Henry Rifle Forums

my wife's recipe for making homemade strawberry preserves :

2 quarts of strawberries cut into pieces the size of your preference

5 cups sugar

1/3 cup lemon juice

we buy fresh picked strawberries at a local farm (picture 1) .... clean and cutup 2 qts of berries, put in a tall pot add sugar (picture 2) .... after 2 hrs (picture 3) .... after 3 hrs (picture 3) .... after 4 hrs (picture 4) .... during this time stir often to help the juice from the strawberries to dissolve as much of the sugar as possible .... slowly (so as not to burn the sugar) bring to a boil (picture 6) add the lemon juice .... rolling boil (stir often) for 30 - 45 minutes (picture 7) .... after 45 minutes when the liquid becomes shiny and thick (picture 8) pour it into cake pans .... once it cools place in the frig overnight ....

second part of the process will be completed in the next post

next day, after the preserves have been in the frig overnight

pictures 1 - 3 .. filling jars

picture 4 .. processing by placing the jars in a tall pot, covering them with water, bring to a boil and boil for 20 min

picture 5 .. finished jar

cooled out and ready for use

For the last few years before my wife got sick and passed away, we grew dozens of perennial strawberry plants that returned each spring and we harvested pounds of them in June. Some of them were made into preserves like yours, others frozen whole for later, many eaten fresh in a sugar syrup, and many more given to family and friends... just memories now.

The annual plants have a limited lifespan, just about five years. Surprisingly, some returned again this year and may provide a few berries. If the chipmunks and catbirds don't get them first, I'll enjoy them.

the commercial farms around here plow their strawberry plants under each fall and plant new ones for the coming season .... this year's large temperature swings has really been playing heck with their crop