Pectin-Free Strawberry Preserves

I love strawberry preserves! When strawberries went on sale, I knew this was my calling to finally give it a shot and try my hand at canning. I read dozens of articles and finally decided to pull a little from each and make my own recipe. I started out by hulling 4 lbs of strawberries.

After that, I juiced 2 large lemons and got just under 1 cup of lemon juice. I put the hulled strawberries and lemon juice on the stove in a large stock pot. After about ten minutes of medium heat, I could see the magic happening. I placed a small plate in the freezer. I know, sounds crazy but  it helped later. I used a potato mashed to help mash the strawberries to release their natural pectin. Once there was a good bit of liquid from the fruit, I used 4 cups of sugar as sweetener. I let it boil for about ten minutes.

Making Strawberry Preserves

After that, I reduced the heat and let the strawberries simmer while I lined up my canning supplies. I put the metal lids in a small soup pan and cover them with water. I put them on the back burner on a low heat; enough to warm them but never get near boiling.

warmed lids for canning

I started my large stock pot with water and lined up my heated jars. After that was all ready, I took a spoonful of my preserves and set it on the plate in the freezer. I checked it in 5 minutes to see how my preserves would eventually turn out. Man, they tasted amazing! However, it wasn't quite at the thickness I was hoping for. I let my strawberries reduce for about a half hour longer and tested them again. Much better. I used a canning funnel to pour my preserves into my clean, warmed jars. I used the magnetic wand to lift the lids from the hot water and place them on each jar. Next, I tightened the metal bands like a normal jar. I used the heat resistant jar-grabbers to  lower the jars into the stock pot of warmed water.

Make sure the jar lids are covered in water at least 1 inch deep. I turned the heat to high and let the water boil for ten to fifteen minutes. I used the jar-grabber again and set these jars on the counter to cool. Within five minutes, I could hear the seals popping! I was ecstatic! I had successfully made 9 jars of strawberry preserves!
I cannot wait for them to cool! Better yet, I cannot wait to can again!