It Ain't Too Much for me to Jam

While in Utah (more on that) I came upon an automatic jam and jelly maker. It's for lazy folk with no real skills. Sign me up! Behold--the Ball FreshTECH Jam and Jelly Maker.

It got great reviews on Amazon so we sprang for it. Apparently, this baby is so amazing the jams are winning state fair ribbons. I don't need to win ribbons--I just need it to make a decent batch a few times a year.

I bought some tasty berries, and got crackin'. I also picked up this Stem Gem. You insert it into the berry, twist, and chuck out the stem and hull in one quick step. This is the best $8 I've ever spent. It worked like a charm!

You add the pectin to the machine, then crush the hulled berries in a single layer with a potato masher. The key is to smash the fruit while leaving in some chunks.

Once you add the berries, you turn the machine on, and wait for a series of beeps. Then  you add the sugar slowly while the machine heats and stirs the fruit.

Action shot!

You add the lid, wait a few more minutes until it's done cooking, then wait about 30 minutes for it to cool off. At this point, you preserve it in one of three ways like regular jam--shelf, freezer, or refrigerator. Because I'm lazy and unskilled, I did plastic freezer jars, and I'm keeping it in the fridge for up to 3 weeks.

Bam! The final product on a GF english muffin. VERY tasty! Definitely tastes homemade and delicious.

I can't wait for the summer produce--I plan to do an array of savory and sweet jams and jellies to stock our freezer for winter. This thing is genius. If we're friends, and you do anything remotely nice for me in the next year, this is how you should expect to be thanked. There are worse things in life.