Homemade Local Strawberry Jam

Mmmmm... it's strawberry season.

There is nothing better than picking a sun-ripened bright red strawberry off the vine and popping it in your mouth. It just tastes like pure sunshine and always puts a smile on my face.

Especially ones as pretty and cheerful as these.

We grew a few strawberries in our garden, but to get a batch like this we went to a local fruit farm, where cute little Amish boys in straw hats politely carried them out to our car. We needed more than just a few. Because it's not June for long, and strawberry season doesn't last forever (maybe in heaven?).

Luckily, this year my mom taught me one of her specialties: the art of jam-making.

Homemade Local Strawberry Jam (makes 5-6 medium-sized jars of jam, about 5 cups)
Ingredients: 
2 pints strawberries, crushed
4 cups sugar
1 box Pectin
3/4 cup water
Directions:
First wash the berries and cut off the stems. In a large bowl, smash the strawberries.

Mix the 4 cups of sugar with the strawberries. Mix well and let stand for 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. 

In a small saucepan, stir 3/4 cup of water and pectin and bring to a boil on high heat. Stir continuously for about 1 minute. Remove from heat.









 Stir pectin mixture into the fruit mixture. Stir constantly until sugar is completely dissolved and no longer grainy, about 3 minutes.

 Pour into jam jars, leaving a 1/2 inch space at the top in case the jam expands in the freezer. Let stand at room temperature with the lids on for 24 hours, until set.

This stuff is the best on toast or biscuits in the mornings, especially 6 months from now in the dead of winter. It's like summer in a jar.