I received the Ball Canning FreshTECH Automatic Jam & Jelly Maker as well as an assortment of Ball Canning products to facilitate this review. All experiences are authentic & all opinions are my own.
We eat a lot of PB&J around here, and for awhile now I’ve been wanting to make my own jam or jelly to use. Not only do I like the idea of knowing exactly what’s in it, and having a fresher variety, but it just sounded like a lot of fun! Traditional jam-making methods though include a lot of heat & patience, and due to my severe lack of patience I tend to get burned when I’m around too much heat. So I hadn’t tried making my own- until I received the Ball FreshTECH Automatic Jam & Jelly Maker!
In addition to the Jam & Jelly Maker, Ball sent me a getting started kit for canning. They sent over some of their beautiful blue heritage mason jars, a Canning Discovery Kit meant to show even the most novice canner {i.e. me} all about canning, and a few other goodies like pectin, labels & the Ball Blue Book.
I didn’t waste any time & the first time I went to the store I picked up the ingredients to make my favorite- strawberry jam!
I’m still learning how to gracefully scoop the jam into the jars. It’s a work in progress.
Ingredients:
2 2/3 cups crushed strawberries (about three 1-lb containers)
3 Tbsp Ball® RealFruit® Classic Pectin
1/2 tsp butter or margarine
3 1/3 cups granulated sugar
Directions:
- 1. Wash strawberries in cool, running water and drain. Remove stems and hulls. Crush berries one layer at a time using a potato masher. Measure required quantity of crushed berries and remaining ingredients for your recipe; set aside.
- 2. Sprinkle pectin evenly over bottom of the Pot fitted with the Stirrer. Add crushed strawberries evenly over pectin. Add butter/margarine to help reduce foaming.
- 3. Press jam button – the cook time will automatically default to 21 minutes. Press enter.
- 4. Wait 4 minutes for appliance to sound 4 short beeps indicating that it is time to add sugar. Add sugar gradually while Stirrer continues running. Place the Glass Lid on the Pot.
- 5. The appliance will continue to automatically stir your ingredients while it cooks. Stay within earshot of the Jam & Jelly Maker, the appliance will beep again at the end of the process signaling jam cooking is complete. Press cancel, unplug the appliance and immediately remove Glass Lid.
- 6. Remove Stirrer using a pot holder. Skim foam, if necessary, from top of jam.
- 7. Preserve jam immediately, using 1 of the 3 ways listed here.
My thoughts:
It was even more fun than I thought making my own jam! Shane got involved {not with the hot part}. He loved “helping me” cut up strawberries {stabbing them repeatedly with a kid knife- his may not have ended up in the jam} and helping me measure. The machine was so easy to use & the directions were easy to follow.
I love that you can easily customize your recipe- whether you start with a base recipe or start completely from scratch, you can personalize it to meet your tastes. You can choose to use sugar alternatives or more or less of particular ingredients, or even try flavor combinations! I get the feeling I’m going to have a lot of fun with this.
In honor of National Can-It-Forward Day, Ball hosted a live webcast sharing some tips for canning! You can view the entire webcast here or within the widget below:
Buy It: The FreshTECH Automatic Jam & Jelly Maker is available in stores & online now for the MSRP of $99. {Store locator} Other accessories are available at stores nationwide.
Win It: One lucky reader will win a Canning Discovery Kit & getting started items! Just enter using the simple form below. Good luck!
tess says
we make grape jelly for the kids every year
tcogbill at live dot com
latanya says
I like strawberry jelly
Emily Adams says
I love Strawberry JAm!
Trista Anderson says
I love strawberry jam and my family loves grape
Ashley J says
Strawberry!
Keely Hostetter says
I love plum jelly
Angela says
Canning is something that I have said I want to do for many years, but just haven’t yet. You make it look so easy! I’ll have to give it a go and try your recipe.
Theresa @ Faith and Family Reviews says
I have never even heard of this! We make our own jams and applesauce almost every year it is very enjoyable, I’m glad you and Shane had so much fun!
