How to Make Homemade Strawberry Jam

It is strawberry season, and strawberries happen to be one of my favorite fruits.  I picked this batch at a U pick farm a few years back in Michigan.  

We also recently had a large strawberry festival in Ohio, which was a lot of fun.   Since I have shared many strawberry recipes over the years,  I thought now might be the perfect time to reshare them. 

Every year my grandma would make everyone in the family several jars of strawberry jam.  We looked forward to it every year.   I loved her jam, but had no idea who to make it until after she passed. 

I had no idea how easy her recipe actually was until my mom told me.  All you need is 4 cups of sliced strawberries, 4 cups of sugar, and a box of Sure-Jell  (Sure-Jell is not paying me for this post, it really was  my grandma's preferred brand)    I smashed the berries in a large bowl using a potato masher. As I smashed them, they began to turn into strawberry juice.  

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I added the sugar to the strawberries one cup at a time, stirring each time to make sure the sugar dissolves.  Once all the sugar is added to the bowl, allow the mixture to sit for about 10 minutes. While the strawberries sit, it is time to make the pectin.  Add one box of Sure-jell to 3/4 cups of water and boil on high, while stirring constantly.  Allow it to boil for one minute, and then remove from heat.

Pour the boiled pectin into the bowl with the fruit, and stir until all of the pectin has been dissolved.  It is now ready to pour into your jars.   This recipe will make 5 cup size jars of jam. Cover the jars, and allow them to stand at room temperature for 24 hours.  The jam will keep in the refrigerator for up to three weeks, or in the freezer for one year.  

Writing this post is making me hungry.  I think I will have to make some jam this weekend!