raspberry jam AKA Chris's miracle jam

My poor husband made the mistake of coming home for lunch the day I attempted to can jam for the first time in roughly 15 years. He walked in the door to a wife who couldn’t figure out how to convert liquid pectin to powdered pectin.

It wasn’t pretty. And the kitchen was HOT. And I'm pretty sure I was sweating. And definitely pregnant. And hangry. 

Jars bounced in boiling water on the stove. Raspberries and lemon juice and sugar were fast approaching a rolling boil.

And I, queen of cheating at math in grade school, was trying to figure out how to make the pectin sitch work with mere moments to spare.

Of course, HE had just repaired a broken air conditioner at a rental house, taken care of heifers who’d escaped their pen, pulled a calf and . . . well, the list goes on.

So when I, practically in meltdown mode, asked for his help, he figured it out for me, even though he had a million other things on his mind.

Because he is just that good.

He also saved the jam because left to my own devices, I would have just started dumping pectin in and hoped for the best. 

So, in honor of the one who can actually do things with numbers, who dairies and farms and converts recipes in the blink of an eye, I'm renaming this  "Chris's Miracle Jam," because he saved it from sure and sudden demise in a hot kitchen on a sweltering day from a hungry wife who just can't do math. 

Raspberry Jam

3 1/2 cups crushed raspberries

1/4 cup lemon juice

7 cups sugar

1/2 tsp. butter or margarine

1 3-oz pouch liquid pectin

Prepare boiling water canner. Heat jars in simmer water until ready for use. Do not boil. Wash lids in warm soapy water. 

Combine prepared berries with lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan. Add up to 1/2 tsp. butter to reduce foaming, if desired. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down, over high heat, stirring frequently. 

Add pectin, immediately squeezing entire contents from pouch. Continue hard boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim foam if necessary. 

Ladle hot jam into hot jar, leaving 1/4 inch head space. Wipe rim. Center lid on jar. Apply band until fit is fingertip tight. 

Process jars boiling canner for 10 minutes. Remove jars and cool. Check lids for seal after 24 hours.