One of my kids favorite treats is strawberry jam on there waffles in the morning. Today I'm making and canning fresh strawberry jam using strawberries I found at the market. To get started I got out the supplies I needed for canning. Jars, lids, rings, magnet, jar lifter (that's the fancy name), measuring spoons, potato masher, large metal or wooden spoon, ladle, pectin, sugar, hot water bath, skillet, sauce pan, and of course strawberries.
Fill the water canner with enough water to cover the jars by two inches being sure to place the wire rack that came with it on the bottom. Turn the burner on high and with the lid on allow the canner to come up to a boil. Next place the sauce pan on a rear burner and place the lids and rings in it. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Once the water on the lids is boiling you can turn it off. This is just to disinfect and heat the seals so they work properly. Leave them in the water until you are ready to put them on the jars. All of your jars should be sanitized (dishwasher works fine) and ready to go.
The first step in preparing the jam is food prep. Wash all of the fruit and hull or cut the tops (green part) off of the strawberries. Then cut the strawberries in half or quarters depending on the size. Next take the potato masher and crush the strawberries until they are the desired size. I leave my berries a little bit larger so there are good sized chunks in the jam. When you are happy with the size of the berries measure out 5 1/3 cups of berries and juices and put them in your sauce pan. Turn the burner on to high and stir in 5 cups of sugar. Continue to heat and stir until mixture comes to a boil. Once the strawberries and sugar are boiling add 6 tbsp Ball classic fruit pectin and stir until dissolved. Continue stirring until jam returns to a rolling boil (boil that cannot be stirred away). Continue to heat and stir for one minute before removing from heat. Skim the froth off the top with a spoon for a clear clean jam.
Now you're ready to pack your jars. When using 1/2 pint jars like pictured above I set each jar in a soup bowl while filling it. This helps to catch any drips or spills and makes clean up a little easier. Fill each jar leaving a little less than a 1/4 inch at the top. Using a warm washrag wipe the top of the jar to make sure it is clean.
Use the magnet to pull a lid and ring out of the skillet and place them on the jar. Repeat this step for the remaining jars. Once you have all the jars full and the lid on use your washrag to hold the jar and tighten all the lids. Place each jar into the water bath using the jar lifter. Make sure at this point that the jars are covered by at least two inches of water. Put the lid on and let boil for 10 minutes. When the time is up remove the jars using the jar lifter and place them on an even surface.
Now all you have to do it wait! The best sound you can hear after canning is the "tink" of the lids sealing. If you aren't sure that your jars have sealed properly just tap your finger on the lid of each jar. If the lid springs back it is not sealed. Let them cool for a couple of hours before doing this. If they still have not sealed then you will need to refrigerate and use the unsealed jars first. Be sure to mark the lid of each jar with the name and date of what is in them. This comes in handy when you've done multiple batches and want to use the oldest first. Happy canning!
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