Sweet Strawberry Jam

This past weekend was mother’s day, and so far it’s been an odd holiday for me, I can’t quite decide how to celebrate it. Sometimes I want to sleep in, watch cooking shows and drink coffee all day, but other times I want to share a fun memory with my little family.

This year, I decided why not head to the orchard for some strawberry picking? Not only is it fun for the whole family to pick them (and maybe eat a few, oops), but it’s extra fun for me to find new things to cook or bake with them!

We got just under 5 lbs of strawberries in about 30 minutes of picking. I decided I’d take half of them, and make some jam. This was my first time trying to can anything, and it was much simpler than I anticipated. I chose a no-pectin recipe, just because I didn’t feel like going to the store on Mother’s Day ( I can use that as an excuse right? Just once.)

You’ll want about 2 lbs of fresh strawberries if you want to try this recipe. I haven’t decided what to do with the rest of the strawberries yet, but stay tuned because I plan to use them up by the end of the week!

Sweet sticky goodness!

Ingredients:

• 2lbs fresh strawberries
• 2 cups sugar
• ¼ cup lemon juice

Directions:

1. Wash and hull the strawberries. Cut them in small pieces and mash them with a potato masher. Combine the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in heavy bottomed pan. Stir over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.
2. Then increase the heat and boil until the mixture reaches 220°F, or for about 25-30 minutes. Stir frequently. Turn the heat off, and skim off the foam.
3. Pour the jam into hot sterile jars. Leave about ¼ in left from the top. Run a clean butter knife along the inside edges of the jar to remove any air bubbles. Make sure the edges of the jar are clean. Put the lid on and tighten the ring around them, but not too tight.
4. Place the jars into boiling water and continue to boil for about 10 minutes. Then turn the heat off, and let them sit for 5 minutes. Now transfer the jars onto a cooling rack and let them cool overnight. You will hear popping sounds, which is good thing. It’s a great sign that your jars are being sealed.

I got this Recipe from: http://www.sweetandsavorybyshinee.com/easy-strawberry-jam-no-pectin/