT or you'll never get them off after they have processed!
Put them in the jar rack and lower into your canner of boiling water. The jars must be covered by 1-2 inches of water the whole time it is processing or the jars will not seal properly, thus, it is a good idea to have a pot or kettle of boiling water ready so you can add it to your canner if needed. Make sure the water is hot or it will stop the water from boiling. Put the lid on and process for 20 min. (I live in a high altitude so I need 20 min. If you live in say, Las Vegas, you will only need to process for 10 min.) Check the altitude chart at the Ball canning site for the correct amount of time needed! This is important!
Just a helpful hint: Cover your counters with tea towels. It will make clean up so much easier!
After the 20 min, or whatever time depending on where you live, Turn off the burner, take off the lid and let the jars sit for 10 min in the pot. (This is the picture of the jar rack that the jars sit in. It makes it so much easier to lower the jars into the boiling water and get them out!)
Next put them in a draft free place to cool, undisturbed, for 24 hours. It can take that long for the jars to seal. However, soon after you take them out you should hear a "ping" or popping noise. this means the jars have sealed properly. You will know for sure if the jars have sealed properly if you can't push down on the lid and it springs back up on you. It should feel, dipped in the middle. If, after 24 hours they haven't sealed you can either reprocess them or use them immediately. It should keep in your fridge for a few weeks before it goes bad. I don't think you should reprocess them more than twice. The FDA recommends processing them in a canner for safety issues. Please read before considering another method.
Click on the PDF file for guidelines on what is no longer considered safe canning practices.
Enjoy! Ask questions, I'll try to help best I can! Comments and helpful hints always appreciated!
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