A How-To: Canning Strawberries

BIG DISCLAIMER: I do not follow the strict rules of Ball Canning Recipes. Using my mom’s well-trusted methods, I have canned thousands of jars of food and never once gotten sick (from spoiled canned food, anyway). If my methods scare you, by all means look somewhere else for your instructions and recipes. Here is a good one.

Disclaimer finished.

Canned strawberry juice makes the BEST strawberry sauce in the middle of February. I’m not joking. Grab yourself a jar of these, drain the berries for a while, throw the berries out (their flavor is gone), thicken the juice with cornstarch, and add some frozen, sliced berries. You’ll be glad you took the time to run a few quarts of these through the canner. Delicious.

Now hopefully you still have some strawberries to can!

1. Wash the berries.

2. Remove the tops. (Note: I don’t know why I said, “Do you know how to properly slice a strawberry?” when in reality I’m showing you how to take the tops off! I think I get nervous and pathetically serious in front of the LifeCam.)

3. Pack the whole berries into quart jars. It’s okay to squeeze them a bit but don’t completely smash them. Fill the jars to the level of the bottom ring.

4. Mix up your sugar/water solution and divide it equally among the jars.

5. Fill the jars the remaining way with water, up to about 1/4 inch from the top of the jar. If you see air bubbles in the jars, try to tip the jars a bit to dislodge them.

6. Place your lids in a pot and cover them with water. Bring to a boil and promptly remove from the heat.

7. Wipe the rim of each jar with a clean, damp cloth to remove any bits of fruit or sugar.

8. Place a sterilized lid on each jar.

9. Screw on the rings. Don’t turn them too hard or you’ll  never be able to remove them but you do want them to be nice and snug.

10. Put the jars in the canner and fill with water so the jars are covered by a half inch or so. Kind of hard to see in the picture. Sorry.

11. Bring the canner to a boil. Once boiling, set the timer for 7 minutes. Keep the canner at a steady boil during that time.

12. When the timer beeps, turn off the heat. Let the canner sit there untouched for 5 minutes. Helps to keep all the juice from bubbling out of the jars when you bring them out of the hot water.

13. When ready to remove them, prepare a place to set the hot jars. I like to set them on newspaper inside of a rimmed baking sheet. Catches any juice that may leak out.

14. Let the jars cool completely before removing the rings and washing everything in soapy water.

15. Store the canned berries in a cool, dry, dark place, like this.

Canned Strawberries

strawberries

1/2 cup sugar/quart of berries

water

Stem the strawberries. Pack them in clean jars. Place your sugar in a large measuring cup. I then add water to the measuring cup to an amount that is easily divisible by the amount of jars. Ex: for 5 quarts, put 2 1/2 cups sugar in a measuring cup. Add enough water to come to the 2 1/2 cup mark so there is 1/2 cup of sugar water per jar. Stir until the sugar is dissolved and then divide the sugar water among the jars. Top them off with plain water, bringing the water level to 1/4 inch below the very top of the jar. Place a sterilized lid on each jar and screw on the rings. Place the jars in the canner and fill with water to cover them by 1/2 inch. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil for 7 minutes. Turn off the heat but let the jars sit in the canner for 5 minutes before removing them to a newspaper lined baking sheet. Let cool completely before removing the rings and washing the jars in soapy water. Store in a cool, dark, dry place until ready to use.

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