Reruns: Nectarine Strawberry Jam

I've seen a few blogs doing reruns lately and I really like the idea. So instead of leaving my blog for another week, I thought I'd re-run some old posts. :)

Today's re-run is my recipe for nectarine-strawberry jam. Last summer was the first time I ever tried canning and I totally made this recipe up on the spot and just went for it. And it is AWESOME.

Nectarine Strawberry Jam

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups nectarines (peeled and chopped)
3 cups strawberries (hulled and quartered)
4 cups sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 pkg light certo crystals

Directions:

Once you have your nectarines and strawberries prepared, toss them in a big pot. Mash them with a potato masher to your taste. (If you like a chunkier jam, do less mashing) Turn your stove on medium-high heat and start adding the sugar. Mix it in well. Add the lemon juice and certo. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil and stir constantly for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, reduce the heat to low and test the consistency.

{*TIP* keep a metal spoon in a bowl of ice water beside the stove. When you want to test your jam, pull out the cold spoon and drop some jam onto it using the spoon you are stirring with (dipping your cold spoon into the jam will heat it back up). I held the cold spoon on the surface of the ice water so the jam doesn't get wet, but it cools quicker. When it is close to room temperature, test the consistency and flavour. If it isn't quite right yet, cook for a little longer.}

When the jam is done to your liking, fill your jars and leave 1/4 inch space at the top. Process the jars for 10 minutes and then leave them on the counter to cool. Since I'm a first time canner, I don't want to give you a run down on the whole process that I'm not too familiar with so check out this post for helpful tips and this site for full instructions on the process.