I was lucky enough to get hooked up with one of those people who drive up from Florida with hundreds of pounds of fresh strawberries late every winter and I got about 20 pounds of them. I turned them into 11 pints and 7 half-pints of strawberry jam, with enough leftover for sliced strawberries for desserts!
I love strawberries. And peaches and apricots and blackberries and… I never can pick a favorite. I love to make jam, too. If you’ve never canned before, check out my How to Can: Hot Water Bath Method. It’s easy! You can do it.
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How to make Strawberry Jam:
5 cups crushed strawberries
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 1.75-ounce package fruit pectin
7 cups sugar
Wash and hull strawberries. Crush one layer at a time with a potato masher. Get your water boiling in your canning pot, rack tucked inside. Boil lids in a small pan then remove to dry on a paper towel using tongs. While water is coming to a boil in your big pot, place crushed strawberries in another large pot with the lemon juice. Add pectin and bring to a full, rolling boil. (Add 1/2 teaspoon butter to reduce foaming.)
Meanwhile, get your sugar measured and ready. As soon as strawberries, lemon juice, and pectin are at the boil, add sugar all at once. Return to boil and keep at the full, rolling boil for one minute. Remove from heat and ladle immediately into clean, sterilized jars. Place lids on top, screw on bands, and lower onto rack in your pot of boiling water. Cover and boil 10 minutes. Remove jars and place upright on a cutting board or rack to cool and let stand undisturbed for 24 hours. Store in a cool, dry location.
I brought a jar over to Georgia. She called me later and told me she took her jar inside, sat down in her favorite chair, and ate the whole thing with a spoon. When I’m a little old lady, I want to be just like her.
Because I love jam and usually have lots of it, I like to make other things with jam, especially since I can’t always get fresh fruit. I made up this simple cake topping that works great with any fruit jam as well as apple butter. And it’s scrumptious.
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How to make Fruity Jam Cake Glaze:
4 ounces (half a jam-size jar) jam
3 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons hot water
In a small saucepan, melt butter. Add jam, stirring to blend. Remove from heat and transfer to a medium-size bowl. Add sifted powdered sugar and hot water; stir well. If necessary, add additional hot water to bring glaze to drizzling consistency. (Makes enough to glaze a 10-inch tube or bundt cake.) This is so easy.
Strawberry Fruit Jam Glaze over pound cake. Yummy!
See these recipes at Farm Bell Recipes for the handy print pages and to save them to your recipe box:
Strawberry Jam
Fruity Jam Cake Glaze
See All My Recipes
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Kate says:
Looks absolutely delicious! I have a freezer full of strawberry jam from last summer and it’s what keeps me going throughout the winter. Life without strawberries would be scary… kinda like this guy: :dancingmonster:
On March 4, 2009 at 6:12 am
Kathryn says:
I thank you for the glaze recipe! I wonder if it would work with Lemon Curd. Oh well, guess I had best make some gingerbread and try that out, huh?
I looked at the little picture of Miss Jacob and thought she was a calf! Please excuse my early-morning idiocy. :sheep:
On March 4, 2009 at 6:36 am
Jan @ Greensboro Daily Photo says:
This great post leaves me hungry. Time to get up from blogging and time to eat some jam. Wish it looked as appetizing as what you have made!
Jan
Greensboro Daily Photo
On March 4, 2009 at 6:50 am
Cyndi Lewis says:
How do you have time to do all this wonderful stuff and write books too? Can my family come live with you?
On March 4, 2009 at 8:11 am
Robin G. says:
Holy hell does that look good. Hungry!
On March 4, 2009 at 8:51 am
Nancy in Atlanta says:
Dadgummit! Go back to animal pictures – you’re making me drool on my keyboard again!!! The Jacob ewe is lovely – but when I first looked at the small photo I, too, thought you’d gotten a calf! Didn’t notice the horns until I clicked it larger.
On March 4, 2009 at 8:53 am
feathrencox says:
Ok, Suzanne, I’m sitting at work checking in on you today and see this blog about fresh strawberries and FABULOUS, DELICIOUS pictures of strawberry jam. UGH! You are killing me. I just want to go home and fix some toast with your jam/jelly! So thanks for making a girl at work super hungry! 😉
:hungry2:
On March 4, 2009 at 8:53 am
feathrencox says:
Ok your picture of Miss Jacob DOES look like a goat! I thought you had brought another one home! Speaking of goats, when is Miss Clover’s ETA back on the McMinn farm? I miss her! I even went through old blogs yesterday searching for stories and pictures of her!
