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.
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!