Prepare Strawberries

Rinse strawberries under cool water and remove stems.  For many years I removed the stems by hand until I came across this strawberry huller.  I will never remove stems by hand ever again. This is one of those kitchen gadgets where you might just say, “Where have you been all my life!”.  Yep, this is one of those kitchen gadgets I consider a “must have”!

Slice Strawberries

After rinsing and dehulling the strawberries then it’s time to slice them up into a large bowl. You want to talk about slicing strawberries easily?  This is the perfect slicer! It will save you major time.  Another one of those “must have” kitchen gadgets. 

Marinade Ingredients

This recipe calls for 1 pound of strawberries therefore the next step is to weigh the strawberries. Weighing strawberries can be helpful with this kitchen scale. Place the strawberries in a medium sized bowl and stir in sugar, lemon juice and refrigerate for at least 1-hour. The longer the strawberries are in this sugar mixture the more juices they will produce.

Blend

After the strawberries have marinaded for a while put the mixture in a large saucepan. Smash strawberries or gently blend. I find using this hand-held blender works wonders on smashing strawberries to whatever consistency preferred. 

Cook

Place saucepan of strawberries over low heat gradually increasing to high heat bringing the mixture to a full rolling boil. Stir constantly with a wooden soon during this process. You will also need to be very tentative as the mixture will get foamy and may try to boil over. If that occurs lift pan off heat while continuing to stir and the mixture will calm down. Return to heat and continue boiling and stirring. It is recommended that the mixture reach 220 degrees Fahrenheit. This can be monitored by using a candy thermometer.  If you don’t have a candy thermometer it is recommended to continue cooking the strawberries until the mixture thickens up. You will notice thickening of the strawberries after the foaming process has ceased. The longer you cook the strawberries the thicker the mixture becomes. Cook to desired thickness.

Prepare Jelly Jars and Can Strawberry Jam

In the meantime, begin sanitizing your jelly jars according to manufacturer's recommendations. Then carefully transfer hot strawberry mixture into hot sterile jars, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch head space and add seal. Process jars in a water bath. If the jam is going to be eaten right away, don't bother with processing and just refrigerate. I find when canning jams and jellies the little 4 ounce jars work well. And if you want to have bigger jelly jars these 8 ounce jars work well too.