Welcome to the very first how-to on Carries Sweet Life. This how-to is courtesy of my lovely mother. She makes Adam strawberry jam every year. He looks forward to it every year. We go pick fresh berries she makes the jam and then we freeze it. Going through about a jar every couple weeks. Adam swears by this jam!!!!

This year we picked 22 3/4 pounds of strawberries… thats a lot of berries!!! We used about 20 pounds for jam, and then we saved the rest to eat, bake and freeze.

Although I don’t like strawberries aren’t those some pretty berries.

To start you need to hull and wash all the berries, my mom enlisted my Grandmas help.

Then you put them in a bowl and use a potato mashed to smash the potatoes, to small chunks.

The berries after being smashed, we did some very small chunks and some bigger chunks so it all equalled out.

You then add your butter, some sugar and sure-jel to the pot.

Then you cook on a medium high heat until they boil, adding the rest of your sugar and then bring to a roiling boil and boil for 1 minute. This is towards the end of the 2nd boiling process.

You then laddle it into jars, cover with the lids and then stir on the cover to seal.

And finally end with the ever famous JAM.

Strawberry Jam (From: My Mom)

• 6 cups strawberries, hulled, and crushed
• 4 cups sugar
• 1 pg. sure jell

Wash jars and screw bands in hot, soapy water; rinse with warm water.

Crush strawberries in a bowl, 2 cups at a time, using a potato masher.

Pour fruit into a large pot. Add 1/2 t. of butter to reduce foaming, if desired.

Mix in 1/4 cup of sugar and sure-jell.

Bring mixture to a full rolling boil on high heat, stirring constantly.

Stir in remaining sugar, quickly. Return to full rolling boil and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and skim off any foam that has formed.

Lade quickly into prepared jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of the top. Wipe jar rims and threads. Cover with two piece lids. Screw bands tightly on. Allow to cool, and caps will “seal” you will hear a pop.

Store in the freeze for up to a year.