There is nothing like jam made from freshly picked berries or fruits. When my kids Brittany and Braden were younger strawberry picking used to be our early summer activity.
My daughter loved going to the farm for the picking but she was not a fan of strawberries. But my son loved strawberries and to this day it is Braden’s favourite jam. I used to try to make enough to last us through the year. There were just a couple of times that we ran out and every time he spread the store bought jam, I heard about it!
My son is older now and will be getting married soon. So I made this jam in his honour, with personalized label, 1 for each month and hopefully enough to last through to his first wedding anniversary.
I love this recipe, because it is simple and easy to follow with only 3 ingredients. Full instructions can be found on the back of the Redpath Quickset package.
Makes approximately 5-6 (250ml) or 9 small jam jars.
3 1/2 cups hulled fresh strawberries
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 bag (1kg) Redpath Quickset for jam
Crush the strawberries in a large (4 litre) saucepan), add the remaining ingredients and mix throughly. Bring the mixture to a full rolling boil and boil for 4 minutes stirring constantly.
Remove from the heat, stir and skim with a metal spoon for 5 minutes.
Fill sterilized jars to within 1 cm of the top.; seal and label
Tips:
Braden likes a smoother (not chunky) consistency, so I chop the strawberries then crush.
Follow the recipe exactly, do not double.
Fresh fruits make a difference. I get freshly picked from the farm and make it on the same day.
Jam jar labels can be printed at home. Avery sells labels at Staples that are a perfect size and there is online software to design them.
