"Jammin" in the country!

As many of you may know, during the Spring and Summer I sell at farmer's markets on the weekends.  One of the many advantages is that I have access to some of the best produce around!  And what is even better, I know the people who are growing the produce.

Yesterday was my lucky day!  The lady next to me was selling strawberries.  Not like the strawberries you see in the stores.  Oh my!! Big, juicy beautiful strawberries!  I was so afraid she would sell out, so I traded her a couple bars of soap for 3 quarts of strawberries.  Well, she brought a lot of strawberries and didn't sell out! She didn't want to take all those strawberries back home!!  So she made me a deal I couldn't refuse (I'm easy!!). 

So what I have I been doing today?? Jammin in the country!! Well, that is strawberry jammin!  The great thing about canning is that you will be able to enjoy these beautiful strawberries again when it is snowing and icy cold outside - isn't that great!!!  Trust me!!  Homemade strawberry jam is so much better than the stuff they call strawberry jam in the store!!  And it is so easy to make!!  Doesn't that look pretty!  Almost too pretty to eat, but I can tell you my family is going to be enjoying this next December and January!!

Homemade Strawberry Jam

5 cups chopped strawberries
7 cups sugar (yep, I said 7 cups of sugar!!)
1 box of fruit pectin (like Sure-Jel)

Makes about 7 half-pint jars of jam.

Prepare a hot water bath for your jars and lids.

Wash and remove the stems of the strawberries.  Chop them into small pieces and mash them (I use a potato masher - works good for me).
Put the mashed strawberries in a large sauce pan.  Add the pectin and a small sliver of butter (this helps to reduce the foam).
Bring to a boil, while stirring constantly.
Add the sugar.  Again bring to a boil and boil for one minute - still stirring constantly.
Remove pan from stove top.
Handle very carefully because this is HOT and the jam will stick to your skin and burn!!

Ladle the hot jam into the hot jars, seal and put into hot water bath.

Process for 10 minutes.

YUM!!  This is also great on ice cream!!

If you have a farmer's market near you, make every effort to stop by because the strawberries won't last much longer!!