**This post has been entered in Frugal Fridays at Life as MOM and Hearth and Soul at A Moderate Life!**
[I so wish I had a camera that works so I could take a picture of it! It's pretty! I will try to add one later once I decide on and buy my new camera....]
I don’t like to buy jam, jelly, or preserves at the store, because I am inevitably disappointed with them. Even if they’re “acceptable” on the label (meaning they’re naturally sweetened instead of using tons of white sugar), I just don’t like them. They’re smooth, they’re jelled, they’re…just not what I’m looking for. I get that jelly should be jelled. But the other stuff? Not in my world.
Sadly, it means I can’t buy what I really want from any store. What I want is a chunky, lightly sweet, non-jelled jar of “preserves” or “jam” that may resemble someone’s favorite ice cream topping. It would have some runniness to it in the “sauce” but be fairly thick and chunky. That’s what I want. If you don’t…this recipe’s not for you. It won’t jell. But if you, too, are frustrated by all the smooth, jelly-like store options…try it. It’s a sweet-tart chunky fruity yumminess!
Because this isn’t cooked before canning, it retains a lot of that “fresh” taste. Also, use very ripe berries for this, because it will add extra sweetness. I chose all the mushy, overripe ones to make my “jam.”
Ingredients:
- About 4 c. strawberries (mashes to slightly less than 3 c.)
- 3 tbsp. sucanat
- Juice and zest of 1 lemon (if you don’t like it so tart, use 1/2 lemon and omit zest)
Directions:
Put the strawberries in a medium glass bowl and mash them. Sprinkle 1 tbsp. sucanat over it and allow to sit for at least 20 minutes. Then, mash it more, until it’s the desired texture. Add the lemon juice/zest and additional sucanat to taste. The flavor is generally very sweet-tart. Stir it up and scoop into prepared half-pint jars. Follow basic canning directions to process the jars for about 20 to 30 minutes. This makes 3 half-pint jars.
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TESTING!
I usually only make freezer jam, I assume I can freeze this instead of doing the canning method?
Tiffany,
I assume so, although I haven't tried. Let us know if you do!
I'm very interested in this!
Quick question if you get a chance…does canning it freeze the texture at all from how it is prior to canning? I'm assuming it would, but wasn't sure….I guess I wouldn't want it to be quite the texture of plain mashed berries- but that said I much prefer fresh jam (with chunks!) to jelly. 
We don't eat very much jam ourselves (so can easily freeze what little we do "need")….but I'm thinking this would make a perfect Christmas gift for relatives and friends- and since we have a little one coming late fall, it would be great to have it done ahead! 