The spices deepen the flavors of the jam, especially the vanilla, which leaves a creamy essence. It is so good on yogurt and even atop strawberry ice cream.
Spiced Strawberry Jam
Ingredients:
- 5 2/3 cups mashed strawberries (measure after mashing)
- 7½ Tbsp Ball® Real Fruit™ Classic Pectin
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 5 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Directions:
Wash canning jars, with bands and new lids, in hot, soapy water. Rinse well, and drain on a clean kitchen towel. Bring a large pot of water to boil, take off stove, add in clean jars and keep covered.
Fill canning pot halfway with water, bring to a near boil, then let simmer.
Mash berries with a potato masher and measure.
Following directions on pectin container, measure and put berry mixture in a large pot, stir in pectin, cinnamon and nutmeg. Bring to full rolling boil over high heat (a boil that doesn’t stop when stirring). Stir in sugar quickly, return to a full rolling boil, cook for 1 minute after it returns to the boil. Take off the heat and stir in vanilla.
Drain jars using tongs, place on a clean kitchen towel. Ladle the hot jam into the bars, using a sterilized canning funnel. Leave a ¼” headspace.
Dip a clean paper towel in hot water, then run around the top of each jar. Place a lid on each jar, then a band, screw on finger tight.
Turn canner up to high, place jars in water bath rack, lower rack into water. Water should cover by 1 – 2″, if not add a bit more from the other pot that held the jars. Bring to a rolling boil, covered, process for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, carefully remove jars, placing on a clean dry kitchen towel to cool.
Once cooled, check again that seals are down (you should hear the Ping! as each one seals). Gently remove bands (wash, dry and store for your next project. While they look nicer on, if they have water inside from processing, they can rust. If you are giving away your canned items, you can always slip one back on), note on jar or lid what is in jar with a date. Store in a dry/cool/dark area and use within a year.
As always, if you ever go to use a canned item and the lid is not sealed anymore, or bulging, discard it immediately! (I have only ever lost one jar in all my canning, so don’t fret!) If you are using a different brand of pectin, be sure to read their directions and to follow them.
Made 5 pints, expect to get about 10 cups worth of jam, so you can vary jam jar size if you wish.