Step 1

If you are canning your jam, then I sanitize and prepare the jars. Boil them in a water bath for ten minutes, then remove. Not only does this help sanitize the jars, it also warms the jars before you put the hot jam in.

Step 2

Wash strawberries and remove the stems and hulls. Crush the strawberries either by using a food mill or hand potato-masher. If you want jelly, then blend the strawberries in a blender and strain the juice, discarding any seeds and pulp.

Step 3

Place strawberries, water, and lemon juice in a large stock pot. Stir in pectin and heat the mixture over high meat until it comes to a rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Keep stirring the mixture to prevent the bottom from burning.

Step 4

Add in the sugar and return to a rolling boil. Continue boiling for a minute, while stirring then remove from heat.

Step 5

If you don’t plan on canning the jam then let cool for a few minutes before pouring into containers. Cool completely, then place in the fridge to harden. You can store jam that hasn’t been canned for ~5-6 days.

Step 6

If you are canning the jam, place a funnel in jar, then ladle the hot jam into the warm jars, leaving a 1/4″ head space. If any jam got onto the lid space, clean off then top with lids and rings.

Step 7

Place sealed jars into a boiling water bath and boil, fully submerged, for 10 minutes. Carefully remove jars (I use tongs or my special canning tongs) and place on a cooling rack to cool. Once cooled, the lids should seal. You can check this by pressing down on the center of the lid- if it is able to be pushed down, then it hasn’t sealed correctly. The one’s that haven’t sealed (if you have any) can either be reprocessed in a water bath or just placed in the fridge to eat immediately.