Strawberry Jam - Less Sugar & More Fruit Flavor!

Tis the season for strawberries here in East Texas!  We have a great orchard about 30 minutes or so from our place where we can go and pick strawberries.  The prices are great and the strawberries are even better!

As I pulled out my handy Ball cookbook, I turned to the altered strawberry jame recipe I first concocted years ago after researching strawberry jam.  The thing I love about this recipe is that it calls for nearly half the amount of sugar, and is so easy to make.

Typically, I am not a strawberry jam fan.  The flavor is usually too sweet for me, and tastes more like candy than like the berry itself.  This jam has more of a freezer jam flavor.  It is bright, lovely, and the sugar accentuates the berry flavor.

This year I also discovered a method that made jam making even easier... so, without much further ado, here it is:

Strawberry Jam - Low Sugar
2 Quarts Strawberry Puree
1/4 C lemon or orange juice (the citrus is the key!)
1 pouch pectin
4C sugar (normally this recipe calls for 7-8C sugar)

Method
Preparation of Canning Tools
Before beginning, fill your canning pot with hot water. Place covered pot on a burner.  Heat on high through the entire process of making the jam until the water is boiling.

Tip: If you want to be efficient, place your empty jars in the water and let them heat with the water.  This will sterilize them

Take a small saucepan, fill with about 1in deep of water, and heat on low with the sealing lids inside.

Make an area next to the stove that you can place the hot jars onto.  Have all of your tools ready to go. I use the magnetic lid picker-upper, canning funnel, and the tongs for grabbing the hot jars. Don't forget your rings to hold the lids on tight, and a wash cloth for wiping the jars tops clean.. and just wiping up messes (well.. you can just use your fingers if you want.. it is delicious!)

These babies are red through the center!

Making the Jam
Puree the berries.  I simply hulled them, and placed them in the blender.  Blended until smooth, and then measured 2 quarts. (You can always hand mash... I did this until this year.  I will not do this again)

In a large pot, combine the berry puree, juice and pectin.  Heat to boiling.  Stir as often as you see fit.

Once boiling, add the sugar and stir well.  Keep stirring as needed until the jam hits a hard boil.  Make sure you are stirring constantly at this stage - the jam likes to grow!  Hard boil for a minute.

If your jam is foamy, or you care, add a tablespoon or so of butter to cut down on the foam.

Canning the Jam
If you are working with a partner, begin taking out the jars and dumping the piping hot water back into the canning pot.  Line them up next to stove - or wherever you will fill them.  If working by yourself, wait until the hard boil is over and your jam has settled down to get your jars ready.

Using a ladle, scoop the hot jam into each jar until about 1/4in from the top.

Wipe up any jam that has landed on the jar with a damp rag.

Place toppers on jars and screw on the ring - you might want to use the towel to hold the jar.  It will be very hot.

Place all jars back in canning pot and cover.  Once the water begins boiling again (it usually will slow down), put your timer on 10min

Finishing Up
Once the timer goes off, use your canning tongs to take the jars from the pot and set where they can sit and cool undisturbed.

Within the next 10-15min you should hear all of your jars happily pop!

Enjoy!  This jam is a beautiful soft-set jam that spreads well and tastes phenomenal!