Sweet Strawberry Jam

If you were to ask me to make a list of the things that I wanted to do before I die, canning would be one of them.  I have always wanted to do it, but felt intimidated by the thought of the process.  I am proud to say that I am the owner of 8 large jars full of homemade Strawberry Jam!

It was much easier than I expected.  Of course, the children were all tucked away.  I was not confident enough to try it with all hands on deck.  Scott was busy working on an article review and preparing his lesson for tonight.  I had the whole kitchen to myself.  I put on my handy apron and I got to work.  

It really helped to have already cut and washed the fruit.  I started the whole process by mashing the strawberries, boiling my lids and rings and allowing my jars to take a little bath in my sink with some hot water.  I followed the detailed directions that I received in my Pomona's Universal Pectin box.  I measured out sugar and pectin, added it to my pot of boiling strawberries mixture that had calcium water in it, and stirred vigorously (hey, I just used one of Julian's vocabulary words for this week).  Once the strawberry mixture came to a boil again, I took it off the heat and filled my jars.  After all the jars are full, then I put them in boiling water for 5 minutes.  That's it!  I was so proud of myself.  It sure was a sweet reward to have our homemade jam on a bagel this morning.  Yum!!  I hope to do this again and again.