Nana Martin’s Strawberry Jam

1. Put a small plate in the freezer.

2. Place strawberries in a large stockpot set over medium to high heat on stove.

3. Using a wooden spoon, mix 1/4 cup sugar into the berries.

4. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until strawberries are juicy. This will take approximately 5 to 6 minutes.

5. Stir in 1/3 of the remaining sugar until dissolved.

6. Then repeat until all of the sugar has been added and dissolved. This will take approximately 7 minutes total.

7. Bring mixture to a full boil. Cook, stirring occasionally for approximately 10 minutes.

8. Continue boiling and use a stainless-steel spoon to remove foam from surface.

9. Boil until most of the liquid is absorbed, the mixture thickens, and temperature registers 220 F on a candy thermometer, approximately 30 minutes.

Mama Deb’s tip to perform a gel test: Place a spoonful of jam on the chilled plate that you had in the freezer then quickly return it to the freezer. Wait 1 to 2 minutes. Remove plate from freezer, and gently press jam with a fingertip. It should wrinkle slightly. Once the jam passes the gel test, remove from heat. If it doesn’t, then cook it a bit longer and try the test again.

10. Pour warm jam into jars (or any airtight containers), seal them, label them and refrigerate up to 4 months. Enjoy!