Christmas Jam

Christmas Jam Recipe: Here’s a Christmas Jam Recipe in luscious sweet-tart blend of cranberries, strawberries, oranges, and a festively-ready-to-be-made spice that hits you right in the spot. The perfect canning recipe and a thoughtful homemade gift to be made this season!

I am just in love with the Christmas Jam Recipe flavors, you know. The rich home-made candies, the intense chocolates, and that sweet, cranberry spice taste-all get my mouth dripping.

We were browsing through the local farmer’s market a few years ago when we came across a vendor who was selling Christmas Jam. I didn’t know what to expect when I brought this beauty home, but wow, it is amazing! Unfortunately, I never could find that vendor again. Therefore, I embarked on experimenting and making my own version.

After countless trials and errors, I finally nailed it! That is the perfect combination of Christmas flavors in this jam, and it is super easy to make – even for some non-expert jam-making person like me! To be honest, it tastes much better than what I bought from the market.

It also cans really well, so it lasts a long time and makes for a fantastic homemade Christmas Jam Recipe gift. The best part? The flavors get better the longer it sits. You can whip up a batch in October and it’ll be perfect to give away in December.

I also love to give practical, thoughtful things at Christmas. Sure, buying something is nice, but there’s just something extra special about a homemade gift—it really says, “I thought of you.” And what better treat than a jar of this delicious Christmas jam?

But be warned—it’s so good, you might just want to keep it all to yourself!

You can use fresh or frozen fruit for this recipe, so you don’t have to go searching for strawberries in season. Just thaw frozen fruit first. It might be a tad more watery, but it’s incredibly flavorful!

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: American

Ingredients:

• 12 Oz Cranberries (fresh or frozen, thaw first if frozen)

• 1 Orange, peeled and sectioned

• 2 tsp Orange Zest, from the peel

• 16 Oz Fresh or FrozenStrawberries (thaw if you use frozen)

• 1/4 tsp Ground Cloves

• 1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp Allspice

• 4 Cup Sugar, pure cane is best

• 1 – 1.75 Oz Package Powder Fruit Pectin
• 1/2 Cup Water

Directions

• Sterilize the jars, lids, and bands in boiling water. Fill hot jam into the hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Place the hot lids and rings on the jar and tighten just until they are finger-tight. Pack the jars into the water bath canner, and add enough water to the canner to cover the jars. Start the stovetop heat to medium-high. Sterilize the jars as you’re preparing the jam.

• Place the jars with their lids into a small saucepan, cover everything with water, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat while preparing the jam. Do not need to sterilize the rings; simply set them aside for later use.

• Add in the cranberries and segmented orange. You want to coarsely chop them, which is just the right amount for my blender’s “food chop” setting. Add the strawberries, orange zest, and spices to this mix, blending them together quickly before pureeing the mixture to a finer consistency.

• Bring the fruit mixture and water to a boil in a 5-quart stockpot, stirring constantly. Add the fruit pectin and stir in 1/2 teaspoon of butter to prevent excessive foaming. Turn the heat up to high and bring the mixture to a rolling boil, stirring constantly.

• Add sugar to this and make it return to a full rolling boil. Allow the jam to boil for 1 minute, exactly. Then remove the jam from heat and skim off the formed foam with a metal spoon from the jam.

• Fill the prepared jars with the jam, leaving only 1/4 inch of headspace at the top. Wipe any food particles off the rims and threads of the jars with a clean, damp cloth or paper towel. Place the hot lids on top of the filled jars, then screw the rings on just until they’re finger-tight. Return the jars to the canner.

• Seal the canner lid and bring to a rolling boil. Process the jars 10 minutes. Turn the heat off and slowly remove the canner lid. Allow them to sit there for five minutes.

• Caution: Remove the jars from canner and set them on a towel covered surface on the countertop. Leave them alone for 24 hours before checking seals.

• Be sure to tighten all the jars tightly in order to seal them. If the jars were not sealed properly, just put them in the fridge and consume them within 2 weeks.