Canning Strawberries

I might be crazy.

If you asked my husband he would tell you that I am without a doubt. He wouldn't even hesitate before answering.

We've gotten at least a pint of strawberries per week (but usually about 4 dry pints/week) in our farm box. Now, I don't know about you, but we can only eat so many strawberries in one week. Add to that the fact that they are so fresh that they practically rot on the way home from picking up the box and I decided to try something new!

I knew we were getting 2 pints in our box this week and since we live in "strawberry country" I stopped on the way to pick our box up and bought a few more pints. I came home and got started on my mission:

Canning Strawberries. (!)

The website that I used for guidance claims that the finished product can be used for a myriad of things, like flavoring homemade ice cream, topping for pancakes, sundaes, strawberry shortcake, etc.

Sounds good to me!

Let's get started.

Canning Strawberries

4 (or more) pints fresh strawberries
white sugar
canning supplies

1. Start by preparing your strawberries. You'll need to clean them, hull them (or if you're lazy like me, just cut the tops off) and halve or quarter them if they're big.
   
2. Place in a large stock pot and add 1 cup of white sugar for every 2 quarts (8 cups) of strawberries. Let the mixture sit for at least 2 hours, or as long as overnight. Syrup will form naturally at the bottom of the pot.


3. Place pot on stove top and heat (but make sure the berries don't cook). Prepare cans and hot water bath for cans.
4. Fill jars with berries and top with syrup. Leave about 1/2 inch at the top of the jar. Place lids and rings on jars and tighten.
5. Gently place jars in hot water bath and process for 15-20 minutes.