Honey Strawberry Kiwi Jam

It's jamming time! This week I had kiwis, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and watermelon so decided to do a bit of small batch preserving. Unlike many home canners I prefer not to make a lot of one particular jam so most batches are under 1 L (4 cups) and tend to be on the gourmet side. I like making low sugar jams or jams using local maple syrup and honey. Most of my jams and jellies are my own creation using Pomona's Universal Pectin rather than regular pectin because this pectin does not depend on sugar for the gel. This means the sugar can be greatly reduced or substituted. Unlike regular pectin Pomona's is shelf stable with no expiry date and even though there is a higher cost outlay when bought in bulk, per batch it works out cheaper than regular pectin.

Kiwifruit

Kiwifruit are not local fruit but rather imported from New Zealand. They have a brown fuzzy thin skin with a green flesh. The seeds form around a central pith giving them a characteristic look when sliced. Kiwifruit is rich in Vitamin C and the protein dissolving enzyme actinidin. This enzyme can cause allergic reactions in some and makes the fruit unsuitable for use in milk or dairy products that are not going to be consumed immediately. Kiwifruit is also a natural blood thinner.

Kiwifruit is often served simply peels and sliced. The flavour is somewhat a mixture between strawberries and lemons yet rather unique. It pairs nicely with strawberries especially for jams. When kiwifruit are plentiful our local grocery stores put them on for a rather good price. I paid 97¢ for three kiwifruit on Thursday. This makes the kiwifruit a great fruit extender for strawberry jam reducing the overall cost of the jam if purchasing strawberries and allows the home gardener with smaller strawberry yields to still make lovely homemade jam.

Honey Strawberry Kiwi Jam

Yesterday I made a batch of honey strawberry kiwi jam. I use local unpasteurized honey which imparts a wonderful flavour to the jam. It is important to use local honey as it is less likely to cause an allergic reaction. It is also important to mark any home canned foods containing honey as honey should not be consumed by children under the age of 1.

This jam is a real keeper! The next time I will cut the amount of honey by half which will cut some of the sweetness while still giving a lovely honey flavour. I used 3 cups of prepared fruit with a yield of 4 - 250 ml (1 cup) jars of gourmet jam.

Honey Strawberry Kiwi Jam

3 cups mixed fruit (1 qt strawberries, 3 kiwifruit)
1 cup honey
3 tsp calcium water
1½ tsp Pomona's pectin

Wash and mash strawberries. Wash, peel and mash kiwifruit. Stir together then measure for 3 cups and pour into large saucepan. Stir in the calcium water. Measure room temperature honey into measuring cup. Stir pectin into the honey and set aside. Bring the fruit to a boil. Add the pectin-honey mixture. Stir vigorously 1 - 2 minutes while cooking to dissolve pectin. Return to a boil and remove from heat. Fill prepared jars leaving ¼ - inch headspace. Wipe rims and adjust two piece lids. Process in boiling water bath 10 minutes at 1,000 ft above sea level. At altitudes above 1,000 ft use altitude adjustment chart (here).