from THE GLORY OF SOUTHERN COOKING
Makes 4 ½ pints
James Villas has one the best Southern cookbooks out there. It’s full of tasty and easy to follow recipes.
The berries must be ripe and firm enough to withstand the boiling process. Allowing them to stand overnight cause them to plump up. You can put them up cold and seal with paraffin, which I find tedious, or reheat them in boiling water for ten minutes in sterilized jars so they seal. For optimum flavor, store 4 months before eating.
1 quart of fresh strawberries, hulled and washed
4 cups sugar
2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons of liquic pectin(Certo) – If you don’t mind the jam being somewhat runny, you can leave this out.
If the strawberries are large, cut them in half. In a large saucepan, combine the strawberries and 2 cups of sugar, bring slowly to a boil, and cook rapidly at a boil, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Add the remaining sugar, and return to a boil, cooking 8 minutes longer, stirring in the lemon juice 2 minutes before removing the pan from the heat. Add the pectin, if using, skim off the foam, and let stand overnight, stirring when possible.
The next day, stirring constantly, bring the strawberries to and boil and remove immediately from the heat. Ladle into four ½ pints jars to within ¼ inch from the top and seal by whatever method you’ve picked. Store for 4 month. If you choose paraffin, I suggest you store them cold.