It’s Strawberry Season!

Yay! Luscious berries, ripe for the pickin', either from your garden or your local farmer’s market. Strawberry jam, pie, shortcake, bread, or right into your mouth. What’s not to love about these cute little sweet, red berries…am I right?  In addition to being tasty, strawberries are low in calories, until you make pie and bread, and are high in fiber, potassium, and vitamins like C, B6, and K.

Strawberry season also signals the beginning of canning season here at Inspired by the Farm. This year we purchased 12 quarts of strawberries from Windmill Ridge in Shelbyville. If you’ve not been to Windmill Ridge, you should definitely go. We buy a lot of our bulk foods and spices there. They also carry homemade pies, bread, and cinnamon rolls, and you can make your own peanut butter! Our strawberry bed is still in the planning stage, so it looks like we’ll be buying strawberries for one more year.

Why so many strawberries? My family loves strawberry jam or as my grandma, Mattie Sue Redd, called it strawberry preserves. I never really understood the difference between jam and preserves, but from what I’ve read jam uses crushed fruit or fruit pulp, whereas preserves have fruit chunks in a gel or syrup. Preserves also have more fruit than jam. My grandma and mom both sealed their jams, jellies, and preserves with a paraffin seal. I tried that method and determined I like using canning lids and rings better. Do what you like, I say.

If you are new to canning, strawberry jam is a great place to start. I often tell people, if you can measure you can make jam. I just use the cooked jam recipe from Sure-Jell’s “less sugar” fruit pectin. I used ten quarts of strawberries and ended with 32 8-ounce jelly jars of strawberry jam. I did mine in two double-batches. For quick reference, here’s the recipe.

Strawberry Jam – Low Sugar
Makes eight 8-ounce jars

Ingredients

6 cups prepared strawberries – you’ll need to buy about 3 quarts

4 cups sugar, measured into a separate bowl, divided

1 box SURE-JELL Premium Fruit Pectin For Less or No Sugar Needed Recipes

½ teaspoon butter or margarine (optional)

Directions

1.    Lids and jars must be sterilized before use. Simmer for 10 minutes in boiling water while jam is cooking.

2.    Wash, stem, and crush strawberries one layer at a time. Using a dry measuring cup, measure exactly 6 cups prepared fruit into a 6 or 8-quart sauce pot or stockpot. IBTF tip: I use my handy-dandy vintage Spee-Dee Strawberry Huller…it is amazing and pulls that stem and hull right out. I also found that a potato masher works best for mashing strawberries.

3.    Measure exactly 4 cups of sugar into a bowl. Note, this is the amount for the less or no sugar needed pectin. Their is a different recipe for standard Sure-Jell.

4.    Combine ¼ cup of the sugar from the bowl above and pectin in a small bowl. Add to fruit in the sauce pot and mix well. Add butter/margarine to reduce foaming, if desired. IBTF note: I’ve used butter and margarine and still get foam. Someone just told me to let the jam set for about 5-minutes before ladling into jars to give it time to cool a bit and it will be easier to skim. If you’ve got any secrets, let us know!

5.    Bring mixture to a full rolling boil (a boil that doesn’t stop bubbling when stirred) on high heat, stirring constantly.

6.    Stir in remaining sugar from bowl. Return to a full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and use a metal spoon to skim any foam.

7.    Ladle jam into prepared jars, filling to within 1/4 inch of tops. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with 2-piece lids, screwing rings on tightly.

8.    Place jars in canner; water should cover jar by 1-2”. Cover and bring water to a gentle boil. Process 10 minutes.

9.    Remove jars and place upright on towel to cool and let the popping begin! If a jar doesn’t seal (the lid will spring back)…it seems like there is always one…that’s one jar you can add to the refrigerator and enjoy now.

If you love strawberries, stick around for Aunt Fannie’s Glazed Strawberry Pie!