How to Make Jam - Easily! With step by step photos, recipe ingredients and costs (2024)

How to Make Jam - Easily! With step by step photos, recipe ingredients and costs

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Making andcanning your own jam is also quite easy. Just scroll down this page to seehow to do it, in easy steps and completely illustrated. These directionswork equally well for strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry,boysenberry, dewberry, gooseberry, loganberry, marionberry, peach, plum,damson plum, tayberry, youngberry, etc.; by themselves or mixed berry jam.Any variations will be spelled out in the directions inside the pectin.

Answers to common questions and problems are foundat the bottom of this page, and many more onthis page of Jam and Jelly FAQs.

I've added free labels foryour jars here, in a Word format! Just download, edit, and print inlabel paper.

I've got some other pages for specific types of jam and butters, too:

• Apricot, peach, plum or nectarine jam.
• Apple jelly
• Apple butter
• Applesauce
• Blueberry Jam
• Fig Jam,
• Fig-strawberry jam,
• Grape jelly from fresh grapes
• Muscadine or scuppernong jelly
• Orange marmalade
• Peach butter
• Canning questions and answers
• For more information about strawberries, seeStrawberryPicking Tips andMiscellaneous strawberry facts.

Ingredients

• Fruit - preferably fresh, but frozen (without syrup works, too)
• Pectin - 1 package (box usually) or if you get it in bulk, 8 Tablespoons, see the directions below for specifics - (it's a natural product, made from apples and available atgrocery stores (season - spring through late summer) and local "big box"stores. It usually goes for about $2.00 to $2.50 per box. You will get bestresults with no-sugar needed pectin, whether you choose to add sugar or not!See here for more information about how tochoose the type of pectin to use.
• Jar funnel ($5 at Target, other big box stores, and often grocery stores; and available online- see this page) or order it as part of the kit with the Jar grabber .
• Sugar - About 4 cups of dry, granulated (table) sugar. Yes, you cansubstitute an equivalent amount of honey or agave. For theno-sugar recipe, click here
• Lemon juice - 1/4 cup per batch. While it is notalways necessary , as many fruits and berries have sufficient acidity toensure a good gel or "set", I usually add it, just to make sure, and it doesnot affect the flavor

Equipment

• At least 1 large pot; I prefer 16 to 20 quart Nonstick ceramic coated(taking care not to overheat the pots) pots for easy cleanup.
• Large spoons and ladles,
• 1 Water Bath Canner (a huge pot to sanitizethe jars after filling (about $30 to $35 at mall kitchen stores, sometimesat big box stores and grocery stores.). Note:we sell canners and supplies here,too - at excellent prices - and it helps support this web site!
• Ball jars (Grocery stores, like Publix, Kroger, Safeway carry them, asdo some big box stores - about $7 per dozen 8 ounce jars including the lidsand rings)
• Lids - thin, flat, round metal lids with a gumbinder that seals them against the top of the jar. They may only be usedonce.
• Rings - metal bands that secure the lids to the jars.They may be reused many times.
• Jar grabber (to pick up the hot jars)- Big box stores and grocerystores sometimes carry them; and it is available online - see this page.It's a tremendously useful to put jars in the canner and take the hot jarsout (without scalding yourself!). The kit sold below has everything youneed, and at a pretty good price:
  

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Optional stuff:

• Foley Food Mill - not necessary;useful if you want to remove seeds (from blackberries) ormake applesauce.
• Lidlifter (has a magnet to pick the lids out of the almost-boiling water where you sanitize them. ($4 at big box stores or it comes in the kit at left)

Jam-making Directions

This example shows you how to make either Strawberry jam orStrawberry - Raspberry - Blackberry Jam - also called Triple Berry Jam (myfavorite, and everyone I give a jar to, says it has become their favorite, too!)But you can use this recipe to make any type of jam; where there is adifference, I will point it out! The yield from this recipe is about 8eight-ounce jars (which is the same as 4 pints).

Step 1 - Pick the berries! (or buy them already picked)

It's fun to go pick your own and you can obviously get better quality ones!

At right is a picture I took of wild blackberries - they are plentiful inlate June throughout Georgia. I usually look in rural north Georgia.

I prefer to grow my own; which is really easy - but that does take some spaceand time.

Asmentioned in the Ingredients section; you may use frozen berries (those withoutsyrup or added sugar); which is especially useful if you want to make some jamin December to give away at Christmas!

Above and at left are strawberries and blackberries that I picked at apick-your-own farm. If you want to pick your own, here is a list and links tothepick your own farms.

How much fruit?

Jamcan ONLY be made in rather small batches - about 6 cups at a time - like thedirections on the pectin say, DO NOT increase the recipes or the jam won't "set"(jell, thicken). (WHY? Alton Brown on the Food Channel says pectin canovercook easily and lose its thickening properties. It is easier andfaster to get an even heat distribution in smaller batches. It takes about 8cups of raw, unprepared berries per batch. For triple berry jam, I use 4 cups ofmushed (slightly crushed) strawberries, 1 cup of raspberries and 1 cup ofblackberries. For strawberry-only jam; you will need 6 cups of mushedstrawberries.

