I don't believe in jelly. That wiggly, oddly un-spreadable, fruit-lacking, jarred jello, unsettles me. I like to know where my peanut butter sidekick has been, and jelly leaves me questioning. Of course, one could argue that this is because it's what I was raised on; that if I'd been raised on jelly I'd feel differently. I would like to think not. There should be pieces of real fruit in your PB&J, you shouldn't have to glob slimy chunks of gelatin on bread and try to coerce it to flatten evenly. Not mention the weird squishy feeling it has in your mouth. Gross. Which brings me to my latest post... you guessed it, primal jam.
My summers, and most other seasons, were spent running around a small
town in western Mass catching salamanders, climbing trees, eating food
straight from the earth, and riding horses, all with my friends, many of
whom I am still close with. The summer months could be marked by many things, but none do I remember so clearly as my mother preserving various summer items to last us through the year. At the time I thought this was something all households did; freezing gallon bags of blueberries and corn, making huge pots of homemade spaghetti sauce, and of course cooking large batches of jam. All year long we ate these, and many other, delicious spoils. I never knew that you could buy frozen corn at the store, or that there was such a thing as "jelly."
No, no, no... our PB&J was made from real fruit, and was far
superior. Local fruit combined with the loving hands of a mother resulted in pure bliss. However, it also contained large quantities of sugar, which for those
of you listening to anything I've said thus far, is a big, fat, no
on the primal chart. No sugar = no mom's jam = sad Rachel. So I did what any jam-loving cave girl would do. I cheated. That's right, I occasionally slathered my primal goodies with sugary, delicious goodness, and it was worth it. You heard it here first.
But I kept it to a minimum, which is really a bummer when you have a nice almond biscuit with nothing but butter to amp it up. It was a sad, lonely time with only butter or cream cheese to help me along. So imagine my excitement when my mom handed me a jar of jam made with apple juice. That's right, no sugar! Made by mom! I was ecstatic but skeptical, no way could it compete with the original. But, I was willing to try, and so I did, which is why I am sharing it here today. (Get it? I was good!)
Obviously, I need to credit my mother with this recipe. She found the pectin which called for apple juice instead of the cups of sugar most jams require. She is the one with the years of expertise in jam-making. She is the one who showed me how to do this. And she is the one whose peanut butter sandwiches paired with peach, blueberry,
strawberry, raspberry, strawberry rhubarb, blueberry raspberry, or strawberry peach JAM has led me to this moment. Yes, I am being dramatic, but her jam is just.that.good. Ask Eric if you don't believe me!
So here it goes. I must admit I usually avoid making jam because I build it up in my mind as being extremely tedious, time consuming, and incredibly hard to get right. What I found was the opposite. As long as you take the time to prepare, have your jars in a row, and perhaps even a mom to direct you, the process should go fairly smoothly and yield great results. Also, you will notice this recipe is basically what is on the label of the pectin container. There are a few modifications/suggestions, but when all else fails take the label's advice :)
Sweetener-free Strawberry (or Strawberry Rhubarb) Jam
(yields 3 jars)
- Mason Jars
- Preserves Wax
- 2 cups freshly mashed strawberries (or other fruits)
- 1/3 cup unsweetened, fresh pressed, no concentrate, apple juice
- 1 1/2 tbsp RealFruit Pectin ( kind for making unsweetened jam)
Pre-Jamming Prep:
Place jars in dishwasher and cycle through on HOT wash setting, no soap
needed as long and they are already clean. Place lids in just-boiled
water for ten minutes. Remove lids using clean tongs and place on clean
surface covered in a paper towel next to jars. Place a chunk of wax in
a foil container in a shallow pan with water. Place on "warm" or "low"
setting.
Jamming Prep:
Remove tops from fruit and mash in batches until you have
two cups. You do not want to pulverize the it, nor do you want
huge chunks. My mom says "thumb sized chunks" are what
you are going for. It also shouldn't be super watery, so put aside any
excess liquid.
**Note: If you want to add some rhubarb to the mix you need to roughly chop it, add it to a pan with just enough apple juice and (if you have it) some excess strawberry juices to cover the bottom, and let it cook down to a pulp until it looks like the picture on the left. Then you add it to your measuring cup as part of the two cups.
Jamming:
This is the easiest part. Combine your 2 cups of mashed fruit and 1/3 cup of apple juice into your pot. I used a big pot to reduce splatter. Then gradually add 1 1/2 tbsp of pectin, stirring as you do so. Constantly stirring (yes, you must constantly stir) bring entire mixture to a roiling boil (or as I call it roil boil). This means a boil that doesn't stop as you are stirring. My mom laughed because I wore a pot holder over my hand to do this, but seriously, be careful it's hot!
Once you get the roil boil going, keep STIRRING until it starts to thicken. I couldn't tell so we timed exactly 3 minutes and called it a day then. You will notice that there is this weird foam on top when you stop stirring. Carefully skim this from the top before you start pouring jam in the jars. It should look something like the picture below.
Now ladle the jam into your sterile jars ONE AT A TIME. I hate this part because you don't want to dribble it down the sides, you want a nice clean inside besides where the jam is touching. SO STRESSFUL. Anyways, leave about 1/2 inch (______) at the top to pour your wax (make sure no jam is dribbled on the sides). Remember this is a STERILE process. You want the preserves to be preserved. Then just pour the wax on top. Don't be scared. About 1 cm should do it, about this much: ____
After the wax is poured carefully screw on the top and place to the side. Continue until your jam is all jarred. Again, be patient. Pour, wax, clean, seal top, repeat. If you have any leftovers just put it in a jar without wax and refrigerate it for first use. Also remember to always leave your jam jars upright so they don't tip. Once the jars are no longer hot to the touch, store in a cool, dark place.
Congratulations, you have your first batch of unsweetened, primally delicious, jam! I put it on my biscuits, primal bread, or muffins... really any excuse to eat it will do. I am going to put one on a cookie right now. Oh, and remember, enjoy.
**thanks mom, it's now an R and E original!
