Making Homemade Jams in a Jiffy

Enlarge Image Image Gallery Photography by Howard Lee Puckett; Styling by Virginia Cravens-Houston and Judy Feagin

5 Quick Jams: Discover the super-simple secrets of homemade jams—chock-full of vibrant herb and fruit flavors. Here’s a naturally sweetened method that takes only 10 to 20 minutes to assemble and cook, plus refrigerator chilling time. What’s more, no special equipment or processing is required. In fact, you may already have on hand all of the ingredients necessary to make the best herb-flavored jams you’ve ever savored.
 
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No Canning Required

Unlike traditional canning, quick jamming doesn’t require sterilized canning jars or lids. To store your quick jams, simply use clean glass jars with lids. (old jelly, olive and salsa jars work fine.) Because these recipes rely on the pectin naturally found in fruit, store-bought pectin packets aren’t needed, either.

These jams should be refrigerated and eaten within one to two weeks, meaning you won’t have pretty jam jars sitting on your shelves for months. Fortunately, this won’t be a problem if you and your family are as delighted with the delicious tastes and textures as we predict.

Quick jamming is a wonderful way to capture summer’s herbs and fruits. In addition to fresh ingredients, you may use dried herbs and frozen berries or peaches. That means you can whip up your favorite homemade herby jam every day of the year—even in winter.

Luscious berries are perfect for this quick and easy method, as are peeled peaches, apricots and plums. You also can create savory (and spicy!) jams with tomatillos, which gel nicely when simmered.