YaYa's Strawberry Jam

I remember my mom making Strawberry Jam when I was a kid, I remember the smell and the "pop,pop,pop" we would hear from the kitchen. I wanted to learn how to do this myself, because #1 I love homemade jam and #2 because I like to know what's in the stuff we eat. So YaYa came and gave Sissy and I a lesson in Jam making!
I loved this recipe because it was very easy! The key is prep work, having everything measured and sanitized and ready to go!

Here is what you will need-

~Strawberries(A batch requires about 5 cups crushed strawberries, so you will need about 10 cups whole raw strawberries) Of course I would love to have strawberries from a "U-pick" farm, maybe next year!
~Sugar(7 cups-Domino Sugar-YaYa says it's better)
~Sure Jell (1 box)
~Butter

*Before you start make sure you have everything ready

~Jars with seals and rings
~Canning Funnel
~Fabric and Labels (optional)
~1 pot for the jars/lids
~1 pot for the jam
~Wooden Spoon
~Ladle
~2 Towels (1 for finished product, and one to use when filling jars)


1. Wash jars/seals and put them in a pot of hot water to sit until ready.

2. Measure out sugar in a separate bowl.

3. Wash your strawberries and hull them (cut off the green part on top, so nothing but fruit remains).

4. Now Crush the Berries. (There are different ways to go about crushing the berries; you can use a potato masher and mash them up OR you can put in a blender/food processor and crush them.)

5. Transfer the berries to a pot,add 1/4 tsp of butter and stir in the pectin,( continue stirring as you are adding the pectin)

(Sissy added pectin while YaYa stirred it up)

6. Bring mixture to a full rolling boil,stirring constantly, now add the sugar,continue stirring, return to a boil.


7. Boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly . Remove from heat. Skim off any foam. (As you’re stirring, a strange pink foam will form on top of your jam. It tastes delicious, but you don’t want that in your jam, ’cause then it won’t be gorgeously translucent. Use a spoon to scoop the foam off the surface of the boiling jam.

8. Ladle jam into jars. Wipe off the rim of the jar with a clean damp paper towel. 

9.Take a lid out if the hot water and place on jar. Screw on the rings. Put the jar upside down on a separate towel. 

Once all the jars are filled, turn them right side up and then leave them alone until they have all popped and set. 

While you are waiting on all those "pops" take the time to pop some biscuits in the oven and put that "foam" you skimmed off to good use...