Easy Beginner Canning: How to Make The Best Strawberry Jam
Strawberry jam making for the beginner, how to make it and process it (can it) so you can enjoy that fresh strawberry flavor year round.
Equipment
- Large, Heavy bottomed sauce pan at least 8 quarts
- Water Bath Canner
Ingredients
- 8 Cups whole strawberries approximately
- 7 Cups granulated sugar
- 4 Tbsp lemon juice bottled lemon juice is necessary for consistent ph levels rather than fresh lemon juice
- 1 package Sure Jell or 6Tbsp's Ball classic Fruit Pectin
Instructions
- Place 8 clean 8 ounce jars or 4 pints onto the rack of a water bath (boiling-water) canner.
- Fill the canner with warm water, cover and bring water to a simmer on stove over medium heat. Do not boil yet.
- Optional: Add 1 tablespoon white vinegar to the canning water. (This helps the jars not to get a cloudy film during processing.)
- Prepare and wash canning lids and bands with hot, soapy water. Rinse them and set aside.
- Measure sugar into a bowl and set aside.
- Wash strawberries under cool water in a colander. Let fully drain.
- Hull strawberries with a strawberry huller, the road part of a potato peeler or a pairing knife.
- Place a single layer of hulled strawberries in a flat bottomed pan or bowl.
- Using a potato masher or wire masher, mash the strawberries.
- Measure the crushed berries using a liquid measuring cup. Repeat till you have 5 cups of crushed berries.
- Add 5 cups of crushed berries to a deep saucepan or stock pot.
- Stir in lemon juice to the berries and whisk in the pectin until dissolved.
- Bring mixture to a full rolling boil over high heat, stirring frequently to prevent burning.
- Add sugar all at once, stir constantly and return to a full rolling boil.
- Boil hard for 1 minute. (Meaning, you can not stir the boiling down.)
- Remove from heat and skim off foam. (See tips)
- Fill one jar at a time. Carefully remove one jar from the canner, dump the water from the jar back into the canner.
- Place the jar onto a wood cutting board or towel covered counter.
- Position the canning funnel on top of the jar and ladle hot jam into the hot jar. Leave 1/4 inch of headspace.
- Slide de-bubbling tool down the side of the jar, between the jam and the glass. Do this 2 or 3 times to release air bubbles.
- Double check headspace and adjust if needed.
- With a clean, damp cloth or paper towel, wipe the jar's rim and threads to remove any spills.
- Center the lid on top of the jar, place band on and adjust to finger tip tight. (See tips)
- Return the jar to the canner rack or into the simmering water while you repeat the filling process with the other jars.
- Repeat filling until all jars are filled. (See tips)
- When all jars are full, lower the canning rack if you have one. Ensure that all jars are completely covered with hot water by at least 1 inch.
- Place cover on canner and turn up the heat to high.
- When water is at a full rapid boil, start timer for 10 minutes. (Only start timer when water is boiling.) Adjust heat as needed to not overflow but keep a rapid boil going.
- When timer has finished, turn off heat and remove the canner from the burner.
- Remove the lid, carefully so the steam is away from you. Let the canner sit undisturbed for 5 minutes.
- Remove jars, being careful to keep them upright and not tilting them. Place jars on a wooden cutting board or towel covered towel, in a cool space.
- Do not disturb for 24 hours.
- After 24 hours, check lids for seal. Remove the bands and gently press down on center of lid to check seal. Sealed lids will curve down (concave) and will not pop up at all. If you fid a jar with a lid that hasn't been properly sealed, immediately refrigerate it.
- Wash bands and dry for storage and later use. Store jars of strawberry jam without the lids on so you can see if a lid fails during storage.
- Label and store jars in a cool, dark and dry space.
Notes
This recipe card is the very basic recipe. If you would like a lot more detail please fully read the blog post as it is a wealth of information.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!