"Jam"-ing Out

I have always wanted to make homemade jam or jelly.  I think the whole idea of being able to make your own jelly and can your own fruits is such a neat thing to do.  Very domestic. 

My bestie April, and her mother in law came over today to teach me just that (Thanks again April for sharing your mother in law with me today), to make homemade jam.   April and her mother in law brought over apricots and plums and we got busy 'jamming' out.

I was truly surprised at how easy it really was to make and can jam.  The only ingredients we used were sugar, pectin, lemon juice and fruit.

The first step was to sanitize the jars.  We did this by putting the jars in boiling water.  This santized them and prepped them for the jam.  While the jars were being sanitized, April and I chopped up the apricots and pineapple (the plums were already done).

The next step was to cook the fruit.  The apricots, pineapple, pectin, and lemon juice all got put into a large pot.  The plums were cooked with pectin in a separate pot.

This cooked until it came to a rolling boil. Then the sugar was added.

After the sugar was added, the fruit mixture was brought to a rolling boil.  Then the mixture was ready to be poured into the sanitized jars.

The jam should be filled up to about 1/4 inch from the top of the jar.  Then the rim of the jar needs to be wiped down (otherwise the jar won't seal right).  Then put the lid and seal on.  This then needs to be put into the large pot of boiling water that was used to sanitize the jars (if you have hard water, then new water should be used to avoid hard water stains on the jars).

Once the water has bubbles starting to come up from the bottom, set a time for ten minutes.  Once the ten minutes is up, the jars are ready to be removed.  Remove the jars, being careful to not tip them sideways (this can break the seal),   Put the jars in a place where they won't be disturbed for about 24 hours.  This will allow the seal to set up correctly so that the jam is botulism free.

Then feel free to enjoy the fresh homemade jam however you want.  We started off by drizzling the warm jam over vanilla bean.  So delicious!

I think I'm going to be on a canning kick here soon.   I've already googled about a dozen different recipes I can make (different types of jam, canning fruits, etc.).   I just cannot wait to get started on them!

So what about you?  Have you ever tried canning, or making your own homemade jelly?  What recipe's have you tried in regards to canning your own foods?