Homemade Plum Jam
This is one of the easiest jams you can make. You don’t need pectin and it cooks pretty quickly into sweet, thick jammy goodness. I prefer a softer set, so I stopped cooking mine a little sooner than you might prefer. I like a jam that spreads easily, even after it has been opened and stored in the fridge. I love this jam.
I did a test with just a couple of plums. The flavor was great, but some of the pieces of the peel seemed too big. I could see them in the finished jam. To insure the skins got chopped up, I cooked my jam for awhile then used an immersion blender to smooth it out. This is just a cosmetic preference. You can just cook down chopped up plums and they will be fine.
So here is the recipe. I got it from the NCHFP website. The only changes I made was to up the processing time to 10 minutes, so I didn’t have to sterilize the jars. I also let the jam sit in the canner a few extra minutes to prevent siphoning.
Plum Jam
2 quarts chopped, pitted tart plums (about 4 pounds) – any plums will work
6 cups sugar
1½ cup water
¼ cup lemon juice
Combine all ingredients; bring slowly to boiling, stirring occasionally until sugar dissolves. Cook rapidly to, or almost to, the jellying point (which is 8°F above the boiling point of water, or 220°F at sea level). Stir constantly to prevent sticking or burning.
Pour hot jam into hot jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel; adjust two-piece metal canning lids. Process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow jars to remain in canner 5 minutes before removing. Set jars on cooling rack or towel in a draft free place while they cool down. Check seals once jars are cool. Yield: About 8 half-pint jars.
Blueberry Vanilla Jam
Blueberry Vanilla Jam
It seems to be a great year for blueberries. Prices at the market have been good. I have been eating berries, freezing berries and made some blueberry liqueur. I also wanted to make jam.
I used the basic berry jam recipe from the Ball Blue Book, but I added vanilla in this batch. The flavors worked really well together. I am making more of this one, for sure. Enjoy.
Blueberry Vanilla Jam
9 c. crushed blueberries
6 c. sugar
1 T. vanilla
Pick over berries getting any stems. Rinse , drain and crush. Place berries, sugar and vanilla in a large saucepan and heat slowly until sugar has melted. Bring up heat and cook over high heat, stirring often. Stir more as mixture thickens. It will take 20-30 minutes to get to the gel stage. To check for gel stage dip a metal spoon in blueberry mixture and hold it up sideways. Allow mixture to drip off and when two drops come together to form one larger drop- you are at gel stage. You can also use a candy thermometer. When the jam reaches 220 degrees- or 8 degrees over the temp of boiling water- you are at gel stage. Ladle hot jam into clean, hot jelly jars. Fill to within 1/4 inch of the top. Wipe rims and place on lids prepared according to directions on box. Screw lids comfortably tight. Place jars in boiling water bath with water at least 1-2 inches over the tops of the jars. Cover pot and start timing when water returns to the boil. Process 15 minutes. Remove jars to towel, cutting board or cooling rack in a draft-free location. Check seals once jars are cooled. Makes 8-10 jelly jars.
Source: Adapted from Ball Blue Book
Strawberry Vanilla Jam
Once you taste homemade jam, you will understand why it is worth the effort to make your own. Homemade jams, preserves and jellies are a great way to save seasonal fruits to enjoy all year. They also make nice gifts.
One of my favorite homemade jams is strawberry. I like the addition of a little vanilla to my strawberry jam. I think it adds an additional layer of flavor, without covering up the natural beauty of the berries. Of course, you can omit the vanilla, if you prefer.
I try to make enough to last all year, but I end up running out quickly. This jam is great on toast, but also a nice addition to several desserts I make.
With local berries in season now, it is a perfect time to make a batch, or two.
In grocery stores, berries are often sold in one pound packages, not in quarts. A quart of strawberries should weigh 1 1/4 pounds. That should help you figure out how many berries you will need.
Here is the recipe.
Strawberry-Vanilla Jam
2 qts. strawberries, stemmed, washed and crushed (2 1/2 lbs.)
2 T. pure vanilla
1 package powdered pectin, (1.75 oz.)
1/4 c. lemon juice
7 cups sugar
Combine berries, vanilla, pectin and lemon juice in large saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often. Add sugar and turn heat up to high. Stir often until mixture comes to a boil. Boil hard one minute stirring constantly. Ladle hot jam in to jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rims and screw on lids comfortably tight. Place in boiling water bath and process 10 minutes. Remove to cooling rack, towel or wooden surface to cool. Makes 8-9 half pints.
Blueberry Vanilla Jam
Blueberry Vanilla Jam
I make a lot of jams, jellies and preserves in the summer when berries are abundant. I also freeze berries and other fruits. That way I can enjoy them throughout the year. I really had a taste for some homemade blueberry jam. Since I was out I decided to use some of the blueberries I had frozen from last summer. I used the basic berry jam recipe from the Ball Blue Book, but I added some vanilla and a little lemon juice for extra flavor. How nice to have a reminder of summer days as winter comes to a close.
Blueberry Vanilla Jam
9 c. crushed fruit
6 c. sugar
1/4 c. lemon juice
1 T. vanilla
Pick over berries getting any stems. Rinse , drain and crush. Place berries, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a large saucepan and heat slowly until sugar has melted. Bring up heat and cook over high heat, stirring often. Stir more as mixture thickens. It will take 20-30 minutes to get to the gel stage. To check for gel stage dip a metal spoon in blueberry mixture and hold it up sideways. Allow mixture to drip off and when two drops come together to form one larger drop- you are at gel stage. You can also use a candy thermometer. When the jam reaches 220 degrees- or 8 degrees over the temp of boiling water- you are at gel stage. Ladle hot jam into clean, hot jelly jars. Fill to within 1/4 inch of the top. Wipe rims and place on lids prepared according to directions on box. Screw lids comfortably tight. Place jars in boiling water bath with water at least 1-2 inches over the tops of the jars. Cover pot and start timing when water returns to the boil. Process 15 minutes. Remove jars to towel, cutting board or cooling rack in a draft-free location. Check seals once jars are cooled. Makes 8-10 jelly jars.
Source: Adapted from Ball Blue Book
Cherry Vanilla Jam
Cherry Vanilla Jam
I have some frozen cherries I got from King Orchards. They are neighbors of my sister in Central Lake, Michigan. I wanted to use some of them for cherry vanilla jam which is one of my all time favorites.
Cherry Vanilla Jam
4 1/2 c. chopped pitted sour cherries including any juice
2 T. lemon juice
2 T. pure vanilla extract
1 box powdered pectin
5 1/4 c. sugar
Wash jelly jars and lids and keep warm until ready to use. Place a large pot of water, with a rack, on to boil for the water bath. In large saucepan combine cherries with lemon juice, vanilla and pectin. Bring to a rolling boil, stirring often. Add the sugar and bring mixture back to a rolling boil, stirring often. Once the mixture gets to a full, rolling boil, constantly stir for one minute longer. Remove jam from heat and skim off any foam. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, filling to about 1/4 inch from the top. Wipe off rim and screw on the lids. Repeat with remaining jam. Process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes. Remove from water bath and allow jars to cool. Yield: about 7 half pint jars of jam.
