Stawberry Jam

Want to know how to make strawberry jam minus the pectin? All you need is 2 lbs of Strawberries (fresh or frozen, I used frozen), 4 cups of white sugar, 1/4 cup of lemon juice and two jars. I had a 1 lb bag of frozen strawberries in my freezer so I just cut the recipe in half so I will tell you the measurements I used plus what the original recipe calls for.

Strawberry Jam

• 2 lbs fresh strawberries (I used a 1 lb bag of frozen strawberries)
• 4 cups white sugar (I used one and 1/2 cups of sugar for the 1 lb bag)
• 1/4 cup of lemon juice (I used 1/8 cup)

I started out by letting my strawberries thaw for a bit. Also, place a plate in the freezer. We will be using this for later to test if the jelly is ready for canning. Once the strawberries have thawed a bit I put them in a food processor.

It chopped them up pretty well but I still wasn't happy with it so I used my potato masher. You could also use a blender instead of a food processor. If your following the original recipe and have 2 lbs of strawberries you should end up with 4 cups of strawberry puree. I ended up with 2 and 1/2 cups of puree from 1 lb.

Next, you want to take your jars and boil them in water along with their caps. You need to sterilize the jars to put the jelly in and if you do this you also can store your jelly for months in the refrigerator without it going bad. It is very important for you to do this step because if you end up touching the insides of your jar mold may grow.

Place all the ingredients in a heavy bottomed sauce pan and slowly bring to a boil. I increased the temperature a bit every 5 minutes until it was at a rolling boil. Stir your strawberries constantly so they do not burn to the bottom of the pan.

You want to keep raising the temperature until it reaches 220F. Once it does let it boil for 10 minutes while you constantly stir so it does not burn or boil over... I checked the temp wearing a heat safe glove because it gets VERY hot...

 (not quite there...)

Here is my very handsome helper stirring away while I was preparing something else...

To test if the jelly is ready take your plate out of the freezer and put a little amount on the plate. Place the plate in the freezer for one minute. Drag your finger through the jelly (which will look like liquid) and if it doesn't try to run back together it is ready to be canned.

Its ready!

Now it is ready to can. First set up a bowl of cold water to stick your jelly in and put it off to the side. Be careful during the canning part. I left my jars in the water and used my glove and tongs to pull it out right before BUT if you want you can leave it drying upside down over a clean towel before hand just don't handle the inside of the jar with your fingers. Pour the strawberry jelly into the jar and leave about 1/4 - 1/2 of space in it and screw the lid on tight. Immediately place it upside down inside the cold water. This helps seal the jar. Leave in like this for at least 10 minutes. I left mine in until it cooled and I could place it in the refrigerator. Leave it alone for 48 hours. After that it should be set and ready to eat!