Canning strawberry jam without pectin.

Mother's Kitchen: Canning strawberry jam without pectin
To make strawberry jam with natural fruit pectin and less sugar, use apples and citrus.
Even though it has apples in it, you won't be able to taste them.
Plus, the apples extends the volume of strawberries.

Natural Strawberry Jam
(makes about 8 -220ml jars)

5 tart apples, stems and blossom ends removed and chopped coarsely, cores intact
1 lemons or limes, unpeeled and chopped fine

Boil apples and citrus in enough water to prevent sticking for 20 minutes until soft.
Force through a fine sieve with the back of a spoon to make 2 cups puree, or use a food mill if you have one.
A sieve and a spoon works just as well.

Now it's time to add:

8 cups halved and hulled strawberries
5 1/2 cups sugar

...to the strained apple/citrus puree in a deep pot.
Bring it to a boil and stir frequently over medium heat.
Boil for 20 minutes until mixture thickens and mounds up in a spoon.

Place a spoonful of the jam on a saucer in the freezer for a 5 minutes to cool.
Run a finger through the jam: if the surface wrinkles, it's ready.
If not, it needs to boil some more.
Also, you can measure the temp of the jam - that is the "jel point".

Ladle the hot jam into hot jars; leaving 1/4 inch headspace.
Wipe off the rim, place a lid on the jar and screw a band on it to finger tight.
Process in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.
Shut off heat on canner and remove lid, and let the jars sit 5 minutes in the water before you take them out.
This neat trick prevents the jars from spewing juice out of the lids before they seal like they sometimes do.
Remove the jars and let them cool.
Make sure the top is sealed by checking to see if you can press down on the top of it.
If you can, store that jar in the fridge and not in the pantry.

- The simple way to 'gel' your jellies and jams, etc., is to add a thick slice of a washed lemon into the pot while cooking the fruit.
Voila! There you have it.....perfectly 'gelled'' or thickened jams, jellies, etc.
Simple as that.

- How to Fix (or Remake) Jam or Jelly That Turns Out Too Soft or Runny
Never make a new batch of jam or jelly starting with more than 6 cups of crushed fresh or frozen fruit; and never try to remake a batch larger than 2.5 quarts/10 cups.

- How to Can, Freeze, Dry and Preserve Any Fruit or Vegetable at Home