Curious about making jam in a bread machine? Here’s one woman’s experience trying it!
Most of the time, I make jam on my turquoise, 45 year old, electric stove. I’ve also made jam on a camp stove, on an induction burner, on a plain gas stove and even on a high-powered commercial gas range. And now, I’m someone who is making jam in a bread machine.
Several months ago, I spotted this post on the King Arthur Flour blog, in which they make a batch of strawberry jam in a Zojirushi bread machine. Being that I’m fascinated by all things having to do with jam making (don’t tell me you didn’t notice), I determined that this was something I wanted to try. In the interest of science, of course.
I got in touch with the folks at Zojirushi and they very nicely agreed to give me a review unit so that I could see how this whole bread machine jam thing worked. It arrived on my birthday (which was more than a month ago now) and I spent at least a week circling it warily, uncertain whether I wanted to trust my fruit to an automated machine that wouldn’t let me control the heat source.
Finally I unswaddled it from boxes and styrofoam, mashed up two cups of strawberries and got to work. The instructions that come with the Zojirushi say to combine 2 cups of crushed berries, 3/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon lemon juice. For the first round, I followed the instructions exactly and cooked the jam without any additional pectin.
Fruit, sugar and lemon juice go into the pan. Then you close the lid and set it to the jam setting (don’t be fooled by the 3:45 time in the picture above, I took that before I set it run the jam cycle. It only takes 1:20 to make jam in the Zojirushi). When the cooking time is up, the machine issues a couple of friendly beeps so that you can rush over and check on your jam (that is, if you weren’t hovering very nearby, occasionally lifting the lid a little to peek at the progress).
So here’s the good news. This machine, which was designed to bake bread, makes perfectly adequate jam. It gets quite hot, the paddles keep the jam moving to prevent any scorching and it’s dead easy to use. If you’re the type who likes to freeze fruit and make small batches of jam throughout the year, making your jam in a Zojirushi is a really good option. However, it has a major flaw as a jam maker and that is that with the lid closed, you’re just never going to get the necessary amount of evaporation to get a really thick jammy jam.
I did one batch without pectin (sorry, no pictures of the jam with pectin, I knocked it over just after pouring it into the jar and splattered my kitchen entirely in sticky fruit spray) and one with and both remained stubbornly runny and without the body that a good jam should have (though the batch with 2 teaspoons of powdered pectin did firm up more than the batch without).
The picture below pairs a stove cooked jam (on the left) with the jam cooked in this bread machine. You can see the difference in the body of the jam. The stove top jam reduced by more than 1/3 during cooking, resulting in a thick-set, glossy jam. The bread machine jam on the right is juicier and has saturated the bread with its syrup. Not a bad thing, but an imperfect thing to use on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It would be perfect stirred into yogurt or drizzled on ice cream though.
I will say that I’ve been absolutely blown away by the quality of the bread that the Zojirushi makes. Of course I couldn’t resist using it to bake up a few loaves while it was hanging out in my kitchen and wow. We haven’t bought bread in weeks thanks to this machine.
The first time I made jam on my own was a batch of strawberry, in my tiny studio apartment in Vermont. Unfortunately, the lids never popped, so I had to throw the whole thing away. I haven’t made any since, but I think this summer I’ll be giving it a try.
I made strawberry jam on Sunday night. I may or may not have filled the sauce pan a little bit too much with strawberries. When the jam started to simmer, it simmered right over the edge of the pan. It was like a giant strawberry ooze was trying to take over my kitchen! GAH! It reminded me of those scenes where people put too much soap in the washer or too much dough in the oven and it oozes out, haha!
Speaking of dough, I have been lusting for a bread maker lately, this couldn’t have come at a better time! Hope I win!! 🙂
I started to conquer my fear of canning jam last summer and made my first batch of apple butter unsupervised, but until then I always would make jam with friends – partly to make sure I did everything right, and partly because most things are more fun with friends!
