Crock Pot Strawberry Jam

For a couple of weeks now I have been working on a recipe for Strawberry Jam in a Crock Pot.
This one is prepared without commercial pectin.  The first batch turned into the best strawberry sauce ever.  The second batch, great strawberry  jam is almost gone already!

Crock Pot Strawberry Jam:

2 Quarts of strawberries, cleaned, hulled and some are sliced, some are chopped, add any juice as well
Zest strips 1/2” wide, including pith from 1 ½ lemons
¼ cup lemon juice
2 granny smith apples, peeled cored and grated
3 ½ cups of sugar

All ingredients are put into the crock pot at the same time, stir well.
Place 2-3 saucers or small plates into the freezer to chill.

The crock pot should be turned to low for the first 2 hours stirring occasionally.  Switch the pot to high and cook for another 2-3 hours, continue to stir occasionally.   Do not leave home or prepare this recipe overnight.  You should be close by while this jam is processing.  Test the jam on the cold plate after two hours if the jam seems runny cook on high for the 3rd hour uncovered. The jam may need more time, continue to cook uncovered testing after each ½ hour.

Test the jam:
Take a heaping teaspoon of jam and put it out on the cold plate.  Let the jam sit for a minute or two and then gently prod the puddle of jam with your finger. If it’s formed a surface skin and seems to become solid, it is done. If it is runny and saucy, give it a while longer.

When the jam is the desired consistency remove the lemon zest strips use a canning funnel to fill hot jam jars.  Refrigerate jars.   If keeping the jam for a longer period of time use the Blue Book Canning Guide to complete preparation.

Why make jam in a crock pot?  I found the process to be very relaxing compared to preparation on top of the stove.   The jam did not have the foam form at the top during preparation.  I could stop the preparation and leave and turn it back on if I needed to.  I froze my berries and waited until I had all the ingredients and the time to complete the recipe.  In traditional recipes the fruit if chilled before the jam is made will float to the top.  Using this method the fruit pieces are all throughout the jam.  In the past when preparing jam without pectin I have had it burn on the stove top.  Thankfully that did not happen even cooking for extra time.  Time and results cannot be exact because all crock pots and slow cookers are different.

 

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