Spiced Christmas Jam

Spiced Christmas jam uses natural flavors of strawberry and cranberry mixed with warm spices to give a cozy Christmas feeling any time of the year. This jam made my house smell wonderful and is truly the best jam I've ever tasted. It's difficult to go back to store-bought jam once you've had homemade!

Fair warning, this recipe makes around 5 quarts, which makes it great for gifting to family and friends. I hope you enjoy making it as much as I did!

Ingredients:

• 4 cups cranberries

• 4 cups strawberries

• 5 cups sugar

• Fruit pectin (1 small box)

• 1 Tb cinnamon

• 1 tsp allspice

Instructions:

Start by washing your fruit. Place the cranberries and strawberries in a blender and blend on low for 1-2 minutes.

Transfer to a large pot and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

Add pectin, sugar, and spices to the mix. Stir in. Let boil for an additional 3-5 minutes, continue to stir.

Once jam has thickened a little bit, start transferring to jars. This batch usually makes 5 or 6 quarts of jam total for me.

There are a few different ways to preserve jam, but most of the time I use my Instant Pot to steam can jams and jellies. I also use the water bath method occasionally, but I think steam canning is easier. You could also freeze the jam if you prefer!

Steam Canning:

For one batch, I filled 7 half-pint jars with jam and put lids and rings on, fingertip tight. Then, I shut the lid and set the Instant Pot on steam for 12 minutes. The switch should be set to vent, not seal. Once the silver valve pops up, then you can push the switch to seal and the clock will start counting down. After the time is up, set the switch back to vent and let the steam out. Once all the steam is out and the silver valve drops down again, take off the lid. Carefully remove the jars and leave them on the counter for at least 24 hours so the jar seals can set.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe! Merry Christmas!