Strawberry Jam

I have memories as a kid of my Mom making homemade strawberry jam. We would have waffles for dinner with fresh strawberries. Then ice cream for dessert with still warm jam poured over the top. Since I live across the country from my Mom, I can't have her make me jam anymore. So, I made my own. I thought it would be really hard. I was surprised. It is a lot of work, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I burned myself several times, and made a huge mess in the kitchen but, I am glad I did this. This is how I made my jam. There are other ways, but this is how I did it.

Ingredients:
1 Package of Pectin
4 Pints of Strawberries
7 Cups of Sugar
10 8oz jars

Directions:
* Wash jars, lids and bands. Dry off bands.
* Wash, and cut stems off of strawberries





* Mash strawberries with potato masher (the recipe said do one cup at a time, I did like 4 cups! Oops!). You should have 5 cups total mashed.





* Add the pectin to the strawberries and place in large sauce pan



* Bring the strawberries to a rolling boil (where the boiling doesn't stop even if you stir it).
* Quickly add the sugar, stirring constantly. Bring back to roiling boil. Boil for one minute



* Meanwhile boil water. Pour some over lids in small sauce pan. Pour rest into glass jars to get them hot. If you don't, they will break.



* After minute of boiling, pour water out of jar, and ladle in jam. Leave some room at top.
* Place lid and rim on jar. Do not tighten the rim all the way.
* Let jam cool and seal. The jars are sealed when they "pop" and you cannot push the lid in.
* I saved some for ice cream! :) ENJOY!

Finished Product


My Mess!


A little hard work pays off!