My parents have canned things as long as I can remember. I sometimes helped when I was younger (by "helping" to peel peaches but really just making more of a mess, etc.), but this summer I wanted to get some real canning experience under my belt!
And since strawberry season is just wrapping up here in Michigan, I made some Strawberry Jam.
I started with a half tray of these tasty berries, which were picked by hand at a local farm...
And turned them into over twenty jars of the canned goodness!
Strawberry jam doesn't require too many ingredients: just strawberries, sugar, and Certo (which is our family's preferred brand of pectin).
Before I started on the strawberries, I made sure that the jam jars were nice and clean...
Before placing them in a pot of water to boil.
And in a separate pot I boiled the rings and lids.
Then I turned my attention to the strawberries. I rinsed them...
And hulled them...
Before adding them to the food processor.
I like my jam to have a few chunks of strawberries every now and then, so I chose to pulse the processor until I reached my desired consistency. Working in batches, I crushed the berries until I had exactly 4 cups.
Then I added the berries to a pot on the stove and added the sugar. After the mixture had reached a rolling boil, I added the Certo (pectin), and let the mixture boil for another minute.
Once the strawberry mixture was ready, I poured it into the boiled jars. My mom helped and wiped down the rims before adding the lid and screwing on the ring. This process must be done quickly in order to ensure that the cans seal, so I don't have any photos of the process... sorry!
However, I am thrilled to report that we worked fast enough so that all of my cans sealed (yay), and I have enough strawberry jam to last me quite a while.
I must admit- I still have a long way to go until I'll feel like a "real canner", but I'm getting there (and many thanks to my mom for her patience and expertise!).
If you'd like to make this jam, here's the recipe:
Strawberry Jam
Ingredients:
4 cups crushed strawberries
7 cups sugar
1 pouch of Certo (pectin)
Directions:
Clean and hull fresh strawberries. Using a food processor, crush strawberries and measure according to recipe. Heat strawberries and sugar on stove until boiling. Add pectin, and boil for an additional minute. Pour into sterilized canning jars, make sure rim is clean, and seal with lids.
Thanks for stopping by- I hope you have a great day!
