Fig Jam

I spent my Labor Day weekend laboring away in the kitchen making jam.   Figs have been on sale recently and I decided to take advantage of the good deal.  Plus, I don't really do much with figs so I decided it was time to fix that.

I think that this jam is going to be amazing when Christmas comes around.  I want to get some puff pastry, a wheel of brie, and pour a bunch of this jam on top before I bake it off.  It's going to be delicious!  (Now I just need to go to a party)

Fig Jam:

4 cups chopped figs (about 27 medium)
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1 3-oz pouch Ball® Liquid Fruit Pectin
6 cups sugar
8 (8 oz) half pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands

Directions:
Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water
until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside. Prepare figs by
trimming stems and finely chopping them.

Combine prepared figs with lemon juice, water, and sugar in a 6- or
8-quart saucepan. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be
stirred down, over high heat, stirring frequently.
Add pectin, immediately squeezing entire contents from pouch. Continue
hard boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam
if necessary

Ladle hot jam into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rim.
Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight.

Process jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for
altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid
should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

Peach Jam

Peaches have been on mega sale recently and since all of my hobbies come right out of Little House on the Prairie I decided that the good deal meant that I needed to can these babies.  I made so much jam.  It was totally worth it, this might be my favorite batch of jam to date.

I got this recipe off of a wonderful blog called Food in Jars.  I've been reading Marisa's blog for years, way before Mr. T hooked me up with a sweet canning set, and I can't wait to really get into it and make more of the deliciousness that she has on there.

Note to the world... read the recipe all the way before you start cooking.  This calls for liquid pectin.  I missed that memo.  Learn from my mistakes.

Peach Jam:
(Food In Jars)

10 cups of peaches, peeled and chopped
6 cups of sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
2 lemons, zested and juiced
2 packets (1 box) liquid pectin

Fill your canning pot with water and begin to bring it to temperature. Wash your jars and rings in warm soapy water and set aside. Put your lids in a small pot of water and heat (but do not boil) in order to soften the sealing compound.

Add peaches and sugar to a large, non-reactive pot. Stir so that the peaches begin to release their juice and mingle with the sugar. Bring to a boil and add cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest and juice and let jam continue to cook for about fifteen minutes. If the fruit hasn’t broken down much after that time is up, use a potato masher or immersion blender (taking care not to burn yourself with hot jam) to break down the chunks. Add pectin and bring to a rolling boil for a full five minutes.

Turn off the heat under the jam and fill jars. Wipe rims and apply lids. Screw on the bands and lower into the water. Process in the hot water bath 10 minutes. When time is up, remove from water and cool on the counter. When the jars are cooled, check the seal by pressing on the top of the jar. If there’s no movement, the jar has sealed. Store up to one year in a cool, dark place.

Blueberry Jam

Summer fruits are wonderful.  The farmer's market has tons of berries right now and they are just begging to be made into jam... so that's what I've been doing.

This is a really easy recipe, it tastes fantastic, and doesn't take that long to cook or process.

Blueberry Jam:
(Ball Canning)

4 cups blueberries
4 1/2 tablespoons pectin
3 cups sugar (I used 1 cup lemon sugar and 2 cups regular sugar)

According to the recipe you should be able to get 6 half pint jars of jam.  I was only able to get 5.  If you prepare 6 jars you'll be good to go. 

Prepare boiling water canner. Wash jars, lids and bands in hot soapy water. Heat jars and in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set lids and bands aside.

Combine berries in an 8-quart saucepan. Gradually stir in pectin. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, over high heat, stirring constantly.


Add all of the sugar, stirring to dissolve. Return mixture to a full rolling boil. Boil hard 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam, if necessary.

Ladle hot jam into hot jars, one at a time, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rims. Center lids on jars. Apply bands and adjust to fingertip tight.

Place filled jars in canner ensuring jars are covered by 1 to 2 inches of water. Place lid on canner. Bring water to gentle, steady boil.

Process jars for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Turn off heat, remove lid and let jars stand for 5 minutes. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lids should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

Strawberry-Margarita Jam

I got a canning set for Christmas this year.   Now that spring has officially sprung and there are beautiful strawberries all over the place I decided to get down to business!  I guess I could have started with a basic strawberry jam but when I saw this one I decided to go for it.  Go big or go home.

This turned out to be more of a sauce than a jam.  It could be because I didn't use the apples but it's also a good possibility that there was some user error.  I'm new to this whole canning thing.

Friendly canning reminder... make sure your jars and cleaned and sterilized before you start canning.

Strawberry-Margarita Jam:
 (adapted from Ball Canning Company)

8 cups halved hulled strawberries
1/4 cup lemon juice
4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup tequila
1/2 cup orange-flavored liqueur
2 Tbsp strawberry schnapps, optional
6 (8 oz) half pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands

Directions:

Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.

Combine strawberries and lemon juice in a large, deep stainless steel saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Add sugar, stirring until dissolved. Reduce heat and boil gently, stirring frequently, until mixture thickens, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat and test gel. If liquid breaks from spoon in a sheet or flake, it has reached the gel stage. If gel stage has been reached, stir in tequila, orange-flavored liqueur and strawberry schnapps, if using. Return to medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil hard, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and skim off foam.

Ladle hot preserves into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding hot preserves. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight.

Process jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours. Lid should not flex up and down when center is pressed.

Low Sugar Strawberry Jam

I love jam.  I brought home a flat of strawberries last weekend and decided to make some jam with them since there was no way that my little household of 2 would be able to eat them all.

I found this recipe for a lower sugar jam online and decided to give it a try.  I liked the fact that it used a no sugar added juice as the sweetener instead of one of those sugar substitutes.  I think there is something odd about going through all the trouble to can fresh fruit and then dump a bunch of fake sugar on it... but I digress.

Low Sugar Strawberry Jam:
( Ball Canning Jars)

4 cups crushed strawberries
1 cup unsweetened white grape juice
3 tablespoons low or no-sugar needed pectin
6 (8 oz) half pint glass preserving jars with lids and bands

Directions:

Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars and lids in simmering water until ready for use. Do not boil. Set bands aside.

Combine strawberries and juice in a 6- to 8-quart saucepan. Gradually stir in pectin. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, over high heat, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary.

Ladle hot jam into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rim. Center hot lid on jar. Apply band and adjust until fit is fingertip tight.

Process filled jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Remove jars and cool. Check for seal after 24 hours. Lids should not flex up and down when center is pressed.