Homemade Strawberry Jam

I had only made jam once in my life.  The first time was with my mother.  We made blueberry jam to help fill Christmas baskets.  I don't know what we did, but the jam came out like large blocks of hard candy.  This time,  I recruited a friend of mine.  She is an experienced jam maker.  The recipe we used comes from a Ball canning cookbook. (Ball Blue Book of Preserving)   Perfect weather for strawberry picking and cooking  The jam came out smooth and creamy. (I was surprised at how easy and quick it was to make!)

Made 9 - 8 oz canning jars 

2 quarts strawberries
1 package powdered pectin
1/4 cup lemon juice
7 cups sugar





Jar preparation:

• Wash jars and 2 piece caps in hot, soapy water, rinse well
• Dry bands and set aside
• Heat jars and lids in a pot and simmer to 180 degrees.  DO NOT BOIL LIDS!
• Jars and lids should remain in hot water until ready for use.  Remove one at a time as needed

Making the Jam:

• Wash strawberries and drain.  Remove stems
• Crush strawberries one layer at a time.  (we used a potato masher)
• Combine Strawberries, powdered pectin and lemon juice in a large saucepan
• Bring to boil, stirring occasionally.  (We used a nonmetallic spatula for stirring)
• Add sugar; stirring until dissolved
• Return to a rolling boil
• Boil hard 1 minutes, stirring constantly
• Remove from heat, skim foam
• Ladle into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space
• Adjust two-piece caps
• Boil for 10 minutes in a boiling-water canner
• Remove.  (make sure bottle makes a "burping" noise.  (this means that it has sealed properly)
• Let settle for 1 day before opening and eating

-Queenie Cuisine  (It was a lot of fun to make!)