I love to can strawberries because freezer space is often limited at my house. Plus, there is a multitude of ways to use canned strawberries later. In fact, the number of recipes is too numerous to count. Such an easy way to preserve your fruit.
Our families (insert word KIDS here) can’t seem to get enough of these sweet nuggets of goodness, and as a result, they usually eat the berries faster than we can preserve them. Truth be told, they eat them out of the garden before they are hardly ripe.
You’ve already seen us resort to midnight canning sessions for some of our more popular family favorites. In order to keep the kids out of the fridge and from eating all the strawberries we needed for this video Emmaline literally had to rubber-band the container shut with a note threatening all sorts of banning her teenage sons (food monsters) from electronic devices if they were eaten. It must have worked because we have the video.
Be aware that the color and flavor of your canned strawberries becomes a little muted but that doesn’t mean they can’t be utilized in many lovely ways. Just look how beautiful this jar of canned goodies looks.
Canned Strawberries
Canning strawberries is not hard but does require some forethought and a bit of waiting.
INGREDIENTS
3 pounds strawberries
1/2-3/4 cup sugar
How to Can Whole Strawberries
These directions will make a 1-quart jar of canned strawberries.
The first step is to wash and hull 3 pounds of strawberries.
Hulling Strawberries
Next, we will place them in a saucepot and coat the berries with 1/2- 3/4 cup of sugar. Allow it to sit, rest, and “sweat” for 5-6 hours in a cool place.
Strawberries in a Pan
Next, place the pot on the stove and cook just until the strawberries are warm and the sugar is melted. Using a jar funnel, fill your hot jar leaving a 1/2 inch headspace.
Place the lid on top of the jar and add the ring. Tighten the ring to fingertip tight and process in a boiling water bath for 15 minutes if at sea level. (Remember to adjust the pressure for your elevation if higher than 1000 feet.)
Canned Strawberries
If you have any questions about canning with the boiling water canner or how to adjust the pressure for altitude, take a look at our canning basics videos.