Last summer I had a canning companion, Kelly. For two months Kelly would load up her two year old, supplies, and CSA box and head to my tiny kitchen. Our combined three wild things had the time of their short lived lives hanging out while we combined her garden and CSA contents with my garden’s bounty.
If it sat long enough in my kitchen we pickled, jammed, jellied, salsa-ed, or sauced it…..sometimes getting slightly sauced ourselves thanks to boxed wine. Don’t judge. I’m on a meager budget.
I just moved to the Dallas, Tx area and know no one. I really miss my canning companion now that I’m into my third or fourth week of putting up.
Also, I could really use a bread machine. My Breadman committed a murder/suicide two weeks ago. First, it did not stop baking once the end of bake signal had been signaled and burnt my bread. With the continued baking, the machine’s plastic and other features were melted all together.
On the up side, I’m really building some great upper arm muscles as I’m kneading and making our bread by hand now.
I’ve made jellies and jams only on the stove, and apple butter in the oven. Never thought to use a bread machine, even if I had one! My favorite was the orange marmalade I made a couple of years ago. I’ve always liked the store bought stuff, but my homemade marmalade was marvelous. I could control the peel/zest of the oranges, not getting any of the pith, which makes it bitter! Hope I win the bread machine – love homemade bread, too!
XoXoXo
Joy
My favorite jam story is making jam with my friends for the first time which was hot and sticky and sort of awesome. We really had a great time–and some great jam!!!
I’ve just started making jam in the past year but the first time my mom and I made jam together (she used to make jam as gifts when I was little)really sticks out in my mind. My parents,2 of my sisters and their 6 kids and I went to a local pick your own for some raspberries. We were only going to pick enough to make a small batch of jam but instead we ended up with 20lbs of berries! That seems like a lot for one family but later that day my mom walked me through making raspberry jam. We didn’t use all the berries (I think my parents still have some in their freezer)but made about 20 jars of berries. One of my nephews doesn’t like raspberries but LOVED the jam. All the kids wanted for dessert was jam on toast.
Bread and Jam from the same machine! That is great. I made freezer jam once does that count! Blueberry is this season’s try.
I have only made two jams thus far but my favorite was a Strawberry jam with hand-picked berries and homemade applesauce in place of pectin. I am down to my last of 11 jars of this jam and will be sad to see it go. I will probably never have a batch quite the same. I picked these berries in Michigan last summer, and this summer is my last one for living in the mitten. I’m moving to Seattle this fall!
I was in Maine on vacation. We were hiking and found tons of blackberries. We picked them, and I decided to make jelly. Did I mention that we were staying in a tiny rental house? I bought some jars and lids, we used the lobster pot. I used coffee filters to drip the jelly. Every renter for the past several years had left sugar, so my husband kindly went through all the bags of sugar to find those that were ant free. Did I mention that the kitchen was full of ants?
The jelly turned out great, we bought some ant traps and put them out. When we were cleaning up on the last day we found a huge plastic bag full of many varieties of ant traps. Guess all that leftover sugar is too tempting to ants!
Last summer was my first foray into jam-making. I had always been interested in it, but had never gone it alone. Silly me, I decided to enter a jam contest and thought I could figure out how to make an award winning jam the day before the contest… I did not win… However, I plan to win this year. 🙂
Let’s see….we have sour cherry trees all over where I live, and I can sour cherry jelly like crazy in July, along with sour cherry and lime jelly, along with lots of pies. my friend and i make several batches of tomato paste (takes all day!) every season too, with dry farmed early girls. I bought a flat of organic strawberries from the waldorf school fundraiser and made 2 batches of the sweetest yummiest jam in the world last month, on mothers day. my kids eat my jams and jellys out of the jar, which i’m fine with and often model for them hot to not get the sun butter into the jam jar. ahem.
Our stove is a glasstop, so we haven’t tried making jam there. My only experience canning, so far, is on our camp stove, set up on the front porch. It turned out great! A little runny (prob b/c we used low-sugar pectin?), but yummy all the same!
