Carambola and Strawberry Jam
I may have mentioned somewhere on line, either on twitter or my facebook page that my husband has been pestering me to make some carambola and strawberry jam. Honestly I can’t believe that it left such an impression on him the first time I made it that he wanted it again. You see it has been more than five years since I made my first batch of carambola and strawberry jam.
My husband is a PITA picky eater. Some of you may be shocked to learn that most of what I cook or bake for my blog doesn’t get consumed by him. There are things he will eat and things he absolutely will not eat. Do you have a family member like him? If so you know what I mean. Most of the meals he does eat just aren’t pretty enough for my blog.
The rest of the family enjoys the things I make but he is one of those people who if it is made a different way or I have added an ingredient to change things up he refuses to eat it. Like I said he is a PICKY eater.
The rest of the family enjoys the things I make but he is one of those people who if it is made a different way or I have added an ingredient to change things up he refuses to eat it. Like I said he is a PICKY eater.
The real reason I suspect he was pestering me to make it is because he had been bragging for months while the carambola were in season ( star fruit is a winter fruit here in Florida ) to a couple of his friends how great the first batch was.
Even though my husband won’t eat some of the things I make he loves to brag to his friends. Because their wives are not cooking and baking the way I do. Their wives have probably never whipped up a couple of loaves of bread, made jams or jellies, baked a cake from scratch or actually cooked a meal that didn’t come out of a box or the freezer section of the grocery store for that matter.
Even though my husband won’t eat some of the things I make he loves to brag to his friends. Because their wives are not cooking and baking the way I do. Their wives have probably never whipped up a couple of loaves of bread, made jams or jellies, baked a cake from scratch or actually cooked a meal that didn’t come out of a box or the freezer section of the grocery store for that matter.
The grocery stores are all out of carambola now or at least the one I checked was, after I realized I wasn’t sure I had enough on hand for this batch of jelly. Luckily I had just enough fruit to make this batch.
My son happens to have a very productive carambola tree in the yard of the house he rents. All winter long we picked from that tree and the kids ate fresh carambola. I’m sad to say my son will be moving next month so we won’t be able to enjoy the fresh picked carambola next winter. But my husband had picked the last fruit that was left on the tree the other day and I knew I had to make a batch of this jam before the fruit spoiled. So here we are.
My son happens to have a very productive carambola tree in the yard of the house he rents. All winter long we picked from that tree and the kids ate fresh carambola. I’m sad to say my son will be moving next month so we won’t be able to enjoy the fresh picked carambola next winter. But my husband had picked the last fruit that was left on the tree the other day and I knew I had to make a batch of this jam before the fruit spoiled. So here we are.
Before beginning any jam or jelly making session you should already have your jars, lids and canning tools sterilized and at the ready.
How to prepare jars for canning or making jelly
Sterilize your jars by placing them into a pot of boiling water until completely submerged. Remove them from the boiling water and place them upside down on top of a dish towel. Also dip your funnel and ladle into the boiling water and place at the ready on your dish towel.
Place the flat lids into a small pot and bring to a boil. Turn heat off and leave lids in hot water.
Canning Tip
Always prepare a few extra jars and lids then your recipe calls for. You don’t want to be caught with enough jam to fill an extra jar or so and not have a sterilized jar ready.
This recipe makes 6 1/2 pints of Carambola & Strawberry Jelly.
Florida Fresh: Carambola and Strawberry Jam
Carambola fruit is widely known as starfruit
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 1/2 pints
- Category: Jam
Ingredients
- 4 cups sliced carambola
- 4 cups sliced strawberries
- 7 cups sugar
- 2 tbs lemon juice
- 1 pack liquid pectin
- 1 tsp butter or margarine
Instructions
- Wash and remove any blemishes from the carambola fruit.
- Slice them and the remove all seeds before putting the fruit in the pot.
- Wash hull and slice strawberries.
- Add the sugar into the large pot with the fruit and place on the stove on a medium heat.
- Stir the fruit and sugar with a wooden spoon to get the fruit juices flowing.
- Add the lemon juice and butter or margarine to the pot.
- The butter or margarine will help cut down on foam.
- Stir the sugar and fruit occasionally.
- Allow the sugar to melt completely on the medium heat.
- You don’t want the sugar crystals to burn from too high a heat at this point.
- Once the sugar has melted turn the heat up to medium high, carefully stirring occasionally and bring to a rolling boil.
- Add the liquid pectin and bring to a rolling boil once again.
- Cook fruit mixture for one full minute using a timer.
- Once the minute is up remove from the heat to your countertop.
- Wait until the mixture settles down and skim the foam from the top with a large spoon.
- Using a ladle and a wide mouth funnel fill your jars leaving 1/4 of head space.
- Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp paper towel and put the flat lid on.
- Screw your lid bands on.
- Continue filling all your jars and process in a boil water bath for 10 minutes.
For more canning recipes like this Carambola and Strawberry Jam recipe check out my canning recipe page.
Peggy says
This jam looks perfect! I can't say that my other half is a picky eater (he practically eats EVERYTHING I cook, and then some! hehe)
a9beec10-4ad1-11e1-918e-000bcdcb471e says
Hi, where do you purchase your jars? I have not seen the small ones like you have displayed in your picture.
Thanks
George
Grace says
Hi, I just tried this recipe for my first time canning. It tastes and looks great! My only issue is that my jam doesn’t seem quite thick enough. I tried to follow your recipe exactly, except I used the juice from our key limes instead of lemons. Can you tell me what may have gone wrong? Or maybe it just needs more time to set? It’s been about five hours since the jars came out of the boiling water bath.
Flour On My Face says
Grace
Some jams and jellies can take a bit longer to set up. Some can take up to 2 weeks. Recipes with citrus especially. Even after five hours your jam could still be warm from the process. Put one of the jars in the fridge and check it again after 24 hours. I seem to remember this jam taking a bit longer to set up but usually cooling it down thickens it up.
I’m so happy liked the flavor of this recipe.
Angela says
How long did your recipe take to set? Mine has been sitting for almost 48 hours & it doesn’t look like its setting??
Flour On My Face says
Angela
Some citrus recipes take longer to set up and can take up to two weeks. Put a jar in the refrigerator and let it chill for 24 hours then check to see if it set up. Jam or Jelly is always thicker when it is cold.
Bri says
My sister just brought over a huge basket of star fruit from her place. I’m excited to start this jam, but I have 2 questions:
Does the skin of the star fruit have to be cut off?
Can this recipe be made with just star fruit?
Thanks!
Flour On My Face says
Hi Bri
The skin does not need to be removed from the starfruit. It is very thin. I have not tried making this with just starfruit. If you do keep in mind that all citrus jams or jellies take much longer to set up. Some can take up to two weeks or longer. Also be sure to process your jam in a hot water bath. Good luck and if you try it let me know how it turns out.
Paula Catherine says
I have never used star fruit: do I peel it or just seed and cut the brown edges off before slicing?
Recipe spunds wonderful!
Arlene Mobley says
Paula
Thank you. No peeling needed. Do as you mentioned and remove the brown edges and seeds.
Paula says
Thank you so much for your quick response.
Fresh strawberries are in season in our area of Florida so I will be looking for star fruit.
Arlene Mobley says
Paula
You are very welcome!