Scott and I often daydream about a life where we have a pantry full of canned goods we’ve made ourselves. I think that my love of things in jars dates back to the first time I read the Little House books and the need to stockpile for winter has stuck with me. We started canning together when I moved to New Zealand. In fact, we made gift baskets of canned goods we had made ourselves as gifts for our first Christmas together. We’ve been making our own jam for a while now, and it’s so easy and tasty that our girls can clean out a jar in a single weekend.
You will need:
4lb (all together) raspberries, blueberries and blackberries (During the off-season, we use a big bag of frozen berries from Costo.)
6 cups sugar
6 tbsp lemon juice
9 tbsp Ball classic pectin
Heat the berries in a 4 qt saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the raspberries and blackberries have turned liquid. Blitz with an immersion blender for 30 seconds to break up the blueberries and get rid of any remaining lumps.
Add the pectin and lemon juice and bring to a rolling boil, stirring frequently.
Add the sugar and stir continuously until the mixture has returned to a rolling boil, and then for a couple of minutes more. It will feel like you’re adding more sugar than you should eat in a lifetime, but trust me on this!
Can in 8oz or 16oz jars.
One of the reasons we love canning is that we can create whatever flavor we want. Now that we have kids, we’re also much more aware of what we’re eating. I joke sometimes about my bad eating habits, but I care very much about what the girls eat and what is in their food. When we’re canning, we know exactly what we’re putting into it.
Some of these jars were intended as gifts, so I pulled out my Cricut and put together quick tags using some scrapbook paper I had on hand, file #M44493 in Design Space, and some baker’s twine.
Our Easy Mixed Berry Jam is definitely a favorite in our household and amongst our friends. It’s so easy to make that there’s no excuse not to have a fully stockpiled shelf–unless, of course, you’ve eaten it all!
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