Canning Strawberry Syrup

Yesterday I picked up two flats of strawberries for $30. Fresh strawberries will only last a couple of days, so I needed to use them up fast. Canning strawberry syrup has always been something I wanted to try, so I thought it was a good time to try it out! It is now one of my favorite recipes for canning strawberries.

 

I first tried making strawberry basil vinaigrette for the first time, and it is WONDERFUL.

 

It turns out that strawberry syrup is really easy to make and is totally worth the effort.

 

My whole family was brave enough to try it on their french toast tonight for dinner, and they weren’t disappointed. I can’t wait to try it on ice cream or in an Italian Soda.

 

Strawberry Syrup Recipe

Ingredients:

• 6 pints (12 cups) sliced strawberries
• 7 c. sugar

 

This recipe makes approximately 3 pints or 6 half-pints of strawberry syrup. You could easily double the recipe if you want to make more.

 

Place the sliced strawberries in a blender and blend well. Place blended strawberries and sugar in a large sauce pan.

 

Heat to a full boil, and reduce heat. Boil for 10 minutes.

 

Put the strawberry mixture through a fine mesh sieve or strainer or food mill to remove the strawberry seeds and pulp.

 

For other syrups I have run the fruit through the sieve first before adding the sugar.

 

This recipe called for adding the sugar first. An interesting thing happened…when I put the strawberry puree through the sieve to extract the juice,

 

I ended up with an entire pint of strawberry jam! No kidding! It IS possible to make homemade jam with no pectin.

 

If you bring the fruit mixture to the soft ball stage (220 degrees F), it will thicken naturally. You can measure the temperature of the fruit mixture with an inexpensive candy thermometer like this one.

 

The combination of heating this mixture for 10 minutes and then removing all the liquid left me with some beautiful strawberry jam.

 

You can either put it in the refrigerator to eat it right away or you can place it in a canning jar and process it right along with the jars of strawberry syrup, which is what I decided to do.

Canning Instructions

 

After you remove the juice (syrup) from the strawberry mixture it is ready to pour into the hot sterilized canning jars.

 

If it has cooled off while you were running it through the sieve, then return the syrup to the stove to heat it up before putting it in the jars.

 

When pouring into the jars, leave 1/2 inch headspace. You can easily measure the head space with this inexpensive canning funnel.

 

Wipe the edges of the jars with a damp towel and place sterilized lids and jar rings firmly on jars.

 

Place jars in boiling water canner and make sure jars are covered with at least 1 inch of water over the tops of the jars. Bring the water to a boil and process for 10 minutes.

 

Place jars on a towel on your kitchen counter to cool completely, making sure that all jars have sealed before storing.

 

If any of your jars fail to seal, place the jar in the refrigerator to eat in the next couple of weeks.

 

These jars can be stored for a year or more in a cool dark place.

Uses for Strawberry Simple Syrup

• Make your own sparkling soda by mixing 1 part strawberry syrup to 3 parts club soda. I use my Soda Stream machine to make my own sparkling water. It is so much cheaper than buying club soda.
• This strawberry syrup can be used as a topping on ice cream or yogurt.
• Add this strawberry syrup to your favorite cocktail.
• You can add this strawberry syrup to your lemonade or iced tea for a refreshing summer drink.

More Simple Syrup Recipes

• Rhubarb Simple Syrup
• Ginger Simple Syrup
• Lilac Simple Syrup
• Rose Simple Syrup

Follow my canning and preserving board on Pinterest.