Step 2 - Wash the jars and lids

Now'sa good time to get the jars ready, so you won't be rushed later. The dishwasheris fine for the jars; especially if it has a "sanitize" cycle, the water bathprocessing will sanitize them as well as the contents! If you don't have adishwasher with a sanitize cycle, you can wash the containers in hot, soapywater and rinse, then sanitize the jars by boiling them 10 minutes, and keep thejars in hot water until they are used.

NOTE: If a canning recipe calls for 10 minutes or more of process time in the canner, then the jars do not need to be "sanitized" before filling them.But really, sanitizing them first is just good hygeine and common sense! See this page for more detail about cleaning and sanitizing jars and lids.

Put the lids into a pan of hot, but not quite boiling water (that's what the manufacturer's recommend) for 10 minutes, and use the magnetic "lid lifter wand"to pull them out. Leave the jars in the dishwasher on "heated dry"until you are ready to use them. Keeping them hot will prevent the jars frombreaking when you fill them with the hot jam.

Step 3 -Wash and hull the fruit!

I'msure you can figure out how to wash the fruit in plain cold water.

With strawberries you must remove the hulls. With other berries,just pick off any stems and leaves.

Step 4 - Crush the fruit

Then you just mush them up a bit - not completelycrushed,but mostly. Most people seem to like large chunks of fruit but crushing themreleases the natural pectin so it can thicken. You will need about 6 cups, mushedup.

If you want seedless jam, you may need to run the crushed berries through aFoley food mill (at right). They cost about $30.

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It works well for blackberries, not so well for raspberries, and no one triesto remove strawberry seeds (they're so small). I suppose you could train monkeysto pick them out, but they'd probably form a trade labor union. But I digress..

Step 5 - Measure out the sugar

Dependingupon which type of jam you're making (strawberry, blackberry, raspberry,apricot, peach, grape, etc.) you will need to use a different amount of sugar,jam and pectin. The precise measurements are found in each and every box ofpectin sold. For most fruit; like berries, with the low sugar pectin, you will need 4 cups of sugar. With regular pectin, about 7 cups of sugar. Mix the drypectin with about 1/4 cup of sugar and Keep this separate from the rest of thesugar. If you are not using sugar, you will just have to stir more vigorously toprevent the pectin from clumping. This helps to keep the pectin from clumpingup and allows it to mix better!

If you would rather try to makejam with no added sugar, click herefor those directions!

Step 6 - Mix the berries with the pectin and cook to a full boil

Stirthe pectin into the berries and put the mix in a big pot on the stove overmedium to high heat (stir often enough to prevent burning). It should take about5 to 10 minutes to get it to a full boil (the kind that cannot be stirredaway).

Why use pectin? You may run into grandmotherly types who sniff "Inever used pectin!" at you. Well, sure, and their generation took a horse andbuggy to work, died of smallpox and ate canned meat and green beans that tasteslike wet newspapers. Old fashioned ways are not always better norhealthier. Pectin, which occurs naturally in fruit, is what makes the jam"set" or thicken. The pectin you buy is just natural apple pectin, moreconcentrated. Using pectin dramatically reduces the cooking time, whichhelps to preserve the vitamins and flavor of the fruit, and uses much less addedsugar. But, hey, if you want to stand there and stir for hours, cookingthe flavor away, who am I to stop you! :) Having said that, there are somefruits that have naturally high amounts of pectin (seethis page for a list) and they simply don't need much or even any paddedpectin.

Notes about pectin: I usually add about 25% - 30% more pectin (just openanother pack and add a little) or else the jam is runnier than I like. With alittle practice, you will find out exactly how much pectin to get the thicknessyou like.

Another tip: use the no-sugar needed pectin. You can still add sugar to itand it cuts the amount of sugar you need from 7 cups per batch to 4 cups orless! And it tastes even better! On the other hand; I have never had successwith the No-sugar pectinwithout adding ANY sugar. It always turned out runnyand bland. You might want to try using the no-sugar recipe with a mixture ofsugar and Stevia (in a prepared form like Truvia, it measures same as sugar; if you use another form, you will need do your own conversion) - or Splenda, if you prefer, ; sugar and whitegrape juice, or just white grape juice - that will cut down the sugar, but stillpreserve the flavor.

Is your jam too runny? Pectin enables you to turn out perfectlyset jam every time. Made from natural apples, there are also natural no-sugarpectins that allow you to reduce the sugar you add by half or even eliminatesugar!
Get canning jars, rings, lids and pectin deliverd:

Step 7 - Get the lids warming in hot (but not boiling) water

Lids:put the lids into a pan of hot water for at least several minutes; to soften upthe gummed surface and clean the lids.

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Step 8 - Add the remaining sugar and bring to a boil again for 1 minute

When the berry-pectin mix has reached a full boil, add the rest of the sugar(about 4 cups of sugar per 6 cup batch of berries) and then bring it back toa boil and boil hard for 1 minute... If you bring it back to a full boilfairly slowly (on medium heat rather than high) that will help reducefoaming.

