Strawberry jam

Yesterday, the kids and I went strawberry picking at Homestead Farms.   In my family, there are 3 types of pickers.  The first type plops down in the row, starts singing and lazily picks a berry or two.  The second type stands above the plants and proclaims there are no good berries - and when he does start picking, it's a random one every few plants.  Then there is me.  I start at a bush, look under the leaves and pick clean, move to next bush and repeat.

This is about $45 of strawberries!  No one said making jam was cheap. 

I cleaned one tray of berries, rinsed and put on a tray and froze.  When frozen, I broke apart those berries that were stuck together and then put in a freezer bag.

Time to make the jam!  Here is all the equipment needed - pots, jars, lids, bands and tongs

Jam is not hard to make and I just follow the directions in the Pectin box.  Crush enough berries to make 6 cups.  Put in a pot, add some sugar that has been mixed with the pectin.  Bring to a roiling boil.

Once the berries are boiling, add the rest of the sugar and bring back to the boil.

Ladle into jars, wipe rims clean and put on lids and bands.

Once lids are on, put into canning pot, bring water to boil and process the jars for 10 min.

Take the jars out of the water and let set for 24 hours.  The jars should make a ping sound as the seal tightens.