Strawberry Jam (made with local strawberries!)

Strawberry season in my town starts early April, and there are a few strawberry stands that sell daily-picked strawberries. The local strawberries are truly the sweetest strawberries that I've ever tasted. The strawberries you get at grocery stores are not very sweet, and sometimes are super tart, as they are chilled and delivery time takes longer. The best time of day to get the strawberries are in the morning, when the fruit is still moist, and the hot sun is away, and also to beat the crowd-- sometimes the strawberries are all sold out (and you feel like such a lazy person for not waking up at 7 am when the stands open, just for strawberries)! Anyways, my obsession with strawberries and buying $11 worth of six pints of strawberries ended up with I eating too many strawberries and getting the stomach bug (too much acidity in the stomach, maybe?)- at least I made jam during that time of obsession, and here is what I have to rave about these strawberries:

Ingredients: (from the Sure-Jell recipe, makes four 8-oz. jars)

2.5 cups strawberries, pureed
3.5 cups sugar
1.75 tbsp pectin

How to Make:

1. Wash and peel stems off strawberries. Puree the strawberries in a blender.

2. Pour the puree into a nonstick saucepan on medium heat.
3. Add 1.75 tbsp of pectin to the mixture, and bring to a boil.

4. When the mixture is in a rolling boil, add the sugar, stirring constantly.

5. Once mixture returns to a boil for one minute, remove from heat.

 

6. Pour the mixture immediately into sterilized hot canning jars.

7. Seal the jars, and place them in a hot water bath canner. Boil the jars for 10-15 minutes, depending on the altitude at your location. Remove from heat and let cool.