Strawberry Agave Jam – Low GI Recipe!

So what happens when there is a great deal on berries at the grocery store? I buy a ton! There is no way we can eat 11 lbs of Strawberries in a few days, so I went went along canning. I spent about six hours in the kitchen yesterday making three different types of Strawberry Jam, from regular Strawberry Jam, Strawberry Vanilla Jam and then Strawberry Agave Jam.  What can I say – we were out of strawberry jam!

I was down to my last few pounds of berries and someone brought up a strawberry honey jam. I’m not a huge fan of honey, it’s good in some things but by itself I’m not a fan. Instead I prefer to use Agave in recipes, it’s a low GI ingredient, and it makes my homemade graham crackers divine. But what I really like about it – it cuts out all of the processed sugars!

It’s a recipe I can make and give to my family members who are diabetic and know they can enjoy it. Since there isn’t a ton of sugar to sweeten the berries, the jam is a bit tart and a deep red. This is a double recipe, and I used extra pectin to thicken up the jam since there is a larger liquid ratio.

The recipe will make about 9 8 oz jars, or 4 1/2 16 oz jars – we always use the extra for dessert topping/immediate use.

Ingredients you will need: 

• 2 cups Agave Nectar
• 4 lbs strawberries of whole strawberries
• 8 tbsp lemon juice
• 3 package of regular powdered Pectin
• 1/2 tbsp butter

Instructions:

1. Place 8-10 clean 8 oz mason jars on a rack in your stock pot. (I used 5 16 oz jars – always prepare 1 extra jar and lid set than the recipe requires, trust me you will appreciate that if you mess one up!) Fill the jars and stock pot with cool water until it completely covers the top of the jars. Cover and put on medium heat. Simmer but do not boil.
2. Prepare 10 lid sets, put the bands aside and put the flat lids in a small sauce pan and put on medium heat. Do not boil, but keep warm through the whole process.
3. Measure out your sugar and put in a medium sized bowl and set aside. Rinse your strawberries and remove the hull with the end of potato peeler. Remember anything that’s green might like pretty but wont taste good in your jelly!
4. Take your hulled strawberries and put them in a pie dish and smash them with a potato masher. Leaving some chunks is fine, but we don’t want it too chunky. Put all of your squashed strawberries into a medium sized stainless steel saucepan. Add in 1/2 tbsp butter (this prevents the foaming later), and lemon juice and pectin.
5. Bring the mixture to a rolling boil. Once it reaches this stage – dump the agave in. Mix constantly until it is incorporated into the mixture. Return it to a rolling boil that doesn’t stop while you stir. Once it reaches that point, continue to boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim any of the foam off the top.
6. Now, remove the jars from the warm bath. Tip them as you pull them out and pour the water back into the pan. Place them on a towel on the counter with the opening up. Do not dry them! Just put them down and put the funnel in. Ladle the hot jelly into each jar until there is about 1/4 inch of space in the top. Once all jars are full, take a plastic or wooden utensil and move it around to get extra air bubbles out.
7. Take the small magnet tool and remove flat lids from their hot bath. Place over top of each jar. By hand screw on the collars, but not too tight! Remember some air still needs to get out of each jar.
8. Place the jars back into the hot stock pot and replace the lid. Turn your temperature up to high. When it starts to do a rolling boil, start a timer for 10 minutes.
9. After the jars have processed for 10 minutes, turn off the heat and remove the lid to the pan. Let cool for 5 minutes. Remove all the jars without tipping them and place them back on the towel. Remember – don’t towel them off!

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