5 c. peaches mashed; 1 or 2 small pkg or 1 lg of fresh or frozen strawberries (smashed)
1 pkg. pectin; ½ c. lemon juice; 1 ½ t. red food color; pint jars and lids
Put in sauce pan and start boiling as you add pectin, lemon juice and food coloring. Bring to boil. Then add 6-7 cups sugar and boil 10 minutes. You can add a tablespoon of butter to help cut down on foaming. Continually stir as it boils.
Prepare jars and lids by washing with soapy water. Boil lids on low while putting jam in bottles. Wipe off any jam that might be on jam jar lid. Put on lid and then add the ring and screw down tight. Several hours will pass and you will begin to hear a “ping”. When that happens that means that your jars are sealed and ready to store. The way to check this is to push down on the center of the lid – if it pops back at you, it didn’t seal properly.
STORY ABOUT JAM:
The story behind this is that my children liked only RED jam.
One year I had tons of peaches and no matter what I did –
they would not eat a yellow jam. So I found this recipe and
used the red food coloring and they have been fans ever since.
This actually is their favorite, because normal strawberry jam
can sometimes be too sweet. I make this jam runnier than
normal jam, so it can also be used as syrup for pancakes.
(Michele Garvin)
