Shifting gears for a moment...Jam and Jelly Maker!

Good morning!! I finally gave in and purchased the Jam and Jelly maker from Ball/Fresh Preserving...I did find it somewhere else, cheaper...but none the less...I got one! I REALLY like it! It saves me a lot of time and effort. While the jam or jelly is being stirred in the machine, I can get all of my jars, lids and water bath canner ready! It's such an easy process make fresh jams or jellies, now! I am SO glad I purchased this product!!

Here's the process I do:

Here's the Jam and Jelly maker from FreshTech...yes, IT WORKS GREAT!...I do add 4-5 minutes to the time because I like thicker jams and jellies...

Here's what it looks like, with the lid on. You only need the lid on for jams. Be sure to follow all directions completely!!

Nice digital controls and the pan is removable for easy cleaning and dipping out jam or jelly. BE CAREFUL!! IT'S VERY HOT DURING AND AFTER JAM AND JELLY IS MADE!!

These are the ingredients used to make Strawberry Jam and Grape Jelly and my homemade butter. That's it!

This is the BIG pot I use as my water bath canner. It has a nice fitting lid. What you see in the bottom there, is two, starburst shaped, silicone trivets, put together. I'm using it as my canning rack. Works GREAT! I found them on Amazon.com. They were REALLY cheap, too!

Silicone trivets out of the pan.

Sterilizing my jar lids and rings.

Sterilizing my jars. They had already boiled, now they're just keeping hot, ready for jelly when it's done.

For jams, pectin goes into the pan before starting. I put it in before the stirrer, because I don't want it to get on the stirrer.

Just added the sugar, after the "beep" to crushed strawberries. I use frozen and you can't tell the difference. Butter was added to the berries at the beginning of the cycle.

Sugar being mixed into the berries.

Starting to cook now and sugar, butter and pectin beginning to dissolve.

Jam is done in about 26 minutes, then ladled it into hot jars, air bubbles removed, wiped the rims, and placed a lid and ring on, finger tight.

This is how I pick up the lids and rings. It's fast and easy to apply to the jars. Be sure to wipe the rims of the jars clean before placing the lids and ring on the jars.

Jars in the water bath canner, beginning to boil. They are processed for 10 minutes at a full rolling boil, with the lid on the pan.

All done, all lids "popped", so I know they're sealed. I put them on a large, flat metal platter with a paper towel, so they will cool quickly and I can easily move them if necessary.

 Grape Jelly

Grape jelly started. Pectin is added to the juice before going into the pan, butter is added, then sugar when the "beep" sounds.

Sugar and butter slowly turning and dissolving.

Sugar almost completely stirred in, butter is melting, juice is getting hot.

Sugar and butter all stirred in and dissolved, starting to heat up well.

Jelly is cooking really nicely and when finished, it really doesn't make as much foam as it did in a pot on the stove. If you wait about a minute, the foam will lift right off, neatly in one scoop.

Grape jelly done, ladled into hot jars.

Rims were wiped clean, hot lid and rings applied, finger tight.

Jars were processed for 10 minutes at a full, rolling boil, lid on pot.

LOL! My makeshift work station by the stove. My table is on the other side of the room! :)

Grape jelly is now done! All lids "popped" so I know they're sealed. I'll let them rest and cool for 24 hours.

I got 4 full jars and one almost full jar of each. We use the ones that aren't full. The rest we store or share.

Grape jelly on the left, strawberry jam on the right.

Normally, I use a printer to do the labels, but these are not gifts, we were just out of jelly and jam, so handwritten labels are okay. Make sure you put the name and date canned on the labels.

Jam and jelly set up nicely. These aren't full, so we get to eat them! LOL!

All done! I hope you enjoyed my adventures in jam and jelly making with a FreshTech Jam and Jelly maker...I highly recommend using one. Find it on sale! I did, but even at full price, It's worth every penny! :)