{"id":439,"date":"2014-04-01T13:26:29","date_gmt":"2014-04-01T18:26:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/?p=439"},"modified":"2014-04-01T13:26:29","modified_gmt":"2014-04-01T18:26:29","slug":"jam-session","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2014\/04\/01\/jam-session\/","title":{"rendered":"Jam Session"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have this self-imposed small window on my calendar when I make homemade strawberry jam.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a brief period in late March\/early April when Florida strawberries are at their absolute ripest, sweetest and on sale. I realize that they can be found at any point during the year and few more dollars more won\u2019t break the bank, but this is when my mind (and stomach) says it must be done.<\/p>\n

This is one recipe that I don\u2019t deviate from. Since it has the potential to cause food-borne illness and kill people, I figure this isn\u2019t the place to experiment. I follow the instructions and recipes to the letter from the people at Ball jars, Freshpreserving.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s batch turned out particularly well. The strawberries were really ripe, and adding the pectin at the beginning of the recipe (not later) as the recipe called for, really helped put the jell in the jelly.<\/p>\n

I won\u2019t re-write what they have so helpfully provided, but from my own experience over the years, I\u2019d like to add these tips:<\/p>\n

1.) Start with a clean kitchen, clean jars, clean tools\u2014clean everything. I take a couple extra steps to make sure there\u2019s nothing to contaminate the jam. I run the clean jars through the sanitizer cycle of the dishwasher, along with all of the tools I\u2019m going to use in addition to the boiling process that is detailed on the site.<\/p>\n

2.) 5 cups of strawberries like the recipe calls for translates to just about 2 packages (2 lbs.) in the store.<\/p>\n

\"Strawberries--pre-jam.\"<\/a>
Strawberries–pre-jam.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3.) Don\u2019t double the recipe. This makes 8 8 oz. jars. If you want to make more, make a second or third batch. For some reason, the math doesn\u2019t work for doubling on this, and your jelly will be runny.<\/p>\n

\"Cooking<\/a>
Cooking jam<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

4.) There are a lot of canning tools they will try to sell you, but the 2 that I found worth the little money they cost are the jar-grabbers and the special funnel. I use a big stock pot to process my jars\u2014it works just fine.<\/p>\n

5.) Don\u2019t let this process intimidate you. Do your research and follow the directions\u2014it really is simple. If after everything and you still feel nervous, just store the jam in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about a month. But it won\u2019t last that long.<\/p>\n

\"Strawberry<\/a>
Strawberry jam, y’all.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a92014 Tracey Henry<\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have this self-imposed small window on my calendar when I make homemade strawberry jam. It\u2019s a brief period in late March\/early April when Florida strawberries are at their absolute ripest, sweetest and on sale. I realize that they can be found at any point during the year and few more dollars more won\u2019t break […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":[]},"categories":[5],"tags":[16,24,65],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3NIOM-75","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":368,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2014\/02\/11\/dulce-de-leche-and-strawberry-ice-cream-cake\/","url_meta":{"origin":439,"position":0},"title":"Dulce de leche and strawberry ice cream cake","date":"February 11, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"You could really use this technique with any combination of ice creams and cookies, but try this one\u2014it is very refreshing and unique. Dulce de leche and Strawberry Ice Cream cake Crust: 12-15 dulce de leche cookies 6-8 shortbread cookies 3 T. butter, melted Pie: 2 pints strawberry sorbet (Haagen-Daz\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Recipe"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/IMG_2562-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":246,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2013\/09\/11\/raspberry-cream-pie\/","url_meta":{"origin":439,"position":1},"title":"Raspberry Cream Pie","date":"September 11, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"There\u2019s a little farm stand on the North Fork of Long Island that is lined with the usual local produce; potatoes, peaches maybe some tomatoes and sweet corn. But if you look beyond the earthy wooden tables you\u2019ll no doubt notice a line formed outside of an unassuming white door\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Recipe"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/09\/Blueberry-cream-pie-e1378949758251-300x225.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":317,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2013\/11\/30\/fall-recipe-wrap-up\/","url_meta":{"origin":439,"position":2},"title":"Fall recipe wrap-up","date":"November 30, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"To wrap-up November, Thanksgiving and autumn celebrations in general, here are some promised links to two recipes I served at Fakesgiving--my favorite holiday. Here is the corn pudding recipe I served--I doubled it and baked it twice as long and it was perfect. And that delicious cider punch? Not only\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Recipe"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/IMG_2254-225x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":295,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2013\/11\/19\/things-on-our-thanksgiving-table-sweet-potatoes\/","url_meta":{"origin":439,"position":3},"title":"Things on our Thanksgiving Table–Sweet potatoes","date":"November 19, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Thanksgiving is hands down my favorite holiday. I love a day that focuses on what\u2019s good in life and then serves it up with gravy and football. There are no gifts, no decorations, no shopping other than the grocery store and I\u2019m there every day of my life anyway. My\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Recipe"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":371,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2014\/02\/12\/cookie-mom-tour-ii\/","url_meta":{"origin":439,"position":4},"title":"Cookie Mom: Tour II","date":"February 12, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cPerhaps it was because I had never been a Girl Scout. I guess we couldn\u2019t afford the fancy Brownie uniform so my mom enrolled us into the lesser-known, knock-off Campfire Girls. Instead of selling the famous cookie, our fundraiser came in the form of kindling and matches. It wasn\u2019t nearly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Column"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":564,"url":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/2014\/05\/25\/patriotic-deviled-eggs\/","url_meta":{"origin":439,"position":5},"title":"Patriotic Deviled Eggs","date":"May 25, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"This is either a desperate cry for professional help or a fun way to celebrate Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day cookouts. Take your favorite Deviled Egg recipe and throw in a little reverse Easter egg dying, and you\u2019ve got the weirdest yet best addition to any potluck.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Recipe"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/IMG_2988-300x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.suburbandiva.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}