How to Can Strawberry Jelly in Under an Hour!

This strawberry jelly is one of my favorites, and one of the easiest canning recipes I’ve ever used! It’s a great recipe for beginning canners and can be completed in  less than an hour, and with only four ingredients! 

I have realized I’m an old soul. I love sewing and cooking and crafting, but I really really love canning. 

Is that weird? That’s okay. I embrace it. 

There are a few things I love about canning: 1. I love making my food as opposed to buying it, 2. I love figuring out ways to stretch my budget, 3. I love the satisfaction of having food stored for a later date. 

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I started canning jelly a couple years ago, and the investment in each batch of this strawberry jelly is very minimal. There are some upfront costs to jelly-making and canning, but after purchasing the supplies initially, I’ve been able to use them over and over again. Here’s the supplies I use everytime I can:

• Ball Pint Sized Jars
• Canning Kit 
• Dutch Oven
• Large Stock Pot
• Canning Rack
• Extra rubber seal lids

These are the supplies that help me be efficient when I’m canning--whether it’s jelly, or pickling cucumbers or green beans, or canning tomatoes, I always use these items. The total investment in these supplies is about $100, HOWEVER, I have used them over and over and over again, and it’s definitely been worth the money. 

What I love about this jelly recipe is that I was able to make 10 jars of strawberry jelly for TEN DOLLARS! I looked up the cost of jelly at Walmart, and it was $3 a jar. This may not seem like much, but every penny I’m able to save on my food is a penny I can use for something else (like paying down debt or adding to my savings). 

I didn’t grow these strawberries--I watched my grocery store ad for a sale on strawberries, and they went on sale a couple weeks ago for $1.50 a container. This recipe calls for four containers (eight cups), and I bought a new box of small rubber seal lids. This jelly will last me about a year--perfect timing to make another batch next spring. 

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 8 cups fresh strawberries (4, 16 oz. plastic containers)
• 7 cups sugar
• ½ tablespoon butter
• 1 package Sure-Jell pectin

Supplies: 

• 10 half pint jars with rubber seal lids and metal bands
• Dutch oven
• Large stock pot and canning rack
• Medium sauce pot
• Funnel
• Magnet lid grabber
• Canning jar lifter/grabber

1. Wash jars, bands and lids, in the dishwasher with the sanitize cycle, or by hand with hot soapy water. Set aside.
2. Remove stems of strawberries and slice up. Use a potato masher to mash strawberries.Add pectin and stir.
3. Add jars to stock pot with water completely covering with water. Bring to boil and keep hot until use. 
4. Add strawberry and pectin mixture to dutch oven on stove over medium-high heat. Bring to boil and add sugar and butter. Stir constantly for five minutes.
5. As jelly boils, skim off foam. 
6. Remove jars from water one-by-one and fill jars with strawberry mixture leaving a quarter-inch of space in the top of the jar. Place rubber lids and metal rings on jars. Fill all the jars, then return to the boiling water, and place the lid on the stock pot. Make sure there is at least one inch of water above jars. 
7. Boiling time varies based on elevation where you live: 0-1,000 feet above sea level: boil ten minutes, 1,001-3,000 feet above sea level: boil 15 minutes, 3,001-6,000 feet above sea level: boil 20 minutes, 6,001-8,000 feet above sea level: boil 25 minutes, 8,000+ feet above sea level: boil 30 minutes.
8. Turn off burner and remove jars from water with canning jar lifter/grabber and place on cookie rack or towel to cool. Listen for jars to pop (seal).
9. If jars do not seal, place in refrigerator and use in next two weeks. Shelf life of this recipe is up to 18 months if sealed. 
10. Enjoy!