How to Make Watermelon Jam 3

This summer I’ve been preserving all kinds of yummy homegrown goodness around here – that’s one of the many joy about living in the country. In the few weeks I’ve made White Grape Jelly, Muscadine Jelly, Froze homegrown corn, made pickles, and Pear Jam. Now I’m sharing the secrets of making homemade Watermelon Jam – AKA summer in a jar!

I’m not real big on watermelon, but I think it turned out pretty decent! I’m excited for you to try it!

First thing before you begin making Watermelon Jam you’ll want to have everything ready. I sterilized my jars, lids, and rings. I like to do this in the dishwasher because I know it’s sterilized, but you can also boil water and sterilize them that way for about 10-15 minutes.

Materials – I linked everything below, just click on the name of the item.

• Jars. I used 8oz canning jars. 4oz and  8 oz work the best for jelly and jams. I like to use the 4oz jelly jars so I have more to give out as gifts.
• Preserving Canning Pot – The one I linked is similar to the one I used. I linked a set because you’ll need the rack and jar lifters.
• Large sauce pan or boiling pot

Ingredients

–          6 cups of pureed watermelon – without seeds or rind before pureeing

–          1 packet powdered pectin

–          5 cups of white sugar

–          6 tablespoons of lemon juice (I used fresh lemon juice)

Directions

1. Make sure all of your jars, lids, and rings are thoroughly sanitized.  It’s also a good idea to go ahead and have the correct amount of water in the canner already heating (be sure to put your canning rack up on the top lip so you can place the jars on the rack before lowering into the water). The water has to cover the jars by 1-2 inches.
2. Place a saucer in the freezer for later. (I used 2). This will be how to test your jelly.
3. Cut up slices of watermelon and chop until you have 6 cups. I used a blender but you can also use a food processor. Make sure before you put the watermelon into your blender that all the seeds and rind is out of your slices. If you are interested – you can save the rind for Watermelon Rind Pickles or Watermelon Rind Preserves or Sugar Coated Watermelon Rind.
4. Once the watermelon is pureed measure out the 6 cups and add to a non-reactive pot.
5. In a large bowl, combine sugar and packet of pectin. Add to the pot along with the lemon juice – I used fresh lemon juice, but you can also use lemon juice from a container.
6. Bring mixture to a rolling boil (a boil that doesn’t stop when stirred). Keep mixture in a rolling boil until it reaches 220 degrees. I used a candy thermometer to gauge the temperature.
7. Before removing watermelon jam from the stovetop – take the saucer out of the freezer and place a small amount of jam on the saucer – if it jells up its ready, if it doesn’t give it a few more minutes.
8. Fill your jars with a ladle leave about ¼” headspace. Once filled, wipe the rims with a paper towel and screw on the lids and bands.
9. place the jars in a hot water bath according to your altitude below.
10. Altitude chart:
    1. 1,000-3,000 – 10 minutes canning time
    2. 3,001-6,000 – 15 minutes canning time
    3. 6,001-8,000 – 20 minutes canning time
    4. 8,001-10,000- 25 minutes canning time
11. When canning is complete remove jars and place on a towel to cool. Once cooled, check for any jars that didn’t seal. Refrigeration is required if any jars didn’t seal properly.

Tips & Tricks

–          Pick a good watermelon. The best way to pick a sweet watermelon is to get the ugliest you can find – lol, seriously. You want a good yellow underbelly (that means it set out and allowed to ripen), you want to see some brown spots (that’s the sugar spots), and you want to find the heaviest of the bunch. Usually this makes for a good sweet watermelon.

–          I should have added ¼ teaspoon of butter. I think this would have helped with some of the foaming I got.

–          Do not reduce the amount of sugar or the watermelon jam will not set properly.

–          It may take up to two weeks for your jam to fully set – some watermelon jam doesn’t set at all. Watermelon has such high water content it’s sometimes hard for it to get a good set.

–          Don’t use liquid pectin, use powdered – some people who’ve tried the liquid pectin didn’t get good results.

I hope you have a good turn out and everyone loves your summer in a jar!

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