Last week our family and friends had a blind jam tasting. I made three batches of strawberry jam, using three different recipes calling for three very different amounts of sugar. I made all the jam using Puget Reliance strawberries. I was very surprised by the results.
Recipe 1) typical freezer jam recipe; 4 cups of fruit, 6 cups of sugar and 1 cup corn syrup.
Recipe 2) lower sugar recipe; 4 cups of fruit and 3 cups of sugar.
Recipe 3) lowest sugar recipe; 4 cups of fruit and 1 1/2 cups sugar.
I set out the bowls marked A, B and C. I served the jam with fresh, homemade bread. I also served salty crackers and pickles to counteract the sweetness of the jam. We all were very surprised at the overwhelming favorite.
We all thought Recipe 3 had the best 'fresh' strawberry flavor. Recipe 2 was good too. Recipe 1 was by far the least liked by all. I am changing the way I make freezer jam from now on... no more 'loaded with sugar' for our family.
And if you are curious, the pectin I used for recipe 3 is 'Instant Pectin' made by Ball. I liked the ease of the recipe and the taste so much, I am selling it in our market.
I challenge you to do your own taste test and let me know what your family and friends prefer.
Diane
