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Learning to Edit |
Fruit Jam (Generic Recipe)
The ingredients list is for 1 pint of jam. Looking at your fruit, guess how many jars you will need. Put the jars in a hot water bath canner, and fill with enough water to just cover the jars. Set lids and rings aside. Turn on the stove to start heating water. If at any point it reaches a rolling boil before your jam is ready, turn it down to simmer. Prepare the fruit. For berries, pick over and wash, removing stems and slicing if necessary. For fruit with seeds, pit and slice finely. For fuzzy fruits, remove skin. For plums, simmer for 5 minutes in 1/2 cup water. Mix whatever types of fruit seem good. Ginger can add a bit of zing to a sweet mix; apples and peaches add volume without interfering with the flavour of other fruits. Measure the actual amount of fruit you have, and adjust the proportions of the other ingredients appropriately. Never make jam in batches larger than 5 pints, as it will not set. Stir in the pectin. Bring the jam back to a rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Stir very frequently to prevent burning. Stir in the sugar, and bring the jam back to a rolling boil. Boil constantly for 1 minute, then remove from heat. The jam will spit at you -- long sleeves and an apron are recommended. Remove hot jars from the canner, and fill with hot jam, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe rims, place lids on jars, and tighten rings to finger-tight. Return jars to canner. Verify that there is approximately 1 inch of water on top of the tallest jar, adding more water if necessary. Bring canner to a rolling boil. Keep at a boil for 10 minutes, then turn off heat and remove lid of the canner. Let stand 5 minutes. Set jars on a towel and leave 24 hours before checking the seals. Push on the center of the lid -- if you hear a popping noise, the seal is no good and that jar needs to refrigerated. Remove the rings, and test that the lids cannot be easily opened. If necessary wipe down and dry jars. Store without rings. |