I’m an insomniac. There are many nights, when my husband and two children are happily snoozing away, where you can find me in canning in the kitchen. I push my sweet pup’s bed in the kitchen so he can keep me company. It’s often the most relaxing part of my day and I have beautiful jars of jams to share when the family wakes up in the morning!
My first jam making experience was in my grandmothers kitchen when I was around 9. It was so much fun and I made a big sticky mess. I think we made blackberry jam, and then I got to take it to my mom and she was so happy. This year I want to make ginger peach, strawberry, and blackberry sage jam 🙂
I just kicked off the canning season myself with strawberry jam…can’t wait to can everything this summer!
Amazing…jam in a bread machine!
I didn’t make any jam last year as I went crazy the year before. I came into a whole lot of free fruit that was too far gone for most things, but worked well for jam and I didn’t realize how much I was making until much later. We are still eating the strawberry, raspberry, blueberry plum, and strawberry rhubarb jam I made in 2009 as well as the apple butter that I put up that year. Thank goodness for it though as my 2 year old loves having pb&j for lunch!
Thanks for the great giveaways here!
Heather
My earliest jam making memory is my mother making cherry jam when I was a child. I don’t remember details, just that she capped the jar with wax. I remember is was delicious.
Oh Wow! I would love to have an updated bread machine. Mine is getting really old and temperamental. I’d love to make a quick batch of jam without having to tend to it or worry that one of my five kids is going to knock it over and get splattered. : )
Last summer we found about 30 pounds of lightly bruised plums (all different varieties) behind our favorite produce market. It was the first time, as a city girl, I had to can up a storm or waste food. Felt good.
The first jam I ever made was raspberry. At the time I had a long haired cat who was standing by my feet while the jam bubbled away. Suddenly a huge gob of jam flew out of the pot and landed right on her head. She tore out of the kitchen and never stood around my feet while I cooked again. Poor Kitty.
When I taught a canning class last month (strawberry jam!), the space had only a single-burner camp-stove (even though I wasn’t teaching in a barn), and I ended up making everything work. There was a lot of juggling going on–making sure the canner came to a boil first, I then wrapped it in large bath towels, and kept it damn near boiling while the jam was cooking. And even though I swore I’d never do it again, I’m teaching another class there in a couple weeks. Hope it works out.
I’ve been making fig/orange jam in my microwave for the past two summers. Figs are almost ready here in Houston and I’ll be doing it again!!
I make enough strawberry jam from local strawberries to get us through a year of PB&J’s. Since you never know exactly when the berries will ripen, every year my boss gets very short notice that I need to take an emergency personal day for jam.
I would love to try making jam in the Zojirushi bread maker. I’ve got one of a rice cooker from them, but my bread machine has died. My favorite jam to make is Huckleberry. It takes me hours of picking to get enough to make a batch, but I think I got the recipe pretty close to perfect this year by running half of them though a food mill to get rid of some of the seeds. I also finally figured out why my grandma would always pick some of the red, under-ripe berries: pectin!
My first time to make jam, I started out with lots of strawberries in a very small pot. After stirring a while, I realized I had made a mistake and moved the mess to a slightly larger pot. And then, again, to a larger pot! It just kept growing as it bubbled away! That one batch of jam resulted in 5 dirty pots to soak/wash! Lesson learned!
I am having so much fun getting started with jam. Ready to start a new way to make jam.
This is my first year making jam. I’m mostly following recipes, but then winging it with the pectin, LOL.
I have made lots of jam just in my kitchen. Sometimes I water bath my jam on the portable propane stove on the patio. Keep the heat outside on the porch.
I would love to try this (busy nursing school student!).
Last summer I canned boxes and boxes of food in my tiny little house without AC (and it’s gets up to 110 in the summer where I live!).
The first time I made jam, I wasn’t careful about wiping the rims completely clean. I have a beautiful looking batch of strawberry jam…but I can’t for the life of me get the lids off!
