I've been out of town, visiting the high desert on the eastern side of the rugged Oregon Cascades. Just about this same time yesterday, on my travels back home, I was having lunch at the old lodge overlooking Odell Lake and daydreaming in the sunshine. (I'll try and show a few pictures of our escapades later in the week.) Back home, I am met with a cold, gray drizzle; perfect strawberry-picking and jam-making weather actually, and I can't wait to get started. Using this low-sugar recipe:
Low-Sugar Berry Jam
4 cups mashed fresh ripe strawberries, blackberries, or Marionberries
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup xylitol
2 tablespoons agar agar powder
DIRECTIONS
1. Wash and hull strawberries; place them in a large heavy-bottom pot. Crush berries with a potato masher. Add lemon juice and sugar and mix together. Heat to dissolve sugar.
2. Sprinkle agar agar powder into liquid and boil rapidly for 3 full minutes, stirring constantly, to activate the gelling action.
3. Remove from heat and ladle jam into hot sterilized jars. (Always follow proper canning procedures.) Jam will be loose, but will set-up as it cools.
YIELDS: 3 to 4 eight-ounce jelly jars.
NOTES:
Agar Agar is a vegan gelling agent derived from seaweed and is 100% natural. How to use Agar Agar. It comes in a powder form that's tasteless and odorless, and is available at various places online and Asian markets. (Our local food co-op stocks it, that's where I purchase mine.)
Xylitol is an all natural sweetener derived from trees (think crystallized maple syrup), which I also purchase in bulk. (It has many excellent health benefits--you can read more about that here.)
What are Marionberries?
The pantry shelves are filling up again!
I brought a flat of raspberries home after swimming on Friday and hubby made his own raspberry freezer jam! Woo hoo! It's our absolute favorite. Can you believe summer is half over! Silly old NW raining and cold on July 18. LOL
((hugs)), Teresa :-)
Posted by: Teresa Kasner | July 18, 2011 at 11:15 PM
'Tis the season for making berry jam!
I think your recipe sounds so interesting, Vicki.
After a lovely day yesterday, our morning is overcast and cool here again, this morning. I think that I'd much rather be cooler than too hot, like so much of the rest of the country, but a little more warmth and sunshine would be appreciated. It has hardly felt like summer, really.
Don't you feel positively wealthy when you look at your pantry? I love that feeling I get when the jam is all "put up".
xo
Lena
Posted by: Account Deleted | July 19, 2011 at 10:11 AM
Strange that until this morning I'd never heard of Marion Berries and now I've heard of them twice. Your recipe sounds healthful and delicious. So glad that you found some warmth and sun!
Thanks for peeking in on the Irish linen. I've got to launder it next.
Posted by: Vee | July 19, 2011 at 11:19 AM
Oh Vicki,
Those look amazing! What is it that is so satisfying about full jars of jam all stacked in a row? They are a beautiful color!!
Posted by: Jenny Wren | July 20, 2011 at 04:03 AM
Ooh, what a beautiful display! Thanks for sharing. I'm a beginner, just canned for the first time a couple of weeks ago. I also wanted to say that I really admire your stitch work :)
Posted by: Valaine | July 21, 2011 at 05:44 AM