Family Chow Hall

Simple Strawberry Jam

June 27th, 2006

No one has to be a cooking genius to make superb strawberry jam. Move over, Smuckers, because you ain’t got nothin’ on made-at-home strawberry freezer jam.

Truthfully, I can give Smuckers and other jelly and jam makers some credit for making some pretty darn good off-the-shelf products. They even make lower sugar and sugar free jams and jellies now that are quite tasty.

But for some reason, I have NEVER purchased a strawberry jam that I liked. It all has a fake-strawberry bubble gum kind of a flavor to me. Raspberry is fine. Blackberry is delicious, Grape jelly is good, even Orange Marmalade. But not Strawberry.

I guess in many ways my mother spoiled us by making certain things from scratch all the time. I’d never even tasted anything but homemade jam until I was a grown woman. And once I did, I knew I would also be forever making my own jams. I think it must be the fact that it’s frozen instead of canned. The berries are never actually cooked, which makes a huge taste difference.

My thirteen-year-old has recently developed a serious talent for consuming large quantities of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. He eats them in the morning (sometimes twice each morning), for lunch, and even snacks. Until recently he preferred purchased raspberry jam. That was because it had been a couple of years since I’d made strawberry jam.

Well, I put some up and and it disappeared quickly. I recently put some more up. If he gobbles it up, too, I am going to give him the permanent job of family jam maker.

I won’t give the recipe because I can in no way claim it as being originally mine, but I will tell you how incredibly simple jam is to make.

Simply go to your grocery - poke around near the rubbermaid containers or in the baking aisle for the SUR-JEL - if you see canning lids and jars, you’ve probably found it - and buy these items:

1 box of SUR-JEL

1 4 lb. bag of sugar - (you will need about half of this)

1 quart of fresh strawberries

2 freezer containers

In your kitchen, you will need:

a large bowl

a knife

a chopper or pastry blender for mashing the berries

measuring cups

a small sauce pan

a couple of spoons

the ability to read directions

The directions are in the box of Sur-Jel and are very simple.

Have fun and hurry up before Strawberry Season is over!

Entry Filed under: Condiments, Desserts, Old-Fashioned Foods, Philosophy, Recipes, appetizers