Strawberry Jelly

I have been wanting to try canning for many years. I recently found a great book about canning called, The Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving. There are so many things you can preserve from fruit to vegetables to salsa. I decided to try strawberry jelly since it is my favorite.

I used the recipe in the chapter called, Fruit Jellies with Liquid Pectin.

Strawberry Jelly

Makes about seven 8 oz. jars. ( I got 8 jars and probably could have gotten 9 if I would have had the jar prepared.)

3 3/4 C Strawberry juice for jelly
4T lemon juice
7 1/2 C sugar
2 pouches (each 3 oz.) liquid pectin

To make the  3 3/4 C strawberry juice you will need about 11 C of fresh strawberries, carefully cleaned, hulled, and sliced.  Add about 2 C water to the strawberries and bring to a boil in a stainless saucepan. Before the berries begin to boil I used a pastry cutter and a large spoon to smash the berries. Reduce heat, cover lightly, and boil gently stirring constantly until berries are softened, about 5-10 minutes. Transfer strawberries to a strainer with very small holes or use cheesecloth and allow to drip for 2 hours.

When the juice is ready I start to heat the lids and the jars.  They both must be heated to be sanatized. (you don't need to heat the rings) I heated the lids in a small saucepan and used a magnetic lid lifter to get the hot lids out of the water. It is a very handy tool to have.

Combine strawberries, lemon juice and sugar. Over high heat bring to a full boil, stirring constantly. The boling should not stop when stirring. Add the liquid pectin and stir, while still boiling for 1 minute. Remove from heat and skim foam from top.

Pour liquid into hot jars, wipe rim, center lid, and add ring.

Place jars in canner. Make sure they are all covered with water. Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes. Remove canner lid. Wait 5 minutes, remove jars, cool and store.

Check the lids after 24 hours to make sure they have been properly sealed. The lid should be concave and you should be able to take off the ring, hold the jar by the lid and the lid should not come off. If  the jar is not sealed properly you can reporcess or put in the refrigerator and use right away.