Remove from the heat.

Step 9 - Skim any excessive foam

Foam...What is it? Just jam with a lot of air from the boiling.But it tastes more like, well, foam, that jam, so most people remove it.It is harmless, though. Some people add 1 teaspoon of butter or margarineto the mix in step 6 to reduce foaming, but food experts debate whether that maycontribute to earlier spoilage, so I usually omit it and skim.

But save the skimmed foam! You can recover jam from it touse fresh!See this page fordirections!

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Step 10 - Testing for "jell" (thickness)

Ikeep a metal tablespoon sitting in a glass of ice water, then take a halfspoonful of the mix and let it cool to room temperature on the spoon. If itthickens up to the consistency I like, then I know the jam is ready. If not, Imix in a little more pectin (about 1/4 to 1/2 of another package) and bring itto a boil again for 1 minute.

Notes about "set" (thickening or jell): It takes 3 ingredients forjams and jellies to set: pectin, sugar and acidity. The amount of pectin that isnaturally occurring in the fruit varies from one type of fruit to another and byripeness (counter intuitively, unripe contains more pectin).See this page for more about pectin infruit. It takes the right balance, and sufficient amounts of each of pectin,sugar and acidity to result in a firm jam or jelly. Lastly, it takes a briefperiod (1 minute) of a hard boil, to provide enough heat to bring the threetogether. Generally speaking, if your jam doesn't firm up, you were shortin pectin, sugar or acidity or didn't get a hard boil. That's ok - you can"remake' the jam; seethis page!

Step 11 - Optional: Let stand for 5 minutes and stir completely.

Why? Otherwise, the fruit will often float to the top of the jar. This isn'ta particular problem; you can always stir the jars later when you open them; butsome people get fussy about everything being "just so", so I've included thisstep! Skipping this step won't affect the quality of the jam at all. I usuallydon't bother.

You will also notice that the less sugar you use, the more the fruit will float(chemists will tell you it is due to the decreased density of the solution!)

Step12 - Fill the jars and put the lid and rings on

Fillthem to within 1/4-inch of the top, wipe any spilled jam off the top, seat the lidand tighten the ring around them. Then put the filled jars into the canner!

This is where the jar tongs come in really handy!

Step 13 - Process the jars in the boiling water bath

Keep the jars covered with at least 2 inches of water. Keep the waterboiling. In general, boil them for 5 minutes, which is what SureJell (the makersof the pectin) recommend. I say "in general" because you have toprocess(boil) them longer at higher altitudes than sea level, or if you use largerjars, or if you did not sanitize the jars and lids right before using them.The directions inside every box of pectin will tell you exactly. Thedirections on the pectin tend to be pretty conservative. ClemsonUniversity says you only need to process them for 5 minutes. I usuallyhedge my bets and start pulling them out after 5 minutes, and the last jars wereprobably in for 10. I rarely have a jar spoil, so it must work. But youdon't want to process them too long, or the jam will turn dark and getrunny. See the chart below for altitude adjustment to processing times, ifyou are not in the sea level to 1,000ft above sea level range.

Note 1: If you plan to eat the jam immediately, or don't have canningequipment, you can let it cool, then store it in the fridge or freezer! Itwill keep for a month or two in the fridge and almost indefinitely in thefreezer

Note 2: Some people don't even boil the jars; they just ladle it hotinto hot jars, put the lids and rings on and invert them. No authority Iknow recommends this, and putting the jars in the boiling water bath REALLYhelps to reduce spoilage! To me, it makes little sense to put all the workinginto making the jam and then not to process the jars to be sure they don'tspoil!

Step 14 - Remove and cool the jars - Done!

Liftthe jars out of the water with your jar lifter tongs and let them cool withouttouching or bumping them in a draft-free place (usually takes overnight) You canthen remove the rings if you like, but if you leave them on, at least loosenthem quite a bit, so they don't rust in place due to trapped moisture. Once thejars are cool, you can check that they are sealed verifying that the lid hasbeen sucked down. Just press in the center, gently, with your finger. If it popsup and down (often making a popping sound), it is not sealed. If you put the jarin the refrigerator right away, you can still use it. Some people replace thelid and reprocess the jar, then that's a bit iffy. If you heat the contents backup, re-jar them (with a new lid) and the full time in the canner, it's usuallyok.

Once cooled, they're ready to store. I find they last up to 12 months. Butafter about 6 to 8 months, they get darker in color and start to get runny. Theystill are safe to eat, but the flavor and texture aren't as good. So eat them inthe first 6 months after you prepare them! Another trick is to keep theuncooked berries or other fruit in the freezer and make and can the jam asneeded, so it's always fresh.

Other Equipment: From left to right: Jar lifting tongs to pick up hot jars Lid lifter - to remove lids from the pot of boiling water (sterilizing) Lids - disposable - you may only use them once Ring - holds the lids on the jar until after the jars cool - then you remove them, save them and reuse them Canning Jar funnel - to fill the jars	You can get all of the tools in a kit here: See here for related tools, equipment, supplies on Amazon