I do a fair amount of baking in my house. If you have kids (or maybe even if you don’t) you might notice that cereal is a little expensive. I don’t buy it all that often and I love the idea that Stephanie at Six Figures Under came up with: cereal only on Sundays. Save money; make it fun. During the week, I bake muffins, pancakes, and waffles. I’ve also been known to make homemade bread. What goes perfectly with homemade baked goods? Why, homemade jam, of course.
Making homemade jam is really easy. Even if you’ve never done it before. Even if you are afraid of canning.
Although canning is much easier than you think, there’s nothing wrong with making any jam recipe and then freezing it. I rounded up a baker’s dozen of really tasty homemade jam recipes.
Homemade jam recipes
1. Traditional strawberry jam from Ball Fresh Preserving (my family’s favorite)
2. Marrow and ginger jam (Marrow is similar to zucchini or yellow squash. I can’t find my ginger squash recipe anywhere.)
3. Cherry berry jam from Better Homes and Gardens
4. Strawberry honey jam from 100 Days of Real Food (no sugar; no pectin)
5. Lemon honey jelly from Better Homes and Gardens
6. Watermelon jam from Global Table Adventure
7. Peach jam from Miss Homemade
8. Apple kiwi jam from Nifty Thrifty Things
9. Pear vanilla jam from Flour on My Face
10. Carrot cake jam from One Hundred Dollars a Month
11. Balsamic strawberry freezer jam from Organic Gardening
12. Quick and easy gooseberry jam from The Kitchn
13. Classic grape jelly from Dine and Dish
A final though on sugar. You know how much I hate the idea of my kids eating their weight in it and I try to reduce it when possible. If you’re using regular pectin, do not cut the sugar. The jam won’t jam. But, if you use Pamona’s Universal Pectin, you can use a lot less. Like maybe only half, but read the directions. I found mine at Sprouts, but you can also get it at other natural food stores and my favorite, Amazon.com.
Which one of these homemade jam recipes sounds best? Do you have a favorite that I should try?
Leave a Reply