Strawberry Jam

For one of my 4-H projects I did canning strawberry jam.  Strawberry jam is yum and homemade strawberry jam is yum yum.  First I made four, small batches of different strawberry jam recipes, so I could decide which was the best.  It was a close call, so my willing, little, brave brother sampled them all too.  This was his favorite.

The four jams to sample.

Little brother sampling them.

TO MAKE THE JAM:

Pick the strawberries.  Or, you could buy them, but fresh picked strawberries are always tastier.

Wash and cut the strawberries.  We wash our berries in Fit.  Cut off the stem for sure, and if they are big cut them in half.

Measure out 8 cups.

Mix together the strawberries, sugar (4 cups), and lemon juice (1 tablespoon).

Mash the berries.

Bring the mixture to a low boil, then reduce heat, and let thicken.  If you want to you can remove the excess foam on the top.

Let cool.

TO CAN THE JAM:

Fill the canning pot 2/3 full of water and bring it to a boil.

Once boiling, put the canning jars and jar lids in the water to sterilize them.  But be careful the water is VERY hot and can splash.  I sterilized the screw-on rings too, but I don't think they need to be.

After the jars and lids have been in the water for a couple minutes, pull them out one at a time.  Bring the pot of water back to a boil.  With a wide-mouthed canning funnel, fill the jars up, stopping when the jam is 1/4 inch form the top of the jar.

With a damp cloth, wipe of any jam on the jar.

Then run a knife along the inside of the jar to remove any air pockets.

Center the lid on top of the jar and then screw on the ring.  But, don't screw it on too tightly, just enough so it is attached gently.

Once all the jars are filled and have lids on them, place them on the canning rack.  Place the canning rack into the boiling pot of water.

 

The jars should be covered in water.

Cover the pot and allow it to boil for 15 minutes.  Then turn off the heat and keep the jars in the water for 15 more minutes.

After that, take the rack out of the water and let them sit on the counter, undisturbed, for 24 hours.  You should hear the lids pop as they seal.  It is exciting when you hear them pop!  After they have sat on the counter, check to make sure they are sealed.  Remove the rings from the jars and press your finger in the center of the jar.  The center of the lids should be tightly indented and not give when you press it.  If a jar did not seal, just keep it in the fridge.

The bottom broke out of one of the jars.  I'm not sure why this happened...

Strawberry Jam Recipe

Source:  forevercottage.blogspot.com

 

8 cups strawberries

4 cups sugar

1 T.  lemon juice

*You can use other berries instead of strawberries and I suppose you could even do a combination.

Combine strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice.  Mash the strawberries.  Bring mixture to a low boil, reduce heat, and let thicken.

To Can

Supplies Needed:  Large canning pot (large enough to submerge the jars in water)
Tongs
Canning Jars
Wide-mouthed canning funnel
Canning rack to go inside the pot

1. Fill the canning pot 2/3 full of water and bring it to a boil.
2. Place the canning jars and lids in the boiling water to sterilize them and let the sit there for a couple minuets.
3. Pull them out one at a time.
4. Bring the pot back to a boil.
5. Mean while, fill the jars through a funnel, stopping 1/4 inch form the top.
6. Wipe off any jam on the jar.
7. Then run a knife along the inside of the jar to remove any air pockets.
8. Center the lid on top of the jar and then screw on the ring.  But, don't screw it on too tightly, just enough so it is attached gently.
9.  Once all the jars are filled and have lids on them, place them on the canning rack.  Place the canning rack into the boiling pot of water.
10. Cover the pot and allow it to boil for 15 minutes.  Then turn off the heat and keep the jars in the water for 15 more minutes.
11.  After that, take the rack out of the water and let them sit on the counter, undisturbed, for 24 hours.  You should hear the lids pop as they seal.
12.  After they have sat on the counter, check to make sure they are sealed.  Remove the rings from the jars and press your finger in the center of the jar.  The center of the lids should be tightly indented and not give when you press it.  If a jar did not seal, just keep it in the fridge.