I would love to try this machine. My favorite preserving experience was with a gallon of homemade muscadine wine my uncle gave me at Christmas. I had no idea what to do with it, so I turned it into wine jelly. It is delicious and different and goes with all sorts of things from meats to cheese to biscuits. I also love making other jams such as strawberry vanilla and caramel apple jam.
That is amazing! Never would I have thought of making jam in a bread maker! Jam making story – my most favorite is the peach butter I just made while at the same time nursing, playing with, feeding & reading to/with my little one. Love making jam with her on a cool summer morning!
I tried canning for the first time last year. Loved it! But I didn’t make any jam. So this year, I’m going to go strawberry picking in about a week and make my first batch ever of jam. Cn’t wait!
Currently I have only South Indian “jams” in my repertoire. My favorite is cranberry with masala, lemon, and brown sugar. I hope to expand into American type sweet jams soon!
I made a strawberry vanilla jam once using vanilla beans. The family said it was the best jam ever! Someday I want to make it again, but the the strawberry harvest this year has been really bad around here.
I do a lot of canning every year but have never made jam for some reason. Maybe this will be the year that I try it……..
I recently made the Rhubarb-Lime-Ginger preserves recipe from the Apr/May issue of Fine Cooking. Very tasty, but came out a little soft with no added pectin–maybe not cooked long enough? I like it on plain yogurt and on biscuits.
Such a fantastic idea to multi-purpose a bread machine!
Still lucky. First the hand me down knives now fruit coming out my ears. I have a neighbor with the tallest sour cherry tree I’ve ever seen, my sister’s boyfriend’s grandmother has an incredibly prolific white peach tree, and my best friend is a compulsive blueberry picker in season. We make a lot of jam.
Last year while I was making peach jam, my then 2 yo daughter decided that she had to help. She was determined that she was going to cut the peaches up for mommy. So after blanching and peeling the peaches I wound up giving her one to cut up with her plastic knife. She had a blast and was so proud that she helped mommy.
Wow! Awesome machine. Can even handle 100% whole wheat bread… I LOVE making jam! I did not grow up with a mom or grandma who canned or anything. But I LOVE it! I now have over 100 jars of jams, jellies and conserves! My kids’ favorite is a Ball recipe called Strawberries on top where you basically have the strawberries float to the top and syrup on the bottom. They call it jello jam. Off to eat some biscuit with jam.
Wow..I love utensils that can be used for more than one thing.We are fixing to be living in a 40 ft RV…and I have been condensing items from my kitchen to go into the House on Wheels.Everything needs to try and have a multiple use for lack of storage space.
4 summers ago..and keeping grandchildren..I tackled jam and jelly making on that day. Yikes..and I even tried to triple a recipe..and well too many items were put into it..and too many little helpers…we ended up using it almost as a syrup for pancakes and pound cake…it was good..just not jam or even jelly.The grands thought it was perfect!!What a mess I ended up with in my kitchen..lol
Thanks for doing this.Cindy from Rick-Rack and Gingham
One summer I made strawberry rhubarb jam and plain old strawberry jam at the same time. I lost track of which jars were which and had no idea how to label them. I just guessed on most of them. Luckily everyone enjoyed the surprise of finding rhubarb mixed into their jam!
The first time I made jam was a few years ago. I was newly married and we lived in an apartment with a tiny kitchen. I came home after work on Friday and wanted to make my dad a batch of blackberry jam for Father’s Day. I decided that I wanted it to be seedless, so I cooked the berries down and pressed them through a mesh sieve. For some reason, I thought it would be a quick, simple process. EIGHT HOURS LATER, I was finally pulling jars out of the canner. Yes, I stayed up all night making 8 half pints of seedless blackberry jam. Needless to say, we left kitchen cleanup for the next day. Dad really enjoyed the jam, though!
I spent lots of time as a kid helping my mom made jelly and tomato sauce with fruits from the garden, but none of her know-how seems to have rubbed off on me. Maybe hanging around with you-all long enough with give me the courage to try it anyway! On the other hand I have great love for small kitchen appliances, and Zojirushi definitely makes some of the neatest.
