Strawberry Sangria Jam

I could introduce this with an anecdote about how fun it is to make jam, or throw in a reference to the episode of Friends where Joey eats jam by the spoonful (still awesome after all these years), or how Rachel's trifle with a layer of ladyfingers and a layer of jam topped with beef sautéed with peas and onions is a forever classic, or even how I feel like I'm channeling my inner Laura Ingalls Wilder when I make jam, but all the thoughts are so random that I won't even try.  I'll just say jam good, strawberries good, wine good, what's not to like? (Jam good, beef good...get it? Ha!)

Now, you don't really have to make jam when strawberries are on sale.  Throwing strawberries and whipped cream on top of pound cake is always a classic summer flavor. 

But when you get a bit greedy, there's not a chance that you can eat 10 lbs of strawberries even in shortcake form.   That's when you have to ask yourself what that Laura Ingalls girl would do.  Jam of course, for the long hard winter.  

This version of jam has a bit of red wine and some citrus flavor in a nod to one of my favorite warm weather drinks...sangria!

Some may think jam is scary.  I think it's really just precise.  If you follow the recipe and process exactly, you have jam.  If you start making alterations on the fly, often you'll have lumpy juice.  This recipe I ripped out of a newspaper (don't have which one or when...sorry newspaper for not giving you credit) calls for tons of sugar.  I love to use the low sugar pectin because I like my jam less sweet, but wasn't willing to risk experimenting using the low sugar pectin with the wine.

I also really love the process of sterilizing the jars and lids--it makes me feel so clean and surgical.  I throw everything in the water bath too...even the plastic funnel for about a minute.  

The tools can mean the difference between whether jam is fun, or jam is frustrating.  You can pick up the tools (widemouth funnel, jar tongs and long tool with magnet for grabbing the lids out of the water bath) for under $10 at Target.  It's so worth it...using your regular tongs is just a 2nd degree burn waiting to happen.  Trust me on that one.  These jar tongs are the best thing that ever happened to canning.

This jam has just a slight wine flavor and the orange oil adds just the perfect sangria fruity flavor.  It is definitely on the sweet side (like all sugary jams are )though so just a little will probably do you if you are a little sensitive to sweet.  If not, you could just grab a spoon and eat it Joey Tribbiani style.  

Gratuitous puppy shot of the day. 

Strawberry Sangria Jam

5 cups chopped strawberries (about 3 lbs)
4 Tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp orange oil
1/2 cup red wine
1 package (1.75 oz) powdered pectin
6 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 tbsp butter

1. Prepare your canning supplies by sterilizing all lids, jars (and tools such as ladle) in simmering water for 5 minutes
2. Wash strawberries well and chop into 1/4 inch dice.  Measure 5 cups into 8 quart soup pot.
3. Use a potato masher to roughly crush the berries. 
4. Add sugar to the the crushed strawberries along with lemon juice, orange oil and wine. 
5. Whisk in the pectin until dissolved, and then bring to a rolling boil. Add the sugar and butter all at once and return to a full boil. Boil hard 1-2 minutes. 
6. Remove from the heat
7. Ladle the jam into the jars, leaving 1/4″ headspace. Top with lids and bands.
8. Place the jars back into the canner and process for 10 minutes. 
9. Remove jars from bath and let cool before testing seal.  Jars should make popping noises as the seals lock.  When cool test all jars by pressing lightly in the center of the lids.  Lids should not move or click--if any do, place jar in refrigerator and use first. 
10. Let remaining jars sit 24 hours for the jam to set resisting all temptation to tap and swirl and turn jars to see if jam has set yet. :)
11. Makes 8 eight-ounce jars

Jam Time

"Remember when you were a kid and your mom used to drop you off at the movies with a jar of jam and a spoon?"  Some tv shows and quotes never get old no matter how much you watch them or quote them.  I'm not even sure why this quote from one of the earlier seasons of friends stuck, but it did.  We had a Friends question during our PMO team building trivia game and I was shocked that I was the only one who knew the answer.  We have a whole new generation of peeps in the workforce who are too young to have watched Friends the first time through.  That saddens me. 

So the post wasn't really supposed to me about Friends but about jam.  Fresh fruit, channeling your inner Laura Ingalls, stock up some sunshine for the winter jam.  I know many have a fear of canning but really it's just about being precise.  If you follow the directions of the recipe and the canning process it's really quite simple and it's a perfect way to take advantage of fresh, available summer fruits.  It's so each that I made a strawberry jam and a peach vanilla butter on the morning.

