We have a very nice strawberry crop every year and we preserve a lot of strawberries by vacuum sealing and freezing. Later we use them in many different ways, and one of those ways is to make delicious strawberry preserves.

The recipe I have created below uses pectin to thicken the preserves along with an elevated temperature of 214 degrees F.

Most recipes recommend traditional canning of the preserves in a hot water bath. I prefer to use sodium benzoate as a preservative and simply seal the canning jars with the very hot preserves in them and allow them to develop a vacuum seal as they cool. The jars can then be stored on a pantry shelf and used as needed.

If you don't have the sodium benzoate solution you can simply can the preserves in the jars in a boiling water bath, submerged, for 15 minutes, and then put them on a wood cutting board to cool and seal.

Ingredients:

2 pounds of hulled ripe medium size strawberries

4 tsp. of fresh lemon juice

1 cup of sugar

4 grams of Koldkiss® concentrated sodium benzoate solution

2 tbsp. of Ball® fruit