Strawberry Jam to Can

I made strawberry jam this week.  I usually miss the first crop of strawberries that come in here in Tennessee.  But this year I got some! I bought 2 gallons. I made jam from 1/2 gallon, froze 1 gallon and we ate 1/2 gallon fresh. If you have a house full of  children, you know that 1/2 gallon strawberries doesn’t go far.

I make strawberry jam without pectin. Why?  Well, because that’s how I was taught to make it. My Grandmother didn’t use pectin much.  And her jams and jellies where excellent.

Here’s the recipe

Strawberry Jam

4 cups berries, topped and cut into chunks

4 cups sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 – 1 inch wide and 2 inch long piece of lemon peel

You’ll need 3 or 4 pint jars, lids and rings.

Combine everything in a heavy bottomed stock pot and bring to a rolling boil. Turn the heat down a little, don’t let it boil over.  Allow it to boil for about 15 minutes.  You can test it and see if it is setting up by putting about 1 teaspoon of the jam on a cold plate and blowing on it. If its ready, it won’t come back together when you rake your finger through it.

When the jam is ready, put it in hot sterilized jars, seal and water bath the jars for 15 minutes.