Strawberry Jam

It is the end of May and I must admit I almost missed strawberry season here in Southeast Tennessee! Whew! Time simply got away from me!

Fresh Tennessee Strawberries!

However, I was able to pick up one of the last flats of our local strawberries. Aren't they just gorgeous!

I love buying local!

Despite the horrific weather we have had this spring, it has been a wonderful growing season. This year's  strawberries are plump, brilliant in color, and extremely sweet! No need for any sugar on these little gems!

Little hands kept sneaking strawberries while Mommy wasn't looking!

I purchased these strawberries for jam, but after tasting how delicious they were, I could hardly bear to devote all of them to preserving. So, I used half of the flat for jam and stashed the other half in the fridge for eating! Strawberries will last 5-10 days in the fridge at 32/F.

My favorite way to preserve fruit is by freezing. This is the most efficient way to lock in all the vitamins and nutrients found only in fresh fruit. However freezing requires a lot of space. And if you are like me, excess freezer space is something you do not have. So, the next best option is canning.

For strawberry jam, you will need the following:

• 5½ cups crushed strawberries (about 3 quart boxes strawberries)
• 1 package powdered pectin
• 8 cups sugar
• 9- 10 half-pint sterilized jars with lids
• Water bath canning equipment
• Time needed: about 1.5 hours (including processing time)

Here are the steps:

Prepare the fruit. Sort and wash fully ripe strawberries; remove stems and caps.

Crush your berries. (I use a food processor but you can also cut the berries into small pieces or crush by hand- depending on what consistency you wish your jam to have.)


To make jam. Measure crushed strawberries into a kettle. Add pectin and stir well. Place on high heat and, stirring constantly, bring quickly to a full boil with bubbles over the entire surface. Add sugar, continue stirring, and heat again to a full bubbling boil. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; skim.

Jam before boiling point

Fill hot jam immediately into hot, sterile jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace. Wipe rims of jars with a dampened clean paper towel; adjust two-piece metal canning lids.

Process in a Boiling Water Canner for 5-8 minutes.

Hot packed jars ready for lids

And when you are done, you have some gorgeous jam to save and to share.

Strawberry tops make yummy bunny treats!

Here are some very important notes about making jam with pectin:

1. Be sure you use a large kettle for boiling your jam. Anything made with added pectin will expand! You will need about 2-3x kettle space to be safe. I made this mistake once. I used a pot that was too small and I accidentally started a kitchen fire on my range when the pectin began to expand and boiled over the rims of the pot. The sugar in the jam caught fire on the eye of the stove and immediately began to flame! Fortunately, I had a fire extinguisher in my kitchen and was able to put it out quickly.


2. NEVER leave jams unattended on the stove top. As soon as the jam hits the right temperature, the pectin will start to expand rapidly! Continual stirring will cause the pectin expand less rapidly.

3. Pay attention to the type of pectin you use. Liquid pectin is typically added last whereas powdered pectin needs to be added in the beginning.

If you have any questions about the recipes on my blog, or just want to learn more about home canning, check out my favorite source for all things food preservation!