9-10 cups cups chopped strawberries (preferably macerated with a split vanilla bean and two cups of sugar over night)
5 cups sugar (includes sugar used during maceration step)
2 lemons, zested and juiced
2 packets of liquid pectin (that's one box total)
1. Fill your canning post two-thirds of the way with water and put on the stove to bring to a boil.
2. Put berries, sugar and lemon zest/juice in a large pot and cook over medium-high heat for about 15 minutes. You want to really boil the fruit down so that it begins to look syrupy. If you have an immersion blender, use it at this point to puree some of the fruit. If you don't, use a blender to puree about half the jam (working in batches; you don't want hot jam to splash you). Add the blended jam back to the whole fruit jam. Bring to a boil and squeeze in the pectin. At this point, there will be a bunch of foam on top. Skim the foam with a large spoon. Let boil for approximately 10 minutes more, until the jam looks very syrupy (when boiling, it should resemble boiling candy).
3. Lay out your clean jars (you'll need approximately five pints or 10 half-pint jars). Put your lids in a saucepan of hot water to soften the sealing compound. Bring a kettle to a boil now as well, in case you need a bit more boiling water for your canning pot.
4. Fill the jars. Wipe the rims with the edge of a towel dipped in boiling water. Top with lids and screw on rings. Put a rack or folded towel into the bottom of your canning pot (you don't want the jars to be in direct contact with the bottom of your pot). Carefully lower the jars into the boiling water. You can stack them one on top of the other if need be.
5. Process for 10 minutes in the boiling water. When time is up, remove the jars from the water and put them on a towel on the counter. They should begin to ping fairy quickly, indicating that they are sealed. If any of your jars don't seal, make sure to refrigerate them.
Per serving: 28 calories, trace protein, 7 grams carbohydrates, 7 grams sugar, no fat, no cholesterol, no sodium, trace dietary fibers
By Marisa McClellan
