That's why this jam reminds me of my family. It's an old fashioned jam without any pectin, so it's not like the perfectly thickened jam that pectin produces. It's messy and more like a strawberry sauce, which begs to be drizzled over hot rolls, vanilla bean ice cream, and of course, little hands and faces!
Old Fashioned Strawberry Jam
The Necessities:
8 cups of crushed berries
6 cups of sugar
8 half-pint jars and lids
Large stainless steel pot
Yes, that's really all you need!
You'll need eight cups of berries. We like chunks of strawberry suspended in our jam, so we dice them. My mom saved time by hulling the strawberries and pureeing them in her blender. Either way, you can't go wrong!
Add your strawberries and six cups of sugar to a stainless steel pot. Don't skimp on the sugar, it's a natural preservative that keeps your jam from spoiling!
Place your pan over medium high heat and crush to the desired consistency.
It's about impossible to get a decent boiling picture! Anyways, bring your mixture to a boil until it thickens. It took about twenty minutes until it came to the thickness my family likes.
Once your jam is thick, ladle it into hot jars. Swipe a wooden skewer around the inside edges of the jar to get rid of any air bubbles. Wipe any excess jam off the edges and put the lids on. Place the jars in a canner, make sure there is an inch of water covering the tops of the jars, and process (boil) for ten minutes.
Pull the jars out of the canner and let them rest on a tea towel overnight. You should hear the lids "ping" as they cool down and seal.
Oh so good!
*This recipe can be found in the Ball Blue Book of Canning
