Sparkling Knight: Pop's Famous Jam Recipe

This recipe is my Papa's (grandpa) homemade jam recipe. He usually makes Plum jam from his Santa Rosa plum tree in his front yard but this year the fruit was limited. My papa was a firefighter for over 25 years and loved cooking for all of the guys. He learned and perfected so many recipes and doubled and tripled recipes to make enough for the hungry guys. My family and I have been so blessed to be able to learn all of his amazing recipes and it is always so fun to cook with him and my Nana! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do :)

We started our day driving to Gizdich Ranch in Watsonville, Ca. to pick fresh strawberries.

My husband Steven on the left and brother-in-law Carlos on the right.

My sisters Tricia and McKenzie in the back, my niece Scarlett, brother Dylan (testing the fruit) and my mom Diane

Tricia and my little sister Marley <3

Me and my husband with some of the goods!

Here are the special supplies you will need:

First you will need to buy some Mason jars. I got mine at Walmart this last time since they had the size I wanted at a good price. The night before you make jam wash the jars and lids in the dishwasher so they can be fully sanitized by the morning. Don't open the dishwasher until you are ready to use them.

Then you may also want to get a kit similar to the one below. This one is $29.47 at Walmart. I personally don't have all of this yet but I am definitely getting it for next time. You FOR SURE need the can clamps and 2 giant boiling pots.

You may also want to have a pitcher to make pouring the jam into jars easier. Make sure it can hold hot liquids.

Depending what kind of fruit you are using you may need a food processor. We used one for strawberry jam and plum jam. If you wanted it with more fruit chunks you could always smash the fruit in a bowl by hand.

***Pop’s Famous Jam Recipe***

For every cup of fruit use a cup of sugar

For every 1 Quart (4 cups) of Fruit add ½ cup Lemon Juice and ½ cup Pectin

Pit fruit and blend in fruit processor, skin and all (it doesn’t need to be pureed). Then place in a giant pot on stove with the lemon juice. Bring Blended fruit and Lemon juice to a boil. Right when it starts to boil add the sugar, bring to boil again and then add the pectin. Again Bring to a boil and let boil for 1 minute. Make sure you stir the pot the entire time scraping the bottom or your fruit will burn and ruin the taste. The jam is now ready to go into the jars. We pour it into a large pitcher and use that to pour into the jars. Close the jars right away to avoid contamination. (They do not need to be closed too tight)
Next in a clean giant pot bring water to a boil and boil the sealed jars for 10 minutes. Then take out of the pot with your jar clamp and let cool on the counter, while they cool you should hear the jars make a “pop” sound sealing them shut.

Let the jars sit for at least 24 hours at room temperature to allow the jam to set. Sometimes you may need to wait a few days to have it set depending on the type of fruit.