Low-Sugar Strawberry Jam Recipe

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Every time that I teach jam making to someone, I use this recipe. It is lower in sugar, gels every time and it is delicious. You will use 8 oz. jelly jars for this recipe.

• 12 cup whole strawberries, measure while frozen (not thawed)
• 4 cups sugar, divided
• 1 box Low-Sugar Sur-Jel Pectin (pink box)
• 1 tsp butter, optional

Yield: approximately 7 – 8 oz jars

1. Prep glass jars in water bath canner to heat. Add white vinegar to the water, if you have hard water.
2. Measure the strawberries, place in a stock pot.
3. Measure 3 3/4 cups of the sugar into a bowl, set aside.
4. In another bowl, open and pour the pectin into the bowl, add the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar, whisk together.
5. Add the sugar & pectin mixture into the stockpot with the strawberries. Add the tsp of butter (this prevents excessive foaming).
6. Bring everything in the stockpot to a boil, over high heat.
7. Once a boil is achieved, add the rest of the sugar, all at once. Return to a rolling boil. When you achieve a boil that cannot be stirred down, boil for 1 full minute, stirring constantly.
8. When 1 minute is up, remove from heat, skim foam if necessary.
9. Remove the warmed jars from the canner.
10. Fill the jars to 1/4-inch headspace.
11. Wipe rims of jars with vinegar.
12. Place flats on, screw the rings on fingertip tight, no tighter.
13. Put jars back into canner, one at a time. Be sure you have 1 inch of water over the tops of your jars in canner.
14. Bring the canner water to a full rolling boil.
15. Process according to your elevation:
    10 mins (for up to 1,000 feet)
    15 mins (1,001 – 3,000 feet)
    20 mins (3,001 – 6,000 feet)
    25 mins (6,001-8,000 feet)
    30 mins (8,001 -10,000 feet)
16. When time is up, turn off heat, remove lid, and wait 5 minutes.
17. After time, remove from the canner, place on heat-proof flat surface. Let sit 12-24 hours to cool completely. DO NOT turn jars over until cool.
18. Check seals, label (with recipe name, date). Store unopened, properly sealed jars in a cool, dry, dark place up to one year.
19. If the jar did not seal, you may reprocess with a new lid or keep in the refrigerator and use immideatly.