I love making jam and this would be a great addition to my kitchen.
I’ve only made jam on my electric flat top stove. I’m considering purchasing a big propane burner so that I can can stuff outside!
I’m still new at jam making. I made marmalade this winter and had three different books (Blue Chair Jam, the Blue Book and one other I can’t recall) open and the internet set to the Ball website so that I could keep checking all of the different references while working. My family thought I was crazy, until they tasted it!
How very super cool! I once had an enormous value-conflict: study for my final exam, or make tomato jam. It was a decision I simply couldn’t make. I hauled out my favorite jam-making pot, assembled all the ingredients, pulled up a kitchen stool, and proceeded to stir occasionally as I read my notes and studied my book. Both jam and exam were successful!
I’ve been using a cheap bread machine for years to make yummy bread but never experimented with the jam feature. A new machine would be a pleasure. Anyway, I’m going to try a cherry jam in the machine because the last time I tried my Mother-In-Law’s recipe for jam I ended up with candy. I did not use a thermometer because of course she doesn’t:) Instead I used an untrained eye and I’m embarrassed to say I threw out the jar and it’s contents. LOL!
I remember watching my mom make jam when I was really, really little. I would love to give it a try. Sadly, the only jam I’ve ever made is a red onion marmalade which I’m not sure really counts, but is incredibly delicious!
I make jam the old fashioned way, on the stove in my enameled cast iron pot. I too like jammy jam but I love bread!
What a great idea – making jam in the bread machine! I wonder if it would have reduced enough had you left the lid up for evaporating while it cooked for at least part of the cycle.
I make jam every summer. Often, it’s with whatever fruit I have an abundance of. Last year I made strawberry, blackberry, strawberry-rhubarb-blueberry, and plum. The plum is different – good, but different. Thanks for the chance to win!
I have failed at jam making in more ways than I care to count and finally decided that it was costing me a small fortune in cash, time and patience to try to make an acceptable jam. However, I have owned 2 Zojirushi breadmakers and loved them both. I used them both at least 3 times a week. My last one died in January and I’ve been missing it! Ours would make a fine home for a new one!
I made strawberry Jam this year on Mother’s day for the 1st time. I would love to try this bread make method!
Th first jam I ever made was peach, about 7 years ago. It reminded me of my childhood. Through the years I’ve tried dozens of canning recipes, but this year, with time at a premium with 2 little ones, strawberry freezer jam is all I’ve been able to muster. We will love it on waffles and french toast. Making it in the bread machine would be a great compromise for those, like me, with little time for canning in this season of our lives! I also make all of our bread, and my bread machine could use an upgrade. The Zojirushi is the machine I’ve had my eye on, so winning it would make my day!
Yum! Summer is the season of usually NOT making bread because I avoid my oven. A bread maker could be fun!
When I was really little, we lived in Iowa and had a grapevine in our yard. My mom and I used to make grape jelly and I have fond memories of picking through the grapes with her and making (and eating) lovely purple jelly.
i haven’t attempted to make jam yet, but i am hoping to this summer, to be able to eat my favorite stone fruits. see, i am allergic to stone fruit in it’s fresh state, but when it is cooked into a jam, i am just fine!
I love to make grape jam and want to do some strawberry jam and peach this summer. I have never heard of using a machine to make jam. It would be fun to give it a try. I can relate to the mess in your kitchen. Until I finally remembered to buy a jar gripper (obviously lacking in technical jargon!), I used a hot pad to remove jars from the hot water. One would always have just enough hot water to seep through the cotton. After dropping a few bombs onto the floor (and they did explode like that… YIKES!), I now appreciate and gladly updated to the proper way of canning! 🙂
pumpkinhollowprimitives (at) hotmail (dot) com
A few weeks ago I set out to make rhubarb sauce in my crock pot. I must have let it go a little too long though because instead of sauce, what I got was a wonderful rhubarb jam. Over the weekend I tried again and let it cook a little longer. This time I got more of a rhubarb butter. Still delicious!
