Have you wanted to try canning but the thought seemed scary, time consuming, and daunting? Starting with something as simple as strawberry jam will have you itching to keep on adding jars of food to your pantry! There is nothing more rewarding than when you hear those lids pop, taste the amazing food you made, and look and see all the food you successfully preserved in your pantry.

Last summer, my mom visited Houston and on her way back home she visited a tiny little farmers on the side of the road selling peaches. She bought a bushel and gave me half. My great Aunt retired canning and generously donated ALL her supplies which included both a waterbath and pressure canner, and endless amounts of jars. They had just been sitting in my shed because I was too hesitant up until that point. With these peaches sitting in my kitchen, I knew I needed to take action to preserve them before they went to complete waste. Canning peaches was WORK. There was blanching, and peeling, and cutting, and simmering, and sterilizing, and making a syrup. It was a lot for my first time canning. But by the end I had successfully preserved 7 quarts of peaches in a delicious cinnamon sugar syrup! Beginning with jam is much easier than what I chose to do my first time. And my strawberry jam is highly requested by those I’ve gifted it to so I know you’ll love it to.

Ingredients:

• 8 cups fresh strawberries (you want about 5 cups crushed)
• 7 cups sugar
• 1 package Pectin
• 4 pint or 8 half pint jars.
• Jar lifter
• Funnel

Instructions:

• I first like to thoroughly wash my canning pot and jars with hot soapy water. I then fill the pot with hot water and place my jars in there, turn the heat on high and bring to a boil. I also get a small pot with water and place all the rings and lids in there and bring to a light boil. This sanitizes and heats the supplies while I am cooking the jam.
• I wash the strawberries and slice the top off, and cut them in half. I then take a fork or potato masher and mash the strawberries up until I get a consistency similar to apple sauce. I measure it out to be sure I have 5 cups worth of mashed berries.
• In a large pot, mix the strawberry mixture with the packet of Pectin and bring to a rolling boil. Do not stop stirring during this process.
  • A rolling boil means the liquid does not stop boiling when you stir it.
• Once you have hit the rolling boil, add the 7 cups of sugar. Again, do not stop stirring.
• Once the mixture reaches a rolling boil again, set a timer for 1 minute.
• Once the timer goes off, remove from heat. You can skim the foam off the top of the mixture but that is optional.
  • I do recommend skimming as it makes for a clearer jam.
• Next, remove your jars from the canner and the lids and rings from the pot and place them on a kitchen towel on the counter. These will be HOT so make sure
• you have a jar lifter. Next, using a funnel pour the jam into the jars leaving 1/4″ of head space at the top.
  • Head space the amount of space between the food product to the rim of the jar.
• With a damp paper towel, clean the around the top of the jars to remove any of the jam that spilled so your lids do not produce a “false seal” from the sticky mixture.
• Place the lid on the jars, and screw the rings finger tight. You do not want to screw them on too tight. You want the air to be able to escape the jars so screw only as tight as your two fingers allow.
• With the jar lifter, place the jars back into the pot and cover with the lid. Keep an eye on the canner and once it hits a rolling boil, start a timer for 15 minutes.
• After the 15 minutes is up, remove the lid and turn off the heat. Allow the cans to sit in the canner for 5-7 minutes before taking them out and placing them on a towel. Let cool and do not touch for 24 hours!