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Strawberries are one of the many perks of the summer season. When faced with an overabundance of this delicious red fruit consider preserving them. We will teach some food preservation methods so you’ll know how to preserve your strawberries and taste them year round.
There are two good food preservation methods about how to preserve strawberries: freezing and canning. For freezing berries, it is best to place a single layer of fruit on a sheet pan and stick in the freezer. Once frozen, you can pack all the berries in the same bag. This will prevent clumps of frozen strawberries.
Canning is the method you would use for preserving strawberry jam. Before venturing to preserve your jam, read our tips for how to make the perfect jam. Once you have made your jam it's time to begin canning.
Tips For Canning Jam
Begin by washing your jars and lids. You can reuse your glass jars but will need new lids every time you can.
Sterilize your jars and lids by placing in a pot of cold water, then bring to a simmer for about 10 minutes. Use thongs to pull the jars and lids out of the hot water. Set on a rack to dry. Leave the pot of water on the stove, as you will use it for the next step.
While your jam is still hot, carefully pour into your sterilized jars. Use a metal utensil, such as a butter knife, to release any air bubbles in the mix. Place the lid on firmly but not too tight.
In the same pot you sterilized your equipment, carefully place each jar and make sure the water completely covers the jar (at least two inches above the lid). Cover the pot with a lid. Bring the water to a boil and continue to cook for 10 minutes. Then turn off the heat. Pull off the lid and wait a few minutes under the water is not longer boiling.
Using thongs, carefully remove each jar from the water and sit on a courtertop protected with a towel. As the jars cool the pressure inside will create a vacuum seal. Once the jars are completely cool press down on the lids, if they don't make a popping sound you have successfuly canned your strawberry jam.
Cover photo courtesy of Wdors via Flickr