i made strawberry vanilla jam yesterday from strawberries we grew this year in our garden. apparently we don’t have enough sun to get jumbo berries, but i got quite a handful of small berries. so, thought i had vanilla beans in the cupboard, but nope! had to go to the store and pick a couple up. they were $15.99 for ajar of 2 beans!!!! and after hulling the “handful” of berries i brought in from the garden – i was short 1/4 cup of chopped berries. so, my ONE pint of strawberry jam cost me at least $18.00, counting the beans, berries and sugar! no more designer strawberry jam – and this jar has to go into the firesafe so it doesn’t get given away.
Jam in a breadmaker?! Who knew?! I’ve never done anything terribly exotic when making jam, but my best jam-making memories were of strawberry “freezer” jam. I used to stand on a stool and “help” my great-grandmother make the jam, and then I was always amazed when she’d store huge quantities of it in the deep freezers she always kept on her back porch. She gardened and preserved so much of her own food that she bought very little from the grocery stores throughout the year!
The Zojirushi would be perfect for my small batch jam world.
I’ve never made strawberry jam, but last year I went wild and made a bunch of jams with local wild fruits: chokecherry jam, high-bush cranberry jam, and rose hip jelly. This year I plan on repeating the process and trying more fruits!
I have only made jam once. Idid it in my kitchen in a regular old pan. I would love to try this though and the yummy bread too! Thanks
My grandma always has a jar of frozen rhubarb + some other fruit jam. When I visited one year, we made a batch but had no room left in the freezer to store it.
Never worry when jam ends up more like syrup, because I will allows find some way to use it.
I’ve been making strawberry freezer jam for years, but finally attempted the full processing this year. My husband was at a meeting and I was on the couch and decided now was the time. By the time he got home, I had made my very first batch!
Made a batch of strawberry lemon jam and have been doing blueberries, though they are about gone down here in our hot South! I’m moving on to Peach jam now, have just made a Spiced Peach – so good!
I made some raspberry jam with plums for my first foray into jam-making. The fruit looked really pretty all prepped in a bowl, so I tried to take some pictures like a real food blogger. They turned out terrible! The jam was awesome though and that’s what counts!
My first time making jam I made orange marmalade and mAde it in quart jars wow it lasted for ever by the end of the jar I had made everything I could think Of that I could with Orange marmalade .I would l would love this machine for those times I need jam bt don’t have the time to watch a pot.
I made my first batch of jam this weekend. I was unwilling to risk my strawberries that I’d picked myself so I made blueberry lime jam with frozen blueberries. It turned out very good, I’m off to get more jars!
This year, I picked up a flat of strawberries (12#) for only $11 … and they were organic, too! I had a friend over for coffee, conversation and jam-making using your macerating-in-sugar-and-vanilla method. The jam was so good, we were eating it with spoons and now I’m already two jars down. I have to make more!
My jam has been less than stellar, but I am hoping to try anew with some fail-proof recipes this year!
My very first jam-making experience was in 3rd grade. One of the PTA moms came in with a camp stove and a bunch of half-pint jars, and we made strawberry jam. I remember she insisted that pouring parrafin over the top of the jarred jam was a necessary step…and I’ve never seen anyone do it since!
Once, I made jam in a public park, under a tree, on a hibachi.
I have just entered the world of canning. Well, kind of. I was selected to host a Ball Canning House Party. The party is set for next weeek and I am already hooked even though I have not canned yet (actually that is a lie, I did a canning workshop at a Girl Scout Leader retreat). Anyway, I live in coastal Georgia so berries are almost on there way out. I wanted to make some blackberry jam and was afraid they would all be gone before my party. Long story short, my only home canning experience is making freezer jam with those blackberries. Which turned out amazing! And I can’t wait to can for real! I found your blog after seeing you tagged in Simple Bites 🙂 And since I think this canning thing might be a hobby I keep, I just had to subscribe to your blog 🙂
I have only done saucepan jam. Nothing “real-deal” with pectin and all that. I am determined to try canning on my own this year! I do bake my own bread and love using a bread machine! I am looking to get a new one so this would be PERFECT timing!!
