My grandmother always offered my family plenty of homemade canned goods from her garden. From jams to pickled vegetables, she always had a pantry full. I’m not sure why, but I always felt intimidated by canning. It seemed tricky and something I would have to take time to master.
Now that I’m grown and have a home of my own, complete with a wonderful apple tree, I’ve always wanted to learn to can. I’ve made plenty of applesauce and apple butter but because of the sheer quantity of apples required to make these, I’ve always been able to refrigerate or give enough away that it wasn’t necessary to actually can it. So when Kraft offered me the chance to receive a canning tool kit, I was stoked. Truly. I wanted to jam.
I purchased a lot of strawberries from my local Sam’s Club but realized later it was not necessary. Unlike apple butter and applesauce, not a lot of fruit is actually required to make jam so if you are a newbie like I am, keep that in mind. I searched for recipes on Kraft.com and found several that I was itching to try like strawberry banana jam. I cleaned all of my materials, including giving my jars a boiling water bath but when I happened to glance over the instructions that came with the actual canner, I gasped when I read the following:
WARNING: DO NOT USE ON GLASS STOVETOPS.
Eek! You may remember that I got a brand new stove last fall that has a glass stovetop. Some warnings I make the conscious decision to overlook. But I certainly am not going to take a chance with my expensive stove. Instead of making the strawberry banana jam with a canner, I decided to try strawberry blueberry freezer jam which is good in the refrigerator up to 3 weeks and in the freezer up to a year. It was a 30 minute recipe that really didn’t take longer than 30 minutes from start to finish. It was so easy and I got this:
I achieved a very flavorful jam that is wonderfully sweet and different. It was a hit with my family!
While I wasn’t able to can them and give them as gifts as I had originally hoped, I am able to share them immediately or hand out later in their frozen state. When my apples are ready to be picked, you can bet I’ll be heading up to my parents house for a canning session with my mom and her new canner. (a.k.a. the canner that I received but can’t use and is now kind of hers but I can use it when I want to. Yeah, that one.)
So if you are itching to try making jam and don’t have a canner yet yourself, or you are just searching for a new and different flavor, here is the freezer jam recipe I followed.
- 1-1/2 cups crushed fresh strawberries
- 1 cup crushed blueberries
- 4-1/2 cups sugar, measured into separate bowl
- ¾cup water
- 1 pkg. SURE-JELL Fruit Pectin
- Wash six (1-cup) plastic containers and lids. Rinse with boiling water. Dry thoroughly.
- Prepare fruit by rinsing and cutting stems from strawberries. Crush fruit 1 cup at a time. (Potato masher works great). Approximately 3 cups of strawberries and 2 cups of blueberries will be needed. Rinse blueberries and crush. Mix with strawberries.
- Stir in sugar. Let stand 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Mix water and pectin in small saucepan. Bring to boil on high heat, stirring constantly. Cook and stir 1 min. Add to fruit mixture. Stir for 3 minutes. (A few sugar crystals may remain.)
- Fill all containers immediately to within ½ inch of tops. Wipe off top edges of containers; immediately cover with lids. Let stand at room temperature 24 hours. Refrigerate up to 3 weeks or freeze up to 1 year.
- (If frozen, thaw in refrigerator before using.)
How would you like to get your own “jam” on? I’ve got this fabulous Pectin Canning Craft Kit to give away to one of my lucky readers!
Valued at $70, it includes:
- Granite-Ware 9PC 21.5 Quart Canner Kit
- Bormioli Rocco Quattro Stagioni 8-1/2-Ounce 4-Piece Canning Jar Set
- Canning Tips and Tricks from SURE-JELL and Kraft Foods
And if you are searching for more great jelly and jam recipes, visit Kraft Foods or explore Sure- Jell to help make your canning go more smoothly!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Disclosure: Kraft Foods is providing the prizes for this program at no cost to me and has provided me with a gift of equal value for review. This program is not administered or sponsored by Kraft Foods or its affiliates, but solely by Baby Loving Mama. All thoughts remain 100% my own.
About Emilie
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the triple berry jam…Yum!!!
I’m a subscriber!!!
Grape …traditional
the triple berry jam
I am interested in SURE.JELL Banana Nut Bread Butter
Banana Nut Bread Butter
I want to try the Sure-jell triple berry jam!
the rhubarb jam for sure.
THE RED RASPBERRY JAM
My hubby wants us to try the Hot Pepper relish recipe.
would love to try SURE.JELL Rhubarb Jam recipe
brich22 at earthlink dot net
subscribe via email using ardy22 at earthlink dot net
brich22 at earthlink dot net
id love to try the SURE.JELL for Less or No Sugar Needed Recipes – Pear Jam
sure jell triple berry jam!
The Raspberry-Peach Freezer Jam
since I have blackberries in my garden, I’d try the CERTO® Blackberry Jam
Now, the Apricot-Pineapple Jam is one recipe I’d like to try.
CERTO® Peach Jelly sounds good to me
I’d like to make the red raspberry jam.
I want to try the SURE.JELL® for Less or No Sugar Needed Recipes – Hot Pepper Relish!
the red raspberry looks soooo yummy
The recipe for No-Sugar-Needed Triple Berry Jam sounds yummy!
I would liek to try the Raspberry-Peach Freezer Jam
i wanna try the triple berry jam
SURE-JELL Triple Berry Jam sounds good.
The MCP Dutch Apple Pie Jam sounds like a winner!
i want to try the sweet bbq chicken kabobs recipe
Certo peach jelly would be one I’d love to try.
Sure Jell Apple Jelly – what can I say, I’m a Vermonter.
Triple Berry Jams sounds wonderful but Apricots (&) Pineapple (Jam) combine two of my favorite fruits. I’d really like to try some SAVORY jams too, my Aunt makes a wonderful Garlic Jelly that is yummy on roasted and grilled meats.
Confirmed email subscriber
I’d love to try their SURE.JELL Concord Grape Jam
I subscribe via email
I’ve made the strawberry jam and it’s delicious. I love it on english muffins. Thanks for this contest.
I would like to try the CERTO® Blackberry Jam.
The triple berry jam
Thank you very much for the recipe!