Knox Co. Whole Strawberry Jam

Aaron loves strawberry jam. When we buy it, that's what he goes for and though he did like my peach lavender and blueberry lime, he requested I make strawberry next time I made jam. There are a lot of strawberry jam recipes out there and the one I ended up doing was because it was the fastest one to make. There are a couple of others I'd like to try - one of which involves having your oven on for 10 hours, but for my first strawberry, I'd say this is the jam (ha!).

I'm getting better at canning, but I'll emphasize a few things - work quickly, but carefully, keep your area clean, and try not to scream when you get hot jam on your hands. It doesn't help anything. What does help is keeping a cool head, following directions, and hearing the ping as your lids seal shut, proving to you that you can can. It's awesome.

Knox Co. Whole Strawberry Jam from Lip Smackin' Jams & Jellies:

Makes 4-5 cups
4 c. strawberries
4 c. sugar
2 Tb. lemon juice

Wash, drain, hull, and measure the strawberries. In a large pot mix together the sugar and berries. Over a low heat, mix the berries until the juices are released. Raise the temperature. Stop stirring. Allow the mixture to boil at this point for 15 minutes. Do not stir; however, be certain that the mixture is not sticking at the bottom of the pan. Take a wooden spoon and drag it through the mixture. After 15 minutes, the mixture should be set. Pour the lemon juice over the top of the berries. Stir in the lemon juice and pour into the jars. Process for 10 minutes.

This jam uses no pectin, but it is thick. In fact, mine is more like a glue than jam. It is tasty, but hard to remove from the jars without some leverage and then it needs to be mixed with a liquid to be useable. So be sure to check when it’s set and don’t boil it too long.