![7 day strawberry jam](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYjVa7qGYY0CinmTo7-Uwb_y-s0GOK7S1vwmZ8tZJEGQx5iZ58kxlx_7tTSRKDHPTvWlI3gDhbKQhPgX6S3cbd7ba36a0yDeTguQHTl6PyJlcicVRh9YybONqOZXrd3YtaMKj7X3PIO6bJ/s1600/IMG_3154.jpg)
Oh my is this yummy!!!
This year Stefan and myself have decided to focus our attention on preserves, and preserve-making as well as general honing of our homesteading talents.
At the moment our temperatures are not ideal to be out in the garden but I am not going to let that stop me in learning some new - or rather re-learning old techniques with a new swing :)
Strawberries were on sale at my local store last week and so I thought this would be the place to start.
I enrolled myself in a great Craftsy course - Jams and Marmalades and started off with her Strawberry Jam class.
This is not the first time I am making jams, but Rachel Saunders taught me how to make jam over a 7 day period to get the most taste possible out of the strawberries - why not, I will try anything at least once.
Let me walk you through my 7 day progress:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKQfXAoMe9Wj65akUOxaRhKnROLafhCaK5F_PgDmTMZZnw7zJRQAoStbzwFe5MAZfsOBszFBw9IxQfySnrGrmCBW-8rprHrcQqO3AsIeT2sfg6iG2IyDqidfXPrnhsB3STzlTMYf1qOXm1/s1600/IMG_3115.jpg)
Day 1: I had to buy 4 kg of strawberries as not all of the berries were red right to the leaves, the top few are still a little white as I wanted to get to the given weight needed for her recipe. (to be quite frank, I was just a little lazy to work out the recipe with smaller amounts :)) The berries just fit into my largest stainless steel bowl, so I ended up covering them with clear wrap and laying a dinner plate reversed on top of them.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLkw6E2IvL9NqEeEnv1S3RkB7oWB5i2FX07RUeGCjWPlLHq19cLIlTxqzyFh4CsHEowfBX3Ss3JWGSqcEMfQneDCI2r-fdgVjnC6L3C1Y0KI9W5JzjD7_7R-P7ET3zAJq12XPymhvYsebj/s1600/IMG_3129.jpg)
Day 3: The gorgeous aroma of the strawberries is incredibly strong. They are starting to look more syrupy and the sugar is just about completely dissolved. There is quite a bit of liquid to be seen and the strawberries have shrunk considerably.
Day 7: Wow, the smell is amazing - now into the jam stage :)
After boiling the jam for quite a while, I finally could bottle it.
I thought I would try Rachel's canning technique as we jar our jams here a little differently.
I sterilized my jars in the oven and then filled them with the jam.
At this point our methods differ.
I would generally fill the bottle right to the brim, screw the lid on tightly and turn the jar over. This creates the vacuum we need to keep our jam for a long time.
Rachel recommends filling the jars till just below the rim, and putting the jars back into the oven for about 15 minutes with the lids finger tight.
As I was a little unsure that my lids would "POP" I thought that I would compromise and fill the jars to the brim and if they didn't vacuum as they cooled I could still turn them on their heads :)
After the allocated 15 minutes back in the oven, I took the jars out and left them on the wire rack face up and see here, after a couple of minutes the first jar made a cool clicking noise!
![Strawberry Jam](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzyLAzN1eDx3CATkSrgtCSTNrr7dz_N_BXB3ukHscamlscsKbQP37tulF9wKjFB8Aiax87aEfXqX1ajMNXrxF5bLOQsOpX4rvvb7Yjpi63aiHxy9HFeEYwplpkitJb16_1y00ks0plIhPm/s1600/IMG_3145.jpg)
Day 7: Wow, the smell is amazing - now into the jam stage :)
![Boiling Jam](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwea0-Q3Agu-JtdxaLILDagAjWde0yaWwcfve5XGvl6oRhZzs4l7WkQWV4iEosNCxxVpTV_sGUO8jWaXq7L2sWR5PVCcK_F8_0anSlNXEemNXH82DPDIZ5H24fr2CvaLaL5QObNyxE_I6c/s1600/IMG_3146.jpg)
After boiling the jam for quite a while, I finally could bottle it.
I thought I would try Rachel's canning technique as we jar our jams here a little differently.
I sterilized my jars in the oven and then filled them with the jam.
At this point our methods differ.
I would generally fill the bottle right to the brim, screw the lid on tightly and turn the jar over. This creates the vacuum we need to keep our jam for a long time.
Rachel recommends filling the jars till just below the rim, and putting the jars back into the oven for about 15 minutes with the lids finger tight.
As I was a little unsure that my lids would "POP" I thought that I would compromise and fill the jars to the brim and if they didn't vacuum as they cooled I could still turn them on their heads :)
![canning techniques](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh33g6yAJso0aLAffDQJ674wMEN8-Y-v9L8zvz-Btarfr7M6WX3PnIEEi3qq7NhOdhD1YWlOVoEaqLRpeef1dl59INqfEYQ5UKyRuUM0JAYQxMFcrmz04fpALNlOkNdqH7ZuHCe0zdk2KEE/s1600/IMG_3148.jpg)
After the allocated 15 minutes back in the oven, I took the jars out and left them on the wire rack face up and see here, after a couple of minutes the first jar made a cool clicking noise!
![sealing jam jars](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo2CJNdpTKorATfi5LvIuqzYq16d0yK9FlS8Sn0YOzNjxOyq07h4SClFwVFVAdCuyPb-06vSjDUQsNuo_ej7fFmm1CXhLBsSH4j5pktBDzppmckpP9pTB2jEnGb58U7lBhY-1gsR3lQCEj/s1600/PicMonkey+Collage.jpg)
You can definitely see the difference between the vacuumed, and non-vacuumed jar - that was quite an exciting moment if I do say so myself!
I will certainly be trying this way of sealing jars again!
![homemade strawberry jam](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidhRg-4UDyhxRZKP3bYwsAIKSKT2nZRp57rDINA64VUNFHZBMlgr0rQ1LkOmYX3IOZTwZ2BeVJxgqpz-hFzhr6hXZjlpOIuqGcIhtqQy0xUiGXxRpbAslRtrkWysnlqq7f_nxBz-9sQiJT/s1600/IMG_3147.jpg)
And the jam itself - oh my, it is wonderful!
The first jar is gone already - Note to self - M U S T stock up on more berry jam :)
Rachel has a couple of recipe books, one of which I have ordered and am waiting for it to find its way to my doorstep.
As for her other recipes which she shares with us on Craftsy - Once summer is in full swing and I can get my hands on local lemons, I will definitely be working through her lemon marmalade course and can't wait to try that.
Have you started your jam making yet?
Join us tomorrow for our Linky Party - Pinterest Recipes Tried and Tested!
If you have some Recipes which you would like to share come on over and join in the fun :)
Have you started your jam making yet?
Join us tomorrow for our Linky Party - Pinterest Recipes Tried and Tested!
If you have some Recipes which you would like to share come on over and join in the fun :)
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Natalie and Stefan