Old Fashion Strawberry Preserves

A vintage recipe for strawberry preserves with or without added pectin.

Ingredients:
· 1 1/2 quarts red, ripe strawberries
· 5 cups sugar
· 1/3 cup lemon juice
Preparation:

Wash and hull strawberries. Combine berries with sugar in a large stainless steel pan; let stand for 3 to 4 hours.

Bring strawberries to a boil slowly, stirring occasionally. Add lemon juice and (optional) 2 TB of pectin. Cook rapidly until strawberry mixture is clear and syrup is thick, about 15 minutes.

Pour mixture into a shallow pan and let stand, uncovered, while you prepare the jars.

Ladle strawberry mixture into hot, sterilized jars, leaving 1/4-inch headspace. Process for 20 minutes in a boiling water bath.
Makes four 8-ounce jars.

Recipe can be doubled/tripled.

A vintage recipe for strawberry preserves with no added pectin. Bon Appetit!