Homemade Strawberry Preserves made without pectin are a beautiful item to have in your long-term food storage pantry. Preserves are exactly that, a delicious way to preserve berries’ warm-weather flavor. They taste fabulous, are great for gifting, and are so pretty. This recipe is particularly grand because it is not dependent on the use of pectin. I use strawberry preserves as syrup because it is a nice smooth syrup with lovely whole berries. Strawberry Preserves is a great addition to pancakes, waffles, and as a topping for ice cream or even toast.
My strawberry patch is hard to get enough strawberries from because the kids eat them before I can use the crop, but luckily I live in a valley where fruit is plentiful and easy to get. Aren’t these strawberries just perfect?
Today we are going to teach you how to make homemade strawberry preserves without pectin.
How to Can Strawberry Preserves
These directions and recipe make 8 half-pint jars.
Hulled Strawberries
hull strawberries
The first step is to wash and hull 3 pounds of strawberries.
mix in sugar and allow to rest
Next, we will place them in a saucepot and mix the strawberries with 5 cups of sugar. Cover with a lid and set it in a cool place. Allow the fruit to sit with the sugar for 3-4 hours. Add 1/2 teaspoon of butter to reduce foaming. (Optional)
cook to gelling point
Place the pan on the stove and bring to a boil. Add 1/3 cup of lemon juice and cook it to the gelling point. (220 degrees Fahrenheit at sea level, subtract 2 degrees for every 1000 feet above sea level.)
fill jars
Using a jar funnel, fill your hot jars leaving a 1/4 inch headspace.
Strawberry Preserves Canned
Place the lids on top of the jars and add the rings. Tighten the rings to fingertip tight and process in a boiling water bath for 20 minutes if at sea level. Remember to adjust the processing time for your elevation if higher than 1000 feet.
Altitude Chart – Water Bath Canning
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.
