I can always dream, can't I? Or I could go to the supermarket and get some over-priced suspiciously gigantic greenish-tinged things in a plastic box. Or I could dig in my freezer and pull out a bag of the organic strawberries we picked last summer. We picked a lot and I made jams and sauce to pour over ice-cream and when there were still some left I froze them because I could not imagine that we could ever use up all that jam, but guess what. Here I am in February rummaging around in my pantry. All the jam is gone.

Last summer I made several kinds of strawberry jam: full sugar with pectin, half-sugar, no sugar, and preserves. The no-sugar was a mistake, the full-sugar unnecessarily sweet, the half-sugar had just the right sweetness, and the preserves never set but were great poured over pancakes. Actually, the preserves had the best flavor owing to the lemon I had added.

In terms of technique I learned that it really helps to skim off as much of the foam as possible. The jam just looks better and you can have the foam on toast for breakfast the next day. And I learned to solve the "floating fruit problem" by stirring the jam after it is done until it starts to gel just a bit. And if there still is "floatage" after it comes out of the canner you can turn it upside down, roll it around and do other fun stuff to it, but only after you heard the "ping," inicating the jars have sealed.

Here I am in February making
Reduced Sugar Strawberry Jam with Lemon

When making jam from frozen fruit you have all the fun and none of the mess. I have come to appreciate just the right amount of sugar. Something happens when you add sugar. The fruit is transformed. The color deepens and shines. And there is the magic pectin jell that is so hard to come by without teh help of sugar. The no-sugar jam I made last summer was lacking not only in flavor but it also had a very dull color. I love honey and while the raspberry pear jam I made with honey had a good jell and tasted wonderfully, its color was not as vivid as I would have liked. For now, I think half sugar is the way to go, but I look forward to tinkering more with pectins (added or not) and sweeteners.

Reduced Sugar Strawberry Jam with Lemon

2 qts. strawberries
1 organic lemon
1 cup apple cider or juice
3 cups sugar
1 package no-sugar needed pectin

Get canning equipment and jars ready.

Mash strawberries and measure 5 cups.
Wash lemon, trim ends. Cut into chunks and remove seeds. In a food processor, grind lemon very finely. Put lemon in a cup measure and fill with apple juice, measuring to one cup.

Pour strawberries and lemon-juice mixture into large saucepan. Sprinkle pectin over fruit and stir in carefully to avoid lumps.

Bring pot to a full boil, stirring constantly. Add sugar and continue stirring. When mixture has come to a full rolling boil, keep stirring and let it boil for one minute exactly.

Remove from heat. Keep stirring until jam starts to thicken, ca. 5 minutes. Fill into hot jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Adjust lids and process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes.

Yield: ca. 6 half-pints.

Please familiarize yourself with basic canning procedures and food-safety guidelines.  11:06:53 AM