Your assignment this weekend:
- Buy or dust off six* half-pint Mason jars (I use Ball jars), clean bands and never-used lids.
- Purchase one box* Sure Jell Premium Fruit Pectin (the pink box that says “For less or no sugar needed recipes. …”) You might find other pectins at your supermarket or big-box retailer, but my tutorial will involve making jam with Sure Jell. Unfortunately these products aren’t interchangeable.
- Determine when you will be able to procure freshly picked strawberries. (Note to my local readers: Whole Foods has a farmers’ market on Tuesday afternoons. And there’s the Saturday Market downtown, of course.) You could go all Martha and find a pick-your-own field, but it’s back-breaking work. Yeah, it will make the whole experience, but going all hardcore isn’t necessary.
- Make sure you have enough sugar on hand (4 cups*).
- Find two uninterrupted hours (conservatively).
If canning or preserving has ever struck you as archaic and/or scary, I will dispel your fears. Once you get set up, strawberry jam’s a snap. Just think how you’ll feel this December when you’ve got a ready stash of made-with-love gifts for teachers, neighbors, hair stylists and pedicurists.
Meet you back here Tuesday to show you how it’s done.
*Measurements are for one batch of jam. But you might as well make more than one batch while you’re at it.
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