Veras Strawberry Preserves Food

STRAWBERRY PRESERVES

Steps:

• Put strawberries and lemon juice in a large saucepan. Cook, stirring occasionally, over low heat until juices are released, about 40 minutes. Stir in sugar.
• Bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture registers 210 degrees on a candy thermometer, about 15 minutes. Let cool completely; skim foam from surface with a spoon.

OLD-FASHIONED STRAWBERRY PRESERVES

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Wash the strawberries in cold water and drain thoroughly. Hull them and discard the caps. Halve or quarter the strawberries lengthwise.
• Combine the berries with the sugar in a bowl or a large stainless steel or enamel-lined pan and let sit for 2 hours at room temperature, then refrigerate overnight.
• In a medium saucepot, bring the strawberries to a boil slowly, stirring occasionally. Add the lemon juice.
• Cook rapidly over medium heat until the strawberry mixture reaches a temperature of 221 F, 25 to 45 minutes. Skim off any foam from the surface.
• Ladle or funnel the strawberry preserves into hot, sterilized jars , leaving 1/4-inch headspace.
• Process for 10 minutes in a boiling water bath .
• Cool and store in the fridge until ready to use.

EDNA LEWIS'S GARDEN STRAWBERRY PRESERVES

Steps:

• Set 5 5-ounce sterilized jars and lids, or 3 1/2-pint jars in a pan of water over a low burner.
• Wash berries in a bowl of cold water to make sure they are free of grit and dust. Remove berries by hand, and place them on a clean, dry towel to drain. Then remove the caps and crush berries slightly with a clean, odorless, wooden pestle or a strong coffee mug. Pour into a nonaluminum saucepan, and set over a low flame to heat.
• Meanwhile, heat the sugar either in a double boiler or in a dish in the oven, being careful not to brown it, but making sure it becomes very hot (about 10 minutes at 350). Now pour the hot sugar over the berries, turning the burner up while stirring the sugar around. The cooking should be as brisk as possible without scorching; it should take about 9 minutes in all.
• As soon as the preserves begin to boil up, a scum will rise on the surface; skim it off right away with a wooden or silver spoon. It is much better to skim while it's rapidly boiling, because that seems to cause the scum to remain in a mass, and it's easy to dip it out without getting too much of the syrup.
• After 9 minutes of rapid cooking, pour the preserves into the hot jars, filling to about 1/8 inch from the top. Lift the jars out onto a dry surface to cool. When cold, carefully melt paraffin and pour into the filled jars. When paraffin is cool, put on the lids and seal.