I became obsessed with this strawberry jam when I realized how delicious it was with vanilla ice cream after making some for the Super Bowl. So I was super excited when my friend Beth was like, “Hey, strawberries are in season! Let’s make some jam together.”

We immediately started planning our jam party.

Canning involves a lot of prep, and Beth really did most of it. She cleaned her kitchen & sanitized the jars before I came over. I just showed up with strawberries & tequila (it was National Margarita Day).

The ingredients are pretty simple: strawberries (duh), sugar, pectin, & lemon juice. The strawberries need to be hulled & crushed, so we did it in two fun ways – the potato masher way & the Cuban way.

Once we had enough (5 cups), we added the lemon juice & pectin & brought that to a boil.

Once it boiled, Beth added all of the sugar at once & continued stirring.

I am so grateful that she did all of the volatile hot stuff. It bubbled and exploded like a volcano!

After 1 minute, the mixture is ready to be canned. You can skim the foamy stuff from the top, or if it’s not too much just leave it like we did.

Next is the fun part: we got to use all sorts of canning gadgets!

It was pretty entertaining. We sealed those bad boys & waited for the lids to go ‘pop!’ They are good for a year unopened – not that the jars I have will last that long!

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Strawberry Jam

• 5 cups crushed strawberries
• 7 cups sugar
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 packet pectin
• canning jars, lids, & tools

1. Prep your jars for canning.
2. Combine strawberries and lemon juice in a pot. Stir in pectin. Bring mixture to a rolling boil that can’t be stirred down. Stir constantly.
3. Add all the sugar & stir. Return mixture to a rolling boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
4. Ladle hot jam into jars leaving 1/4 inch head space. Wipe rim. Place lid on jar & tighten band.
5. Leave jars on an even surface overnight. Jars are sealed when lid doesn’t move up & down when pressed.
6. Enjoy!