15 jars of it, to be exact. They are pretty happy with my choice. They love jam.
We prefer the flavor of a low sugar jam. There is so much sugar in typical jam recipes that it masks the flavor of the fruit. We love the flavor of the fruit. So I use my secret weapon:
No Sugar Needed Pectin. What did I do before I found this stuff? Oh, I know what I did. I dumped tons of sugar into my jams trying to achieve the elusive magical jelly set. I was never satisfied with the results. My jams were never uniform. One batch would set up, the next one wouldn't. And you could hardly tell a strawberry jam from a raspberry one. It just tasted like fruit syrup, but no one knew which fruit. It felt like such a chore.
Then I found No Sugar Needed Fruit Pectin. This stuff is amazing. Making jams is so easy. I never have problems with my jams not setting. The flavor of the jams is fantastic. The color is beautiful. What could be better?
If you have never canned before, jams are an easy way to get started. Water-bath canning is super easy. Pretty much everything you need to know can be found on the instruction sheet in the pectin box. There are lots of good books and a google search will get you plenty of information to get started. If you need some recipe inspiration, check out the recipes on Food In Jars, a blog dedicated to canning.
If you want to go berry picking and make some jam, here is my recipe:
Angela's Wild Raspberry Jam
12 cups fresh wild raspberries (you could also use blueberries)
3 cups white grape juice
3 boxes No Sugar Added Fruit Pectin
Raw Cane Sugar or Honey (Optional, and to taste)
Start your hot water bath canner, so that it will be ready when you are. I sterilize my jars and rims in the dishwasher. Go ahead and start them, too. I also simmer my lids on a very low heat, so they will be ready when I need them.
Mix berries, juice and pectin and mash berries a bit. Over high heat, bring to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Stir constantly to prevent scorching (This doesn't take long. Maybe 5-10 minutes or so).
Add sweetener to taste, if using. My berries were a bit sour, so I used 2 cups raw cane juice sugar. The regular pectin jam recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar for each cup of berries. That would be 12 cups of sugar!!! I know it uses the sugar to create the jam set, but Wow.
Return the jam to a boil and boil for 3 minutes (this dissolves the sugar.) Skim foam, if necessary.
Pour into prepared, hot, sterile jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Clean jar rims and place new, hot lids on jars. Hand tighten metal rims on the jars. Do not over tighten.
Place jars in the hot water bath canner, making sure water covers the jars by 1-2 inches. Place lid on canner and bring to a gentle, steady boil. Process for 10 minutes. Remove jars and place upright on a towel to cool. Check seals after jars cool, otherwise, do not disturb for 12-24 hours. If a jar did not seal, refrigerate immediately. This makes approximately 15 1/2-pint jelly jars.
