Strawberry Jam

Did you guess what it was that Lexx and I made?

No - here is another clue...

 

 

We took a little time two Saturdays ago and

made homemade strawberry jam.

 

I had tried making it about a year ago

with pectin, and it was a disaster.

So I asked one of my coworkers who

makes homemade jam regularly

what recipe she used.

She directed me to

Martha Stewart's website,

but said that she modified the recipe

and made it very simple.

I thought I would share the recipe I used,

and if you wanted to go to Martha's website

you could do that as well.

 

Ingredients

 

6 cups halved strawberries

3 cups sugar

1/2 a lemon

 

Take strawberries, sugar, and juice from half a lemon

and combine in a large non reactive pot

and cook over medium heat.

Stir with a wooden spoon until

ingredients are mixed together.

 

 

Then take a potato masher (or whatever works for you)

and mush down the strawberries .

Cook for about 5 minutes.

Mixture should start to boil.

At this point you want to stir pretty consistently.

 

 

The mixture should turn from bright red to deep red.

This takes between 15-20 minutes

and the mixture will thicken.  If you

have a candy thermometer, the temperature

should register around 220 degrees.

If you are unsure if your mixture is done,

you can do a gel test.

I take a spoon that I placed in the freezer

and scoop the mixture in the spoon. 

If the mixture sticks to the spoon,

your jam should be done.

 

When the mixture is ready,

poor it into the jars and seal and then

give them a water bath.

 

And TADA

homemade strawberry jam.

 

You should make it - it's delicious!