You know how I do things: Recipe first and then the tips, tricks and stories last! This super easy Carrot Cake Jam is great to make and can, especially if you’re new at canning! Let’s get to it!

INGREDIENTS:

1 & 1/2 C Freshly Shredded Carrots

1 & 1/2 C Peeled Pears, ripe and chopped into small pieces

1 (20oz) Can of crushed pineapple, with the juice

3 Tbs lemon juice

1 tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg

1/4 tsp Ground Cloves

6 C Sugar ( I use cane sugar)

1 Pkg (1.75 oz) Powdered Fruit Pectin (NOT one made for “less sugar”)

Directions:

You first need to sterilize your jars and your lids. Mine recipe makes 7 half-pint jars, but I recommend preparing 8 just to have a jar is a back up if you need it. You can sterilize jars in a big water canner pot, by placing the jars in boiling water. You will need this water and pot at the end of the canning process too. While you are doing that, put your lids in a small sauce pot of boiling water to sterilize those also. Let them sit in the hot water until time to use them.

In a big sauce pot, combine the carrots, pears, pineapple with the juice, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Heat to a boil, making sure you are stirring constantly to prevent sticking. It won’t look like it can boil because it’s so thick, but trust the process. Once it starts to boil, reduce the heat to a simmer for 12-15 minutes to make sure the pears are soft. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the package of powdered fruit pectin. Return the pan to the heat and bring to a rolling boil again.

Slowly stir in the sugar a little at a time. and bring it to a boil for about 30 seconds and immediately ladle the delicious jelly mixture into each jar, but be sure to only leave 1/4 inch of headspace (space between the mixture and the top of the jar). Before you put the hot lids on, wipe the rim of the jar to avoid a bad seal. Once you’ve placed the lids on the jars, put on the rings and screw those on pretty tightly. If you don’t have a metal rack inside your water bath canner to prevent your jars from touching the bottom of the pan directly, a silicone trivet will work, or even a dish towel in the bottom of the pan. Once you have that sorted out, add your jars to the boiling water, making sure that the water covers your jar by 1.5-2 inches, and that is crucial. Put a lid on the pot and let those sit in the boiling water for 10 minutes.

Remove the jars from the boiling water and place them right side up, on a towel to cool. While they cool, you’ll start to hear that glorious popping sound, meaning the jars are sealing! Once completely cooled, check to make sure they’ve all sealed, by pushing down on the center of the lid. If it has give and pops up and down in the center, that one goes into the fridge for using now. All of the sealed jars are ready for your pantry as soon as you label them with a date!

Tips: Peeled and chopped carrots start to brown soon after you cut them up, so keep that in mind in which part of the process you want to do that. Make sure you wash the carrots, then peel and rinse one more time before you shred them. If you know how to can jams using honey instead of sugar, it’s 3/4 honey to each cup of sugar but I haven’t tried that with this particular recipe, so try at your own risk.

I first made this recipe 5 years ago, on a whim. I was so pleasantly surprised by its flavor and the ease of making it! To me it tastes and smells like fall. You can put it on a biscuit or a cookie or a croissant with some cream cheese and you can even top your grilled chicken with a little of this jam. It almost gives apple pie vibes and the whole family loves this one. I love gifting this one for Christmas or as a hostess gift for Thanksgiving! Hope you and your loved ones enjoy!

-Monica