Homemade Jam

Albertsons had a great 3-day sale on strawberries last week, and I figured this might be the last sale on strawberries of the season, so I probably should make more homemade jam for the next few months (growing up on homemade has made me really picky about jam and I just don't like the store bought stuff).

If you think making homemade freezer jam is probably too complicated, well, it's not. You can totally do it. The key to freezer jam is to simply follow the directions and measurements to the T (although they aren't really complicated and don't have many steps). If you change the measurements then it won't set up.

All you need is a few pounds of strawberries (or whatever fruit you want to use), a pkg. of pectin, sugar, and maybe lemon juice. I am partial to the Certo (blue box) type of pectin, but lately I have been buying the Sure-Jell in the pink box. It makes a lower sugar version of freezer jam and still tastes great (one box usually requires about 2.5-3lbs of strawberries). The Certo doesn't have any stovetop steps while the low-sugar Sure-Jell does. If this is your first time trying, then I recommend the Certo pectin.

If you can't find strawberries for a descent price then check out the $0.99 Store. Ours here on Marks in Henderson frequently carries frozen bags of strawberries (usually 12 oz) for $0.99. You can just thaw those and use them since they are purely frozen strawberries--no syrup.


Mmmmm...there's nothing quite like homemade jam on a piece of homemade bread...I'll have to make some of that too soon.