Homemade Strawberry Jam

Hey everyone! So my mom showed me how to make delicious, homemade strawberry jam. I decided to make an Instrutable for it, because it is DEEEELLLLIIIIIIICCCIIIIOOOOUUUUUSSSS!!! So pay really close attention and you too will have delicious jam!

Step 1: Gather Your Ingredients

For this recipe, you will need...
•10-12 cups of strawberries
•1 1.75-ounce package regular powdered fruit pectin
•1/2 teaspoon butter
•7 cups sugar

Step 2: Gather Your Utensils

To make this jam you will need...
•large mixing bowl
•potato masher
•strainer
•ladle
•spoon and spatula
•9 half pint jars
•large, heavy pot
•small bowl
•wide mouth funnel, jar lifter, measuring tool
•cooling rack
•kettle
•paper towels

Step 3: Wash Them Up

Since there are tons of strawberries to be washed, you can use you sink. Fill it up halfway and put some strawberries in.

Step 4: Cleaning Time

Spray the strawberries with veggie cleaning spray and let them rinse off.

Step 5: Strainer

Scoop some strawberries into your strainer and strain the water out.

Step 6: Like This

Step 7: Off With Its Head!

Cut the top of a strawberry off and throw it away.

Step 8: Now the Center

Now cut a little bit of the center out of the strawberry.

Step 9: Throw the Top Away

Step 10: Cut Up

Cut the strawberry up and place it in the large mixing bowl.

Step 11: A Tip for Tips

If there is a white tip at the bottom of a strawberry, cut it off. It's really hard!

Step 12: Potato Smasher

When you have filled up the mixing bowl 1/8 of the way, use the potato smasher to smash the strawberries.

Step 13: Repeat

Repeat this process until you have 5 cups of jam.

Step 14: Nice and Thick

Once you have smashed one bowl of strawberries, pour them into a measuring cup.

Step 15: How Kids Can Help

Kids can help smash the strawberries. Show them how and start them off. They will feel helpful, trust me.

Step 16: I Helped Too

Step 17: Pour

Pour the 5 cups into a large bowl. DO NOT TURN ON THE STOVE YET!!! Just have the large bowl on the oven.

Step 18: In the Meantime...

In the meantime, have another very large pot on another burner. Fill it up with water and bring the water to a boil. Then place a few jars into the water to sterilize them.

Step 19: Kettle

Also put a kettle on the burner full of boiling water. Point the spout towards your cooling rack. The steam and heat coming out of the spout will keep your jars warm.

Step 20: Canning Tools

These are the tools you will use to remove the jar parts from the boiling water. The long, skinny green thing is called a lifter. It has a magnet at the end. The funnel will be used to neatly pour the jam into the jars. The ruler will be used to measure. And the claw will grab the glass part of the jar.

Step 21: Lifter

Use the lifter to remove these things.

Step 22: Claw

Use this claw to remove the these.

Step 23:

Step 24: Pectin

Put your pectin into a small bowl. What pectin does is it makes your jam like gel instead of being solid or liquid.

Step 25: Sugar

Put your sugar near the oven. The sugar makes it sweet.

Step 26: Put in Pectin and Butter

Stir the pectin and butter to the jam the butter reduces the amount of foam.

Step 27: Full Boil

Then bring this mixture to a full rolling boil and stir constantly.

Step 28: Add Sugar

Then add all of the sugar.

Step 29: Full Boil... Again

Bring the mixture back to a full boil and stir constantly. Then bring it to a hard boil for a minute, and stir constantly.

Step 30: Foamy

Then get a paper plate and scrape the foam off of the top of the jam. Put the foam on the paper plate.

Step 31: Ladle

Use a ladle to ladle the jam into the clean jars. Use the funnel to keep the jam in.

Step 32:

Step 33: Ruler

Use some type of measuring tool and make sure that you leave a 1/4 headspace.

Step 34: Clean

Clean the rim of the jelly jar off with a paper towel.

Step 35:

Step 36: Sterilize Again

Put the jars back into the sterilizing pot for 5 minutes.

Step 37:

Step 38: Operation Cleanup

Clean up your mess! Making jam is super messy!

Step 39:

Step 40: Shake and Enjoy

When they're cooling, shake them every 20 minutes until they're cool. Then put they on toast, sandwiches, or anything! Enjoy and thank you for viewing=)