Kathryn says
I love both apricot and strawberry! This makes it sound so easy to do something that I have always wanted to try, but seems so daunting…
Anne says
My favorite jam is raspberry, but I don’t think I’ve met a jam I didn’t like.
Margot C says
I like Strawberry jam best.
Cheryl F. says
My favorite is seedless red raspberry.
Allie says
I love strawberry
Meghan @JaMonkey says
I love raspberry jams!
Jeffrey says
I like raspberry jam the best!
Fawn H says
I love Apricot Jam
Blessie Nelson says
I absolutely love alphonso mango jams 🙂
TC says
Blueberry jam is my favorite!
Tina Fiore says
Thanks for the review and helpful information. I’ve been looking into this machine for the last few weeks and trying to decide if it’s right for me.
Amy Gramelspacher says
I make so many kinds but Strawberry/rhubarb is my favorite!!
Sara Phillips says
Strawberry is my favorite!
Jennifer Young says
I love strawberry jam!
Shannon says
strawberry jam hands down!
Noreen says
Raspberry
Renee G says
I love huckleberry jam.
john hutchens says
I like blueberry jam
Rebecca Orr says
I love apricot jam!
Kim H says
I love strawberry and blackberry
deana c says
My favorite is raspberry jam.
Cynthia C says
My favorite is peach jam.
Sarah says
Red raspberry is my favorite!
Dorothy Deakyne says
I love strawberry jam
Lisa B. says
I like red raspberry and also apricot!
Sadie B. says
I love strawberry jam.
Sherry Conrad says
Any kind of berry, mixed though is my fave.
Jessamine D. says
Strawberry jam is my favorite 🙂
desiree says
when we di d it when my grand was a live we would use fresh strawberry grape and plums i pick that morning
Amelia Perkins says
STRAWBERRY is simply the best!!
Abby Kraynick says
Blackberry
Kimberly Schotz says
I like apricot jam.
jeremy mclaughlin says
Strawberry
Lisa Garner says
I love Cherry Jam.
Samantha Daleo says
I love fig jam/jelly.
Katherine Donovan says
My absolute favorite is my aunt’s blackberry preserves. I have never made jam or jelly. I would love to make my some to give to my aunt. 🙂
Jaque R says
My favorite is raspberry, either jelly or jam…just love the raspberry flavor. 🙂 Thank you.
Breanne says
Grape jelly
Holly Storm-Burge says
I LOVE Blackberry jelly. Thanks for the great giveaway; I’d love to can my own!
hstorm799{at}gmail{dot}com
Kimberly says
I like apple jelly.
Sky Kory says
I love raspberry
Georgia Beckman says
I love pretty much ANY type of homemade jams or jellies. My favorite is probably elderberry.
gala says
we love fig jam
kim says
I love Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
Diana Hatch says
I like Strawberry
Amanda Rauch says
I do not like jams or jelly, but my son loves loves loves grape jelly!!
Donna Cheatle says
I like strawberry jam and grape jelly!
Miz Vickik says
I love strawberry jam!
Melissa B. says
My favorite jelly is blackberry.
Joy Quinnan says
Cherry is my favorite
Kerrie Mayans says
I like raspberry jam.
Claire says
I love strawberry
Tanya White says
I love apple jelly.
Laura Unger says
I really love raspberry jam.
Bertha Brown says
Strawberry
Cassandra Eastman says
Strawberry Rhubarb is my favorite!
amy says
I Love Strawberry!!!
Mimi says
Easy, strawberry, like the stuff I just ate on my pb&j
Laura Grace Andry says
I love strawberry jam, but I would really like to experiment. Maybe with blackberry or peaches.
Vikki Billings says
My favorite is Strawberry
Jennifer M. says
Strawberry
Donna Pyszk says
Raspberry Jelly is my favorite.
Barbara S says
I LOVE JAM
Bryan E. says
Thanks for the giveaway… Blackberry !
Sand says
I love blueberry jam!
Kelly @ Texas Type A Mom says
I love raspberry jam!
Danielle @ We Have It All says
My hubby loves all the fancy kinds (we have pumpkin sitting in the fridge right now) but my fav. is plain old strawberry!
Deborah Mireles says
strawberry is my favorite!