On March 4, 2009 at 8:58 am
Treasia/TruckersWife says:
Those look so good this morning. You make it sound easy to make. I might just have to do this later this summer when my strawberries make.
On March 4, 2009 at 9:05 am
Linda says:
I got a jar of strawberry and a jar of blackberry for christmas and wondered what I was going to do with them. I think I know now. Thank You
On March 4, 2009 at 9:46 am
Tori Lennox says:
Miss Jacob DOES look like a goat!
On March 4, 2009 at 10:05 am
Jodie says:
I thought it was a calf photo too! She’s lovely regardless of whether she looks like a sheep or not.
Send some jam laden cake over here to Texas. I don’t make jam but I love to consume strawberries in any form.
On March 4, 2009 at 10:09 am
margiesbooboo says:
Morning,That glaze really looks good! I used some of my peach jam last week with some Indian spice with chicken and veggies over rice and made my own rice bowls. Hubby thought I was a genius! Thanks again for giving me the courage to can my own peaches.
huggs,
margiesbooboo
On March 4, 2009 at 10:20 am
Vera says:
I can almost taste that cake with the strawberry glaze,Yuuuumm
On March 4, 2009 at 10:24 am
Leah says:
Strawberry jam fruit glaze over Pound Cake…now you’re talking! Pound Cake is my favorite cake!
On March 4, 2009 at 11:32 am
Mary Humphrey says:
I need to do some canning again!!! I miss it. I love your blog…so warm and friendly.
On March 4, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Asha says:
Oh my lord I might be in love with you now. Your canning method made angels sing and trumpets blare… I realized I’ve been doing it the hard way my whole little life!
Some day I will find my way over to your forum. I just have another forum that gets the little computer-attention that my 3 babies leave me with.
On March 4, 2009 at 1:38 pm
catslady says:
Looks yummy as always :eating:
On March 4, 2009 at 2:23 pm
Nancy Hamilton says:
I do not have any strawberries or a canning pot. Would you mind just sending samples my way? This looks way too delicious not to share!
On March 4, 2009 at 2:28 pm
Brandy says:
I looked at the picture of the cake and started to drool! *G*
On March 4, 2009 at 2:34 pm
shirley says:
I looked in on Suzanne & Co. first thing this morning and my head has been full of strawberry jam cake all day.I guess I don’t have good sense because I went back just now for a second look.God help me! I could eat the whole thing.What tantalizing thing are you gonna whip up next, Suzanne? I don’t think I can stand it. :hissyfit:
On March 4, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Estella says:
Strawberries are my favorite fruit.
On March 4, 2009 at 3:19 pm
Donna says:
Suzanne, those canned jars of jam, look EXACTLY like the ones my MIL gives us – about a case. Grape and strawberry. She picks the strawberries in June, up in NY. YUM. I put jam on biscuits, use it for ice cream topping (that’s really good), on my egg rolls, on my breakfast sausage…anything I want sweet. :eating:
On March 4, 2009 at 3:45 pm
BuckeyeGirl says:
:hungry:
What more is there to say?
Oh! Except I got the newsletter today Suzanne! Very NICE! Love that seed catalog too!
On March 4, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Christy O says:
All my strawberry jam from last year molded. Any ideas what went wrong?
On March 4, 2009 at 8:44 pm
Suzanne McMinn says:
Hi, Christy. Like Sheryl said, it was probably a bad seal.
On March 5, 2009 at 4:34 am
trish says:
That looks so incredible that I think I’m going to have to try it.
I received my newsletter and I looove it. The pictures with giant puppy were fabu!
On March 4, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Cousin Sheryl says:
Tell Princess that her room looks good and it certainly looks a lot better than it did the last time I saw it (in person). What did she do with all that stuff that was on the floor? You’d better check that attic cubbyhole! (ha ha).
Newsletter looks good! Sheep look good!
The one lady who had mold on her jam…she did not get a good seal. Always be certain to wipe the rims of jars before adding lids and sealing/canning. Always check jars for seal (center of lid should look “sucked in” (slight depression). Listen for “pop” when jars cool. A knife handle “lightly tapped” on jar lid will sound dull.
I woke up at 4 AM and came out to check up since I can only get “computer time” when #1 son is not hogging the computer.
On March 5, 2009 at 3:18 am
Angelina says:
That looks like a great way to use jam. Although I love jam on toast, I like finding other uses for it too. Lucky to get strawberries this time of year!
On March 6, 2009 at 10:16 am