The ingredient list is pretty simple, 3-4 lbs of fresh fruit, pectin, lemon juice(for some jams) white grape or apple juice and sugar.  I like to make the low sugar jams...regular jam can have as much as 7 cups of sugar to 5 cups of fruit...crazy.  With this low sugar pectin, you can make the jam with just 1/2-1 cup of sugar in the entire batch.  The lesser about of sugar means the jam won't be as vibrantly colorful as the sugared kind but that's a small price to pay for a fresher fruit tasting jam.

I used to buy the pectin in boxes but couldn't find it in any store this year...only this new larger jar size. The recipes are included with the pectin.

Part of following the process is ensuring everything is sterilized.  I've heard many say that the dishwasher sterilizes the jars just the same, but I always process the jars in the water bath first per the directions (actually, everything goes into the boiling water bath for a bit...lids, ladle, tongs and funnel).

You can buy an inexpensive canning kit that includes jar tongs and this handy dandy magnet tool to retrieve the lids from the water bath.  It's genius really.

The strawberry jam is straightforward and straight from the pectin box.  For the peach butter...

Peach Vanilla Butter

4 lbs peaches peeled and diced

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 cup white grape juice

1 box pectin

3/4 cup sugar (adjust amount to your preference)

1 tsp vanilla

1. Combine peaches, lemon juice and white grape juice in large stockpot.  Stir in pectin and mix thoroughly
2. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes or until peaches are soft. 
3. Add sugar and cook 5 mins more and add vanilla
4. Puree with stick blender
5. Ladle into sterilized 1/2 pint jars and top with sterilized lids
6. Process in boiling water bath for 10 minutes
7. Remove from water bath and allow to cool fully.   Test each lid for a seal by pressing down in the center of the lid.  The lid should not pop up and down.  If you hear a pop, place the jam into the refrigerator and use first.  Allow the rest of the jars to rest undisturbed overnight.

Sleeping In?

I overheard someone at church last night explain to another that the Saturday evening service was for those who liked to sleep in on Sunday. This is not necessarily true. The first Sunday morning service starts in half an hour and this morning I've already been to the gym and made a bit of jam (same as the cherry, and with the no sugar needed pectin. It's happiness in a jar really).

So the Saturday evening service? Entirely more noble than just sleeping in--one day each week where I have absolutely no requirement or need to blow dry my hair or do my makeup. Yep. Okay so I'll admit it's the same thing as wanting to sleep in. But a girl really just needs a day in sweats...

"Remember when...

you were a kid and your mom used to drop you off at the movies with a jar of jam and a little spoon?" If you know this TV quote, we could be good friends. If you utter these words randomly and without relevance, we're definitely kindred spirits.

Some might think that purchasing over 10 lbs of cherries might be excessive. Perhaps it is, but for those of us who are produce obsessed, it's actually pretty par for the course....visions of jam dance through our head. Pitting pounds and pounds of cherries is not fun, but with 6 jars of cherry preserves waiting at the end of the work, it was more than worth the effort. And the best part? Ball makes a "No Sugar Needed" variety of fruit pectin that allows you to add sugar to your taste preference. I will take that over equal parts sugar and fruit anyday...even if you lose some of the color vibrancy without the sugar.

The pectin calls for a neutral juice--like apple or white grape. I grabbed a bottle of straight black cherry juice and all the fabulous juicy flavors allowed me to get away with just 1/4 cup of sugar. This pectin rocks the most-and I've never had it fail to set. Thank you Ball.

Cherry Jam

3 lbs pitted cherries

1 cup unsweetened white grape, apple or cherry juice

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 box No Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin

sugar to taste

1. Chop 3/4 of the cherries in quarters

2. Prepare empty jars and lids by simmering in water

3. Combine cherries and juice in a 6-8 quart pan. Gradually stir in pectin. Add 1 tsp butter to prevent foaming (if desired).

4. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Cook for 5 minutes.

5. Add sugar ( I used 1/4 cup of turbinado sugar) and return to full boil. Cook 3 additional minutes.

6. Fill sterilized hot jars leaving 1/4 inch head room. Wipe rim clean if necessary and top with sterilized hot lid. Top with band and screw fingertip tight.

7. Place filled jars in canner and ensure water covers top of jars by 1-2 inches.

8. Process for 20 minutes (10 mins at sea level)

9. Turn off heat and let sit 5 minutes. Remove jars and allow to cool. Retighten bands if necessary.

10. Test seal by pushing on lid after jam is completely cool. If it does not flex up and down, it is sealed. If a lid is not sealed within 24 hours, refrigerate immediately or reprocess with new lid.