I made strawberry jam!

My internet friend, MizBooshay, recently posted pictures of her strawberry jam on Instagram.

I was smitten. I adored the little jars of red jelly, although I was very leery of the time and effort needed to tackle such a domesticated project.

I mean canning things communicates that you mean business.

You.are.serious.about.cooking.

Donna promised me it was easy-sneezy.

(I trust Donna. I read her blog daily, and I feel a connection…a friendship.)

(I don’t believe MizBooshay would ever lead me astray.)

So, I took the leap.

Once I washed all the mason jars, I was ready to go.

I cleaned and hulled my strawberries.

Then, I smashed the living daylights out of the sweet berries.

(Cooking is cruel, y’all.)

(And, I would know, because I.mean.business!  I’m canning after all…)

Next, I added some sugar to give the strawberries extra sweetness.

I also threw in a little lemon zest to give it, well, a little zestiness.

(I am fully aware zestiness is not a word. But, I stand by my made-up word, because we all know what it means, whether it’s real or not.  And, really, if we want to get picky, “Yay” is not a real word, either, but y’all don’t seem to mind using that word!)

(My English major mother, God rest her soul, would have had a conniption over that one. Yea is yea, not yay!)

After I added the sugar and zest, I had to boil water and the pectin for a bit.

Not much, just a bit…like one minute, I think.

After the minute, I poured the water/pectin mixture into the strawberry/sugar bowl and stirred until all the sugar was dissolved.

The final step was to fill my jars with the red, juicy sweetness…

I could not contain my excitement as I waited the 24 hours to see if my jam would actually set up.

Once the jam has set, you can store your jam in the freezer, so you’ll have some for later.

And, I am here to say, my boys LOVE this jam on biscuits in the morning!

So, MizBooshay did not lead me astray! It was as simple and as delicious as she promised!

(Yay!)

E.