This is my grandmother's old fashion strawberry jam recipe that's been passed down through generations. It's a great recipe for beginner canners.

I've always enjoyed canning each season. This year I wanted to try my grandmother's old fashion strawberry jam recipe. I had always been afraid to try it. I've been told that if you don't do everything JUST right, it might not set up. Fortunately, it's super simple and easy to do everything 'just right'. I had a copy of my grandmother's recipe that my great aunt had typed up on a typewriter. It was so basic I had to have my mother 'translate it'. The original recipe read: "1 pkg berries, 5 cup water. Cook... 5 cups juice, 1 pkg surjel, 7cups sugar. boil juice add surjel. boil. add sugar boil 3 min."  Needless to say, I needed a little more instruction than that (Not to mention how much Grammarly hates the above recipe. LOL). Fortunately for you, the FULL instructions are below ;)

Ingredients

• 1pt. Strawberries (Or other berries if you'd like a different flavor)
• 5 Cups Water
• 1 Package of Sure-Jell
• 7 Cups Sugar

Directions  

(FYI: I made a quad batch, so the pictures below may not look like the same quantity as yours)

1. Prepare your jars by boiling or running through the dishwasher. Full instructional here. 

2. Remove the stems from Strawberries. (I just cut the tops off to remove the less than ripe areas.)

3. Put the water and berries in a pot and boil until the berries easily fall apart The strawberries will lose a lot of their color and look almost light pink, but the water will be bright red. Optional: You can use a potato smasher to smash the berries a little bit so you don't have chunks int your strawberry jam.

4. Add Sure-jell and boil about 2 min.

5. Add Sugar 1 cup at a time and stir between cups. Boil an additional 3 min. A thin "film" of jelly should form on your spoon after you've stirred. This means it'll set.

6. Funnel into jars and fill them to about 1/4" from the rim. My MUST  have canning tool is the canning funnel from Ball. While that is an affiliate link, I was kicking myself in the tush for not getting mine sooner and highly recommend it!!

7. There are technically 3 ways to 'finish' the jars.

1. Cold pack with a water bath. Instructions here.
2. Add a layer of Paraffin Wax
3. Boil lids, then close jars and let them seal as they cool. (I love to hear the 'pop' as they seal)

Personally, my family has always used option #3.  As long as the jars seal you can store them in a cool place for 12-24 months.

I wanted to see just how much making my own jam/jelly would save our family. Little Lady eats a lot of PB&Js. This recipe cost me about $1/jar if prepared during strawberry season (less if you already have jars and are just reusing them). In our area, strawberry jam is between $2.50 and $4. So I figured I can save ~$50+ per batch. Plus don't get me started on the preservatives you're not adding. ;)  I hope you enjoy my grandmother's old fashion strawberry jam as much as I have over the years.

This recipe can also be used with Blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, just about any fruit/berry you want.

Old Fashion Strawberry Jam Recipe

Ingredients

• 1pt. Berries
• 5 c. Water
• 1 Package Sure-Jell
• 7 c. Sugar

Takes ~30 min, Yields 6 Pint Jars.

Instructions

1. Prepare Jars
2. Remove stems from berries
3. Boil water and berries till berries fall apart.
4. Add Sure-jell and boil 2 min.
5. Add Sugar 1 cup at a time. Stir between cups.
6. Boil an additional 3 min.
7. Transfer into jars.
8. Seal Jars