Hi everyone! OK so by now you must all know that I love to can - AKA I love to make my own jams, jellies and dill pickles {hence, Jars of Love was born}. Many of you have asked me for the secret recipe, so today I will share it with you, in hopes that you can continue the love and maybe some of you will even venture as far as to make your own favors {if you do, please please let me know!}. My favorite part about this recipe is that it is reduced sugar so you can really taste the natural flavor of the strawberries - most recipes call for at least 7 cups of sugar and this one only uses 1.5 - 2 cups!

So, without further ado, I give you Canning 101: Strawberry Jam!

You’ll also need a large stockpot (or canner) and 6-8 1/2 pint or 12 4oz. canning jars with lids and seals. Additionally, you can add 1 teaspoon of butter to reduce foaming.

Sanitize jars by submersing in boiling water (or running through the dishwasher), then place upside down on cookie sheets to dry. Do not put the seals in the dishwasher, only the jars!

This is the most tedious part of the process; hulling the strawberries! What you need to do is cut the stems out of the strawberry at the top, removing the flavorless hull. It takes a bit of time but I’m told there is a little contraption that could make this faster. Someday I will spend the $3 to get it and make life easier but until then, I’ll continue to painstakingly remove each one.

…or a potato masher, or a blender. But the hand blender works best for me, and creates a perfectly even consistency.

I squeeze the lemons in to a small dish to remove seeds before pouring in to strawberry mixture, and then slowly add the pectin while stirring quickly with a whisk to reduce clumps. Next I add the butter, because recently this has really helped reduce the foaming during the cooking process.

Make sure you are constantly stirring at this point - you don’t want your hard work to be burned to the bottom of the pot! Once the jam comes to a boil for a full 3 minutes, add the sugar.

…and bring to a rolling boil again for 3 minutes, constantly stirring.

By “can” I mean put the jars fully submerged (with the water an inch or so above the tops) in boiling water for 15 minutes. Once the time is up, remove from water and place on a cookie sheet or dish towel, wiping lids dry. Let them sit for 12-24 hours - you will hear a “popping” noise from the seals letting you know they are done (meaning you can no longer press the center down with it popping back up).

That’s it! In total, it probably takes about an hour or so, depending on how fast you can hull the berries. Once the jars have sealed, they are good for up to a year, and once opened, good for at least 6 months if refrigerated.

Any questions? Let me know, I’m happy to help!

© lovely little details