There is nothing that fills a Moma’s heart with more joy than spending quality time with their children. This weekend, Kyndal had a quick trip home for Mother’s Day. On this trip, she had to have her car serviced in preparation for her traveling for her summer internship and also a shortened Mother’s Day for the same reason. While we would’ve loved an extended homestay, we are so thrilled about her summer internship it made it easy to not be disappointed in her amount of time home. Whoever said it’s quality not quantity must have had college kids! We were able to spend so much quality time together on this quick trip.
Last spring, I made Strawberry jam for the first time. I canned it and everything. I had been reading The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah and it had me in the mood to put on my Ree Drummond hat. It was a huge success. I’ve been a little intimidated to try again because I just knew it wouldn’t turn out the same. A few weeks ago, Kyndal called me and wanted me to tell her how to do it. We talked a little about the steps, but then I suggested we just make it together when she came home for Mother’s Day. I’m so glad we did. 1. It was a great experience. 2. It’s too hard to explain over the phone. 3. I had all of the supplies here. 4. It was a great experience. 🙂
I’ll share the recipe I used for inspiration, but like all recipes, I put my own flare to it.
Strawberry Jam Recipe
- 5 cups hulled and mashed strawberries
- 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, strained
- One 49-gram package of powdered fruit pectin
- 7 cups sugar
You can click the recipe link above for the full recipe and instructions, but this is what we did.
First, Kyndal cut up all of the strawberries. We used 5 lbs of strawberries. You will notice that we sprinkled sugar on the strawberries and let them sit. This isn’t necessary, but I like to do this to see how sweet the natural sugar is in the berries.
While the strawberries sat, we got out all of our other supplies and got the jars and lids boiling. I do not have canning equipment so I just used my “soup pot” for the jars. Next up on my list is this great canning kit from Amazon!
Next, we put the strawberries in another large pot to simmer. We added lemon juice and the remaining sugar. *I use my Vitamix to pulse the strawberries into a mashed/pureed state. I don’t want them to be liquid, but I want them to be mashed more than in the first picture.
Stir constantly, and let boil for 1 minute and 15 seconds.
Use tongs to remove one jar at a time. Pour water back into the pot. We did not use a funnel, but it has already been purchased for next time. It’s a deal breaker in filling the jars and keeping them clean. We filled right to the first line of the jar. Make sure to wipe the rim of the jar to remove stickiness. This will actually prevent the jars from sealing if it’s not clean.
Remove the center lid from the simmering water and place it on top. Loosely, put screw bands on jars. Do this with all the jars, and then place the jars back in the water. Bring the water to a full boil for about 10 minutes.
Turn off the heat.
You should leave the jars in the hot water for an additional 5 minutes. Remove the jars from the water and allow them to sit for 24 hours. *We did not, because we were on a time crunch. I’m not sure if this was a big flaw or not. All but 4 jars were sealed and I really think that was because they were not cleaned up before the lid was placed on it. Any jar not sealed needs to be stored in the refrigerator.
We used these great Avery labels designed with an Avery template through the Avery.com website. We printed them and now they are ready for gifting.
Sharing is Caring
Jonathan was so excited to share some of Kyndal’s jam with office friends. These guys all have offices in the downstairs of an office building, and they have become good friends over the last several years. Today, he picked up some bagels from Panera and some of Kyndal’s homemade jam to share.
Supply list and links for everything we used:
Canning kit that I really need to purchase
