Once again our Farmer’s Market had the most beautiful strawberries. When our daughter Kristina showed up with an entire flat of these glistening gems, we both knew it was time to make our favorite strawberry-vanilla jam from one of our favorite canning books.
I use this Ball preserving book all the time. The reliable recipes always work out perfectly.
I stemmed and prepared enough for two batches so some could be given away as gifts. I took them all over to Kristina’s house so we could make the jam together. She has much more counter space in her kitchen than I have in my kitchen!
Besides the gorgeous strawberries we always use our favorite vanilla from Nielsen-Massey, a family company that began in 1907.
Kristina and I were excited to be given a tour in 2010 from Craig Nielsen. It was amazing! I wrote a blog about the tour that you can read here.
Look at the gorgeous results!
I highly recommend using an electric water canner that can go right on the counter. So much easier in every way than using the huge pot on the stovetop. I’m completely sold on it! We use the Ball brand.
If you love making jam I hope you try this recipe. We can never make enough!
- 7 cups granulated sugar
- 8 cups whole strawberries (approx.)
- 4 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 package (1.75 oz./49 to 57 grams) regular powdered fruit pectin
- ½ teaspoon butter (helps reduce foaming)
- One large vanilla bean, halved and split in half lengthwise. Do not scrap out beans.
- Sterilize 8 to 10 8-ounce mason jars by placing water in a water canner or electric canner that is at least 3-inches deeper than the height of the jars. Cover and bring water to a simmer but do not boil, keep jars warm. Prepare lids by simmering gently in a small saucepan. Do not let boil; keep warm. Set clean screw bands aside (do not simmer them.)
- Measure sugar into a bowl and set aside. Wash strawberries in cool running water. Drain thoroughly then remove hulls. In a glass pie plate or other flat-bottomed bowl, place a single layer of strawberries. Using a potato masher, crush berries and transfer to a 1-cup liquid measure. As you accumulate transfer crushed berries to a large deep stainless steel saucepan. Repeat until you have 5 cups of crushed berries.
- Add lemon juice to crushed berries in pan. Whisk in the powdered pectin until dissolved. Add the ½ teaspoon butter and the vanilla bean half.
- Bring to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring frequently. Add sugar all at once, stirring constantly, and return to a full rolling boil that can't be stirred down. Boil hard, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove from heat and using a large slotted spoon, skim off foam. Remove vanilla bean.
- Fill one sterilized and warm jar at a time; removing jar from canner and empty hot water back into canner. Do not dry jar. Place jar on a tray or towel-covered counter and place a canning funnel in jar. Ladle hot jam into hot jar, leaving a ¼-inch headspace. Slide a non-metallic utensil down between the jam and inside jar two or three times to release air bubbles. Adjust head space, if necessary by adding more jam. With a clean damp cloth or paper towel, wipe jar rim and threads to remove any jam residue. Place warm lid centered on top of jar, and place on screw band down evenly and firmly, making fingertip tight. Return jar to canner rack and repeat until all jars are filled.
- Cover canner and bring water to a full rolling boil over high heat. Process for 10 minutes, starting timer only when water reaches the full rolling boil. Turn off heat and remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars without tilting. Place jars upright on a towel in a draft-free place and let cool, undisturbed, for 24 hours.
- After 24 hours and check lids for seal. Remove screw bands and press down on the center of each lid. Sealed lids will be curved downward and show no movement when pressed. Jars that haven't sealed must be refrigerated immediately. Wipe jars; rinse and dry screw bands and loosely apply. Label jars and store in a cool, dry place.
YUM! A delicious taste of summer stored in a jars for months to come. I so enjoyed canning jam with my girls, when we went through so much PB & Jam, along with canned peaches, pears, & cherries. With my hubby & I now, we pick the summer fresh fruit, bag it to freeze, then when those fall & winter months come, I will pull out a couple of bags of frozen berries, grab my jar of pectin, sugar, etc. & make a small amount of jam just for the 2 of us. (about a 1/4th of a standard jam canning recipe) It lasts for 3-4 weeks in the frig. until we gobble it all up. So no canning, just ready made jam when we need it. I will have to try this reducing this recipe & adding the vanilla bean! It might be a new favorite.
Kim, I think you will love the addition of a vanilla bean. It tastes wonderful!
Love, love, love thinking of you making jam with Kristina! I’m sure some precious memories were made. I have many good memories associated with growing, harvesting, preserving and preparing food with my grandmother, mom, and all my aunts and cousins.
What an interesting thought – adding vanilla to strawberry jam, or any berry jam. You created some stunnning photos!
Denise- Kristina and I made some great jams together. There was one we never got to but we froze the fruits to make later. We found a recipe for Rhubarb-Red Currant Jam that sounded amazing. We’ll probably make it sometime over the winter. Kristina made some jellies that were outstanding, my favorites being her blueberry, and a spicy peach.