Canning strawberry jelly is one of my favorite things to do during the summer, and strawberry jelly is one of my favorite jelly recipes! I always look forward to strawberry season every year.
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There are so many things you can make from fresh strawberries. Strawberry lemonade jam, strawberry lemonade concentrate, strawberry mango jam, strawberry rhubarb pie filling, are just a few of my favorite strawberry canning recipes.
If you’ve never made jelly before, no worries, I’ll walk you through the process. Canning strawberry jelly is really easy if you have the right equipment.
When canning strawberry jelly, you will need to cook the strawberries to remove the juice from the fruit, and then you will strain the juice from the pulp with a jelly straining bag. You use the juice to then make the jelly.
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You can make homemade jelly from a variety of fruit juices. You can even use store bought fruit juice to make homemade jelly, if you don’t have access to fresh fruit.
Strawberry Jelly Recipe
Ingredients:
- 10 1/2 c. fresh strawberries
- 1 package powdered pectin
- 4 1/2 c. sugar
This recipe makes about 5 half pints of strawberry jelly.
Note: Did you know you can buy powdered pectin in bulk from Amazon? Six tablespoons of powdered pectin is the equivalent to one box of store bought pectin. This is the ONLY way to buy pectin inexpensively if you are going to buy a lot of it (like I do!).
Hoosier Hill Fruit Pectin, 2 lb bag
To make this jelly, you will first need to cook the strawberries and extract the juice from them.
Place the washed, hulled, and sliced strawberries in a large stock pot. Add 2 cups of water.
Simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes, until strawberries are soft. Gently mash the strawberries with a potato masher to extract more of the juice.
Remove the pan from the heat and pour the strawberry mixture through a jelly strainer bag. Make sure not to squeeze the jelly bag so that none of the strawberry pulp will go through the bag into the juice.
Let the juice strain for a couple of hours or even overnight. Measure the strawberry juice. You need 3 1/2 cups of juice to make the jelly. If you have too much strawberry juice, just pour the extra out. If you don’t have quite enough then add water to make up the difference.
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Canning Directions
Sterilize your canning jars, rings, and lids. I sterilize mine by running them through a quick cycle in the dishwasher and leave them in there until I am ready to use them.
Fill a boiling water canner about half way full with water and bring the water to a boil.
Rinse out your stock pot and place the 3 1/2 cups of strawberry juice to the pot. Stir in the powdered pectin. Bring the mixture to a boil that doesn’t stop when you stir it.
Add the sugar all at once, and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Bring mixture to a boil that cannot be stirred down, and boil for 1 minute. Remove pan from the heat.
Use a metal spoon to skim any foam off of the top of the jelly. (Note: if you add a pinch of butter to the mixture while it is boiling, it will help reduce foaming).
Pour the hot jelly into the sterilized jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space. The head space can easily be measured with this inexpensive canning funnel.
Wipe the rims of the jars with a damp towel. Place the lids and rings on the jars finger tight.
Place the jars in the boiling water canner. Make sure there is at least 1-2 inches of water above the jars. Bring the water to a boil.
Process the jars in boiling water canner for 10 minutes. Remove the jars from the canner and place them on a towel on the kitchen counter to cool.
You can store the sealed jars in the pantry for 1-2 years. If you have any jars that didn’t seal, place them in the refrigerator to eat in the next month or two.
What to Do if Your Jelly Doesn’t Set
Jelly doesn’t always set the first day, so if your jelly doesn’t look set, let the jars sit for a day or two without moving them.
If after a couple of days your jelly hasn’t set, here is what to do if your jelly doesn’t set.
Yield 5 half pints
Related Jelly Recipes
- Mandarin Orange Jelly
- Rose Petal Jelly
- Raspberry Jelly
- Rhubarb Jelly
- Apricot Jelly
- Grape Jelly
- Plum Jelly
- Watermelon Jelly
- Chokecherry Jelly
- Blackberry Jelly
- Pomegranate Jelly
- Lilac jelly
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