how to strawberry jam

I learned a great deal at the strawberry jam canning class yesterday and am looking forward to a pickling class soon.  Below is a recap, but to make the jam you should follow a recipe.  There is one included at the end and a link to find more.

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Begin with 3 1/2 quarts of fresh, washed strawberries.

And 10 clean jars.

De-stem and cut the berries into large pieces.

Puree the berries.  We used an immersion blender for this.  You should have 5 1/2 cups of blended berries.

Add your strawberries to your pot (be sure it is a high gauge so that the fruit will not burn).  Add pectin and stir well.

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I found this pectin with no sugar or preservatives at Manna Grocery and Deli.  Thanks, as always, Manna!

Set on high heat and bring to boil with bubbles over the entire surface, stirring constantly.  Stir, stir, stir.

Add sugar, stirring.  This recipe called for a lot of sugar (8 cups) and I am going to look around for one with less, possibly with honey as a substitute for some, and with a little lemon juice which I love to add to almost anything sweet with strawberries.  

Boil hard for 1 minute, continually stirring.  

Remove from heat and skim.  The skimming is for looks and if you don't mind it looking a little bubbly in your jar, you can skip this step.  Also, we were told that a tablespoon of butter stirred in will eliminate this step.  I am always in favor of butter!

Fill the jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space (space between the jam and the lid).
The tool pictured is a bubble freer that we stirred around the edges to free bubbles.  It also works to measure the head space.

We had a handy ladle and funnel for pouring the jam into the jars.

Wipe the rim with a damp paper towel and place the lid and band on.  The band does not need to be screwed on tight.  Stop when it no longer twists easily.

We processed these jars in a water bath for 5 minutes.

strawberry_jam_-_tusc_co._2018.pdf
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There is the recipe we used.  Again, a lot of sugar, but very delicious!  
Here is the recommended site for finding more recipes:
National Center for Home Food Preservation

Happy Canning!