Homemade Strawberry Jam

Every Spring (or early Summer) for the past 6 years, I have made homemade strawberry jam with Kevin's mom. Kevin grew up with homemade jam & after we got married I started making some for us. We each make a year's supply of jam & some additional ones to give away as gifts.
Homemade Strawberry Jam is a perfect gift for a teacher or a hostess gift!

It 's easy to make your own homemade jam.
And, it tastes so much better than store bought jam.

Our favorite kind of jam is strawberry, so that is the only kind I make!
The girls and I headed over to my in-laws house so Jill & I could make the jam. I put Kate down for a nap there, but Claire stayed up to watch us make jam. She was very intrigued, crawled around the kitchen and watched us the entire time!
One batch makes about 80 ounces of jam.
We used 12 oz jars & filled about 6-7 jars per batch.
(Today, we made 5 batches so that we each had a year supply of jam & some extra jars to give as gifts)
Homemade Strawberry Freezer Jam

Here is what you need (per batch):
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup light karo syrup
1 box pectin
4 cups of sugar
3 1/4 cups of pureed strawberries
**Note: Make sure you use ripe, freshly picked strawberries. We always get strawberries from Kevin's sister who lives in the Central Valley. Our strawberries came straight from the fields yesterday! The grocery store strawberries aren't as good to use because they don't have as much flavor. If you have a local fruit stand or farmer's market, get strawberries from them. Use grocery store strawberries as a last resort, they are usually not as sweet**
**Another Note: This recipe if for strawberry jam, if you prefer a different flavor of jam, the ratios of sugar & fruit will be different. Usually the package of pectin will tell you what measurements to use for other varieties of jam.**
Step 1:
Gather & Clean your jars.
For each batch, you need about 5 mason jars for canning. (Or, you can use old jam, hot fudge or other 6-8 oz glass jars. Just run them through the dishwasher & save them throughout the year)
Step 2:
Wash & trim the stems off the strawberries.

Step 3:
Puree the strawberries in a blender or food processor. I puree about 1 cup at a time. There should be some chunks, you don't want your strawberries too liquidy or your jam won't turn out right.
(You need 3 1/4 cups of pureed strawberries per batch)
Step 4:
Put pureed strawberries into a pot with 1/4 cup of lemon juice.
Step 5:
Gradually stir in 1 box of pectin into the strawberries & lemon juice.
Set aside for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to dissolve pectin thoroughly.
Step 6:
After 30 minutes, stir in 1 cup of karo syrup (this prevents crystallization during the freezer storage)
Step 7:
Put pot on stove & turn burner on LOW. Gradually stir in 4 cups of sugar, stirring continuously until sugar is dissolved and no longer grainy. (about 2-3 minutes). Don't let the mixture get too hot!
Step 8:
Pour into glass jars. Leave about 1/2 inch at the top for expansion during freezing.
Step 9:
After about 5 minutes, put lids on jars.
Step 10:
Every 3-4 hours, turn over the jars of jam so that all the fruit doesn't settle on the bottom. It will set after 24 hours, so put it in the freezer after it sets.
(Kate woke up just in time to help me organize my jars!)
Step 11:
Store jam in your freezer! It can stay in your freezer for 2 years!
When you are ready to use a jar of jam, defrost it in your fridge overnight & then keep refrigerated between uses. It can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 months. (We usually go through a jar a month since we eat a lot of PB&J sandwiches!)
Step 12:
If you want to give a jar of jam as a gift, you make it look "pretty" by adding some fabric, a ribbon & a little note card. Here is one that I have prettied up!
(since I can't sew, this is how I can use all the pretty fabric that I love)
This is a great hostess gift, teacher gift, or a "just because" gift!

Enjoy!