Autumn Harvest – Canning Kiwi Jam

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Kiwi:
Kiwi is abundant this time of the year. If you know someone (like I do) who has a Kiwi vine or are lucky enough to have one yourself, you should get out your water bath canner! Last year I was given an amazing 200 pounds of kiwi! This year the harvest was not as spectacular, but good enough that I can make several batches of homemade jam. You should try my oh soooo good Strawberry Kiwi Jam – it is one of our favorites. Or you can simply make the Kiwi Jam below. We love this jam and it is the prettiest green color – very festive for the holidays.

Kiwi Jam
This is a very pretty jam – a nice festive green for the holidays!

5 cups crushed kiwi
7 cups sugar
1 pkg. fruit pectin powder

Sterilize 8 half-pint jars. Place lids in a small pot, cover with water and simmer until ready to use. Bring boiling water canner to a simmer. Measure out sugar into a large measuring cup or bowl.

Use a potato masher to crush your fruit in another large bowl. Be sure to measure correctly. (The total cups needed are after crushing, not while fruit is whole.) In a large pot, add fruit. Stir in 1 box of pectin. You may want to add a pat of butter to help reduce the amount of foam that will form on top.

Bring the fruit and pectin mixture to a full rolling boil. This means that when you stir, the bubbling does not stop. You should be stirring constantly as you wait for the fruit to boil to keep from scorching the fruit.

Stir in sugar all at once, quickly. Return the mixture to a full rolling boil and boil for exactly one minute. You will probably want to set your timer for this. Over boiling will result in a jam that is tough. Under boiling will result in a jam that is runny. Please be careful – this mixture is very, very hot and can cause serious burns. Keep your little ones away from the stove!

After 1 minute, remove the jam from heat. Skim off any foam. You can put the foam in a bowl and microwave later, allow to cool and then use it as you would your jam – on a piece of toast.

Spread a thick towel on the counter next to the stove and place your hot, sterile jars on top of the towel. Use a wide mouth canning funnel to help make ladling easier. Ladle jam into jars, leaving about 1/4 inch of space from the top. Wipe jars rims with a clean damp cloth. Cover with lids and rings. Screw bands finger tight – you don’t want them too tight or the jars could bread during processing – too loose and your jam will bubble out during the processing.

Place jars on an elevated rack in your water bath canner, or on top of loose canning rings placed in the bottom of your pot. It is best to use a special jar lifter to place the jars in and remove from the pot. Add water if needed to cover the jars by about an inch. Cover the pot and bring the water up to a full boil. After the water starts to boil, you can begin timing your jars. For half-pint jars, you will need to process for 5 minutes. If you used pint jars, 10 minutes. If you live in the mountains like I do (or at a higher elevation), you will need to add more time according to your elevation:

1,000 – 3,000 feet – add 5 minutes
3,000 – 6,000 feet – add 10 minutes
6,000 – 8,000 feet – add 15 minutes
8,000 – 10,000 feet – add 20 minutes

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