Just Jammin’
Just Jammin’ - July 22nd 2025
It is that time of year. What time of year? The time of year when gardens are starting to produce vegetables and fruit, trees are bearing fruit, rhubarb continues to grow, Saskatoon berries and raspberries are ready for picking, the list goes on. And of course, never forget new potatoes. We started eating our new potatoes earlier than usual this year as we planted a couple of rows on May 1st. This was a first for us. We usually have our first feed on July 22nd and this year it was July 11th. Boil them with the skin on until tender, drain, smash them with a fork, butter, salt and pepper…so tasty! They are like candy compared to eating them in the winter.
For those of you that have read my cookbook “A Baker’s Dozen” (available at Nutters in Prince Albert or on Amazon) one of the recipes was for making “Strawberry Jam” using a product called Certo Light. For whatever reason Kraft decided to quit making Certo Light. I think they must be in cahoots with the sugar companies or maybe big Pharma to keep Diabetes drugs marketed.
I then switched to Bernardin (No Sugar Needed Pectin). That lasted one season. Last year for the first time in years I only made one or two batches of jam compared to about 10. I can no longer find the Bernardin (No Sugar needed Pectin) either. Another company that must have an interest in a sugar company or big Pharma.
Why do I think this? Let’s compare the recipe using regular Certo vs Certo Light for strawberry jam.
Regular Certo: 4 ½ cups of crushed strawberries, 7 cups of sugar and 1 box of Certo.
Certo Light: 6 cups of crushed strawberries, 4 ½ cups of sugar and 1 box of Certo Light.
So, what does that tell you? Less fruit and using almost 1 cup of sugar to a cup of fruit. That is a lot of sugar. Bernardin and Bernadin Less Sugar are basically the same thing as Certo as far as quantities go.
I had to find an alternative to thicken my jam. And I have made a batch with no sugar and boiled it until it thickened, but I found too much moisture boiled away and I lost some of the fruit. So instead of 4 cups of jam I only got 3 cups. Basically, you could say I was in a “jam”.
What to do? Let’s head for the internet and see what Google can tell me. I researched using Knox Gelatine but they only recommend doing freezer jam if you use it. And I prefer processing my jam and putting in on the shelf as a preserve.
I found a recipe on Facebook that said to use rhubarb with instant Jello fruit flavors. That sounded like a good alternative. I made 3 batches this way: one with raspberry flavour and 2 with strawberry flavor. The jam did turn out pretty good, but the Jello did take away from the natural fruit flavours. Gave the jam a bit of an artificial taste. I had better keep searching for another alternative.
As I continued to Google, I was not finding my answer. I was getting a lot of ads that pop up, but that was not what I was looking for.
Finally, a website: www.shiftyshevre.com came up with a simple and inexpensive answer to my dilemma. Are you ready for it? Drum roll ……. Cornstarch. Why didn’t I think of that. I have been using it as a thickener for years in various sauces, soups and gravies. And you use it the same way you would in any sauce that you are thickening. The website had really good tips and explicit directions how to use it if you are a beginner with cornstarch.
I had made a batch of pure strawberry jam the night before using 9 grams of Certo Light and 30 grams of regular Certo. But it did not jell. Reason being is that you need more sugar to make the pectin in Certo work. (Found that out after I did some more research.) I had only used 2 ¼ cups of sugar with 4 cups of strawberries. Not enough sugar for the jam to thicken.
I emptied the jam out of their jars, washed and sterilized the jars and lids again. Put my berries into a heavy saucepan and brought it back to a boil. I made a slurry of the cornstarch and started adding it before the berries came to a boil. It is a bit of a guessing game how much slurry to use, but practice will make it perfect or close to it. Within a half hour I now had pure strawberry jam, not changed by an artificial flavour. And the best part? I used about ¼ cup of cornstarch, which is very inexpensive compared to a box of Certo ($3?) and 7 cups of sugar.
Being able to control the amount of sugar you use when cooking is important. We all know it is easy to consume too much sugar, and overeating sugar relates to many health problems.
Here are some of the health problems related to sugar.
Too much sugar in your diet has been linked to a host of health challenges. Overconsumption can contribute to weight gain and obesity, as excess sugar is easily converted to fat in the body. It is also a well-known factor in the development of type 2 diabetes, since high sugar intake can lead to insulin resistance over time. Furthermore, a diet rich in added sugars increases the risk of heart disease by raising blood pressure and promoting inflammation. Tooth decay is another common issue, as sugar provides food for harmful bacteria in the mouth that erode tooth enamel. Research has also suggested connections between high sugar intake and fatty liver disease, certain cancers, and cognitive decline. Overall, being mindful about sugar consumption is a simple yet powerful step towards maintaining long-term health and well-being.
I don’t know why the companies discontinued the low sugar jam making alternatives. Are they connected to big pharma? Who knows? There is a lot we as consumers do not know.
That’s it for this month. Enjoy the fresh produce, veggies and berries. Preserve what you can – groceries are only getting more expensive.
And today’s song is: Sugar, Sugar by The Archies. In case you don’t remember The Archies was an animated television franchise from 1968-1978. Wow, 10 years. This was their most successful song. As a child with my sisters and friends we would pretend we were “The Archies” band many times. Good times!
And if you have time, I would love it if you subscribed to my YouTube channel: @merleleeannskitchen
Note: Parts of this blog was written with the help of Co-Pilot in Word (AI)
