Tips and Advice - Canning and Preserving Food

I love fresh strawberries. When I go picking them by hand, I eat about every fourth or fifth one. I love getting home and washing and picking though all the fresh strawberries. Sorting the ready to eat from those that are perfect for chocolate dipping or perfect for freezing. Still others have huge wide shoulders perfect for slicing in half and drying on the dehydrator trays (making the whole house smell like Hershey's Strawberry syrup for a day or so after drying). And then I start to worry that I don't have enough to make into Strawberry Preserves.

I don't think there is any more yummy food than homemade strawberry jam. Remember jelly is made from the juice of a fruit, and jam has bits of fruit in it. Mine is a preserve, because is mostly chopped and crushed strawberries and sugar. Pretty much that's it.

Step 1 Preparing the Jars for Strawberry Jam

Get the jars and lids sterilizing in the dishwasher which is fine for the jars. Be sure to let it go through the rinse cycle to get rid of any soap!  It's also a good time to start heating up the water in the canner and the small pan of water to boil the lids.
At this point where you are ready to start making your recipe, go ahead and get the water-bath canner water started heating. Let it get up to a boil and then turn it off if you are not yet ready for it. Keep the lid on it to retain heat and steam evaporation.

Lids:  Put the lids into a pan of boiling water for at least several minutes. This helps soften the sealing compound of the lid. This is why the little lid lifter with the magnet is cool, because they get very hot. I have also found it good to layer my lids in an alternating fashion in the pan, so they don't stick to each other.

Step 2 Make your own homemade Strawberry Jam

I get 5 cups of crushed strawberry from the food processor, from 10 cups of whole/chopped cleaned berries that went in. Combined with 5 cups of sugar and quickly brought to a boil. Add 1 packet of liquid pectin , and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. This makes eight 8-ounce jars.

Step 3 Bottle and Process the fresh Strawberry Jam

Process this in a hot water bath for 10 minutes for the half-pint jars, or 15 minutes if your doing 4 pint jars. Never double the recipe. If you want to do pint jars as I do.  Make 2 batches, one, right after the other, and then process then at the same time.  DO Not use quart jars for this.

Have fun. You will quickly figure out, the correct ratio of fruit, sugar and pectin based on how firm you want something.