Strawberry Jam.

My mom has always canned produce. Fruits and vegetables. She's turned any fruit into a jam or a jelly. Guava. Strawberry. Papaya. (Looking at that list you can tell I definitely grew up in the tropics!) Today, I made strawberry jam for the first time. Throughout the whole process I would call my mom, who lives in Canada, to make sure I was on the right track. She kept using terms that were foreign to me to describe what I should be looking for. When I clearly didn't understand her terminology, she'd translate it into words I could! This was a super easy recipe that we made.

Strawberry Jam

4     Cups of sugar
2     Oranges (Zest and juice)
6     Cups of fresh strawberries (Remove the stems and cut in half)

Put an empty plate into the freezer. (You will use this later.) Dissolve sugar in a pot with zest and juice of both oranges. Make sure it doesn't boil over or burn. Add strawberries. Keep pot uncovered. Allow to boil to allow the strawberries to break down, stirring occasionally. Then let simmer for 20 minute increments. Mine actually took 60 minutes to come to the right consistency. Cook until a small amount of the juice gels on the cold plate that you put in the freezer. Another way to tell that the jam is ready if instead of one line dripping off of your spoon, two lines drip off your spoon. There's some technical term for that that my mom used! Place in your canning jars and enjoy!