My granddaughter Brylee Jo and I had fun in the kitchen today, cooking up a big batch of strawberry jam—and it turned out BombDiggity. We put our own spin on it, giving it a hint of lemon to brighten it up and added the sugar first to soften the berries—it worked like a charm.
Strawberry Jam with Brylee Jo
Strawberry jam with a hint of lemon to brighten it up. We add the sugar first to soften the berries, and it works like a charm.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: about 8 half-pint jars
- Category: Canning and Preserving
- Method: Water Bath Canning
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 3 pounds strawberries (about 5 cups mashed)
- 7 cups sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- A little lemon rind (zest to taste)
- 1 box Sure-Jell (yellow box)
Instructions
- Hull and mash the strawberries until you have about 5 cups.
- In a big pot, mix the strawberries and sugar first and let it sit a few minutes while you zest the lemon.
- Add the lemon juice and lemon rind, turn on the heat, and bring everything to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly.
- Once boiling, add the pectin and keep it at a hard boil for one minute. You want that bubbling action you cannot stir down.
- Remove from the heat, skim off any foam, and ladle into sterilized jars.
- Seal the jars, then process in a water bath for 10 minutes.
Notes
Adding the sugar to the berries first softens them and draws out the juice, which is why this sets so well.
Check your seals the next day and refrigerate any jar that did not seal.
We sealed the jars using ForJars lids and rings, and they’re amazing. These lids seal beautifully, they’re extra sturdy, and we’ve never had a fail.
We love ForJars for their reliability and tight seal—you can feel the quality. If you use code BombDiggity you’ll save an extra 10%. Now that’s worth preserving. —-> https://forjars.co/?sca_ref=6471272.N5IWFXaerfaLzo
Done and delicious. It made a beautiful set and tastes like sunshine in a jar. We can’t wait to eat some on biscuits, but Brylee and I did try it straight from the spoon—just to be sure it was perfect. It was.
Berry season keeps going with blackberry jam you can make from frozen berries, and if you have shortcake on your mind, try the strawberry skillet cobbler.
Putting up more from the garden? Our Canning and Preserving guide gathers all of our jams, pickles, salsas, ferments and herb recipes in one place.
Written by
Lane and Jules Morris
Authors and University of Tennessee faculty writing from our farm in East Tennessee about gardening, the farm kitchen, faith and designing a flourishing life at any age. More about us