We have a Zojirushi machine and I’ve always noticed the jam-making recipe in the book that came with the machine. You are braver than me to try it. It’s such a great machine I’d love to win one!
In my family, apricot jam is known as “Nectar of the Gods”. Homemade apricot jam tastes so much finer, more delectable than storebought. The apricot flavor is so much more intense. Apricots are in season right now so jam away!
One summer I decided to make different jams from every fruit I could find. Sunlight shining through those finished jars made them look like stained glass. I ended up giving samplers of jam flavors to friends and family for Christmas that year.
Who said you cannot teach an old dog a new trick. I would love to use that bread machine.
Well, I haven’t made jam yet. I’m taking my first canning class this Saturday. I’ve been wanting to learn for years and I finally decided that this was the summer to do it. My dining room table is currently overrun with jars, stockpots, utensils and bottles of pectin. I love making everything homemade everything, especially bread – but I’m sad to say that my bread machine, a garage sale find from years ago, is on it’s last legs.
I spent a full weekend making 80 pints of strawberry jam with my mother last year. My feet were so tired by the end of the weekend I could hardly stand! Labor intensive but oh so tasty!
Today is my 42 anniversary but I still like to learn new cooking techniques. I would love to give this machine a new home.
I made my very first batch of jam a few years ago, and it was fresh strawberry jam. I immediately made another batch but added basil, and it is the best jam EVER! I get compliments on it all the time. 🙂
Too many times in the past, my tongs slipped and I broke full jars! Now I finally scrounged up a pair of official jar tongs from my mother in law’s basement and am so psyched to test them out! Though of course, this fancy machine doesn’t need the tongs… 🙂
I made jam for the first time two years ago with the abundance of blackberries from our yard. Now I’m hooked.
My first adventure in strawberry jam making resulted in strawberry sundae topping. The jam was so runny it would not stay on the bread, but it was very yummy on vanilla ice cream. My friends loved the sundae topping baskets that I created for Christmas gifts that year and have commented how they would love to have that gift again. Would love to win the bread machine!
I sell breads at the local farm market as my summer job (I’m a teacher), and this machine looks wonderful!
I made a Mix Berry freezer jam. It was super easy and I was very happy with the taste.
I made Jam with my Mom when I was little, I loved the pop! of the sealing hot jars so much I pulled the tops off to make them do it again… not my most popular move I have to say!
Last year I made a small batch of cranberry marmalade. I kept waiting for it to drip from the spoon to show me that it had thickened enough. Well, I must have really cooked it down, because after I jarred and processed it, it was rock hard! I ended up having to warm it in the jar in order to get it out. I blended it with chili sauce to make a BBQ sauce.
Making jam was always a family affair at home. My grandmother, mother, and I always went berry picking together (usually on a Sunday) and when we got home we would get right to work. This is where my true love for cooking and baking began. Every single time I put on my apron I remember those days and my heart smiles.
I’m a brand new jam maker and and would love to make homemade bread, too! What a fun new hobby … thanks so much for the chance to win!!
My first jam experience was at Aunt Borgy’s farm and we put up peach jam, jelly, and preserves. It was so much non-stop work and fun! By the time we finished, her kitchen was lined with canning jars full of love and the best tasting peach goodness you could imagine.
My bread maker must be 10+yrs old (not Zojirushi). There is a jam option but have never tried it. Since just learning to make jam the ‘old school’ way, I’d be willing to try it w/bread machine. Just saw a Peach Rhubarb jam ;0). Truthfully, never tasted Rhubarb, so am interested in giving it a go.
I trying canning for the first time last summer with my sister-in-law. I made a fruit butter, and she wanted to make strawberry jam. The butter turned out well, but we were a bit flummoxed by the vague jam directions, and ended up with strawberry sauce rather than jam!