I really wanted to up my game this year with homemade Christmas gifts. I love to make candy, put together bread mixes, or crochet cute little presents for my friends and family each year. I was reading a vintage cookbook and found an astonishingly simple yet delicious-sounding recipe for Christmas Jam, a festive fruit preserve made of strawberries, cranberries, and sometimes citrus juice and various spices. From what I can find online it was a jam traditionally made by the Amish who are famous for their preserves. I could hardly contain my excitement as I threw a couple of bags of cranberries into my cart at the local market.
A few days and a hospital visit later I was hobbling around the kitchen with those fresh ingredients nagging at the back of my mind. To hell with this ovarian cyst, I thought. Those fruits aren’t going to keep, and I’m going to get this done if it kills me!
Luckily it didn’t, and I’m still here to share this wonderful recipe with you all. This tasty and festive preserve is a wonderful treat and I am so excited to gift it away. It tastes like joy, full of tart cranberry flavor and delicious strawberry sweetness, all brought together by a cozy blend of spices and vanilla.
Both strawberries and cranberries are highly acidic so this is the perfect recipe for a beginner to try their hand at water bath canning. If you’re just starting out see my list of favorite canning tools!
Recipe Card
Spiced Christmas Jam
Description
Christmas Jam tastes like joy, full of tart cranberry flavor and delicious strawberry sweetness, all brought together by a cozy blend of spices and vanilla.
Ingredients
Instructions
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Sterilize your canning supplies (jars, rings, lids, and tools) and keep them hot in a dishwasher, on the stove, or in the oven. Set a water bath canner on the stove, fill with water and set to boil.
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Add the cranberries to a blender or food processor and mix until absolutely smooth. Chunky cranberries will cause an undesirable texture and will cook down more easily when puréed.
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Roughly chop the strawberries and add them to a large saucepan. Add the cranberry purée and the sugar and bring to a boil. Boil for 4 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the spices and mix well.
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At this point you may use an immersion blender or potato masher to crush the strawberries down to your desired consistency.
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If using pectin, remove the pan from heat and add about 12 ounces of liquid fruit pectin. I prefer to continue cooking mine to the desired consistency using the cold spoon method.
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Remove from heat and skim off any foam. Stir in vanilla.
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Ladle into hot jars leaving 1/4″ headspace for processing. Install lids and process for 10 minutes per half pint, or according to current USDA standards for your elevation. Makes 7 pints.
