Strawberry-Jalapeno Jam

4 from 2 votes

Created and contributed by Carey Nash, Strawberry-Jalapeno Jam is a low-sugar jam made with Pomona’s Universal Pectin. Pomona’s Pectin contains no sugar or preservatives and jells reliably with low amounts of any sweetener.

Carey, who also created Merry Mulled Merlot Jam, says: “Late summer is great here in Southern California because the strawberries are super sweet while they’re on their way out of season, and the peppers are just starting to hit their early peaks!

“I’ve always made my pepper jam with lemon juice, as opposed to vinegar, mostly because that was how the first recipe I used was written, but also because there’s no shortage of lemons here, so I always have plenty of frozen juice in the freezer. After some research, it seemed lemon juice and vinegar act/react the same for pepper jam; and people use equal parts acid to pepper in recipes across the board. Knowing that the original Pomona’s recipe calls for vinegar, I used a mix.”

Servings cups

Ingredients

1½ cups chopped strawberries about 1 pint
1 cup chopped sweet red peppers about 3/4 lb or 3 medium bells
½ to ¾ cup chopped jalapenos depending on how hot you like it (about 12-15 small peppers)
1½ cups lemon juice bottled
½ cup white vinegar 5%
1½ cups sugar
3 teaspoons calcium water see step #1
3 teaspoons Pomona’s Pectin mixed with sweetener

Instructions

Before you begin, prepare calcium water.
To do this, combine ½ teaspoon calcium powder (in the small packet in your box of Pomona’s pectin) with ½ cup water in a small, clear jar with a lid. Shake well.
Extra calcium water should be stored in the refrigerator for future use.
Wash jars, lids, and bands. Place jars in canner, fill canner 2/3 full with water, bring to a boil. Turn off heat, cover, and keep jars in hot canner water until ready to use. Place lids in water in a small saucepan; cover and heat to a low boil. Turn off heat and keep lids in hot water until ready to use.
While you prepare your jars, wash, finely chop, and measure the strawberries and the peppers. Remove stems, seeds, and white membranes from the peppers before chopping. Use latex gloves when handling the jalapenos. (I used a food processor to chop the peppers and berries so the measurements listed are exact.)
Put measured berries and peppers in the pot along with the lemon juice and vinegar. Slowly bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Simmer covered for 5 minutes.
In a separate bowl, thoroughly stir pectin powder into sugar and set aside.
After simmering for the 5 minutes, add the calcium water to the jam pot and stir well. Bring the jam to a good boil, then stir in the sugar-pectin mix.
Stir vigorously for 1 minute then boil hard for 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
Fill hot jars to ¼” of top. Wipe rims clean. Screw on 2-piece lids. Put filled jars in boiling water to cover. Boil 10 minutes (add 1 minute more for every 1,000 ft. above sea level). Remove from water. Let jars cool. Check seals; lids should be sucked down. Eat within 1 year. Lasts 3 weeks once opened.