We had a jam lesson from Sandra Houchin, the Jam Queen! Sandra showed us how to make, and can, cooked jam. We made strawberry and pineapple - strawberry. Yum! Sandra uses the "SUREJELL" fruit pectin, which has a whole bunch of recipes in the package, and complete instructions. They also have recipes and directions on their website (click here) if you are interested in making some of your own, and want to see what you need to get started. Also, Sandra has offered to COME to YOUR HOUSE and help YOU make jam, if would like! That's so great, thanks Sandra!
Here is Michelle mashing the strawberries with a potato masher. You want to leave it pretty chunky.
Mash mash! You also want to be as EXACT as you can with your measuring, to ensure that your jam sets up correctly.
Sandra uses a juicer to grind up some of the fruits she uses for jam - such as the pineapple. She used the pulp and the juice to make the jam.
This is really all you need to get started! And fruit, of course. The jars are the biggest investment at about $8 for 12, but you can reuse them forever, just get new lids.
After lots of stirring and boiling (not really THAT much, maybe 20 minutes worth), the jam is ready to go into the jars. Ladle HOT jam into clean jars. You keep the lids and rings in a simmering pot of water to steralize them and get the seals soft...
After ladeling in the jam, you wipe the top and threads off...
[...making jam is so much fun!]
This is the COOLEST part, I thought. Sandra taught us the INVERSION method of canning - SO EASY!!! To seal the jars, all you do is flip them over like this and let them sit for 30 minutes or more. THAT'S IT! The hot jam on the lid seals it. Isn't that so great? You don't need a water bath and bla bla bla. Just flip them over, and make sure the lid doesn't go in and out, it should stay put. I love that, thanks Sandra! So easy. 
There are also these plastic screw on lids you can buy to put on the jars once you break the seal and have it in the fridge, so you can open it eaier.
Special thanks to Dani for letting us use her kitchen, and Michelle F. for making her awesome bread, so we would have something to eat the jam with!Let us know if you have tried to make the jam!
Okay, I'll start! I made jam today! We went and picked our own strawberries at Thompson's strawberry farm in Wisconsin. I made strawberry-blueberry "freezer" jam, which is a little easier than the cooked kind, and you just put it in any kind of container to be frozen until you want to use it. I also took the plunge and canned my own cooked jam. I made triple berry jam - strawberry, raspberry, blackberry. YUM! For both I used the low sugar pectin, so you use a couple cups less sugar, and it's SOOO delicious! I love the inversion thing Sandra showed us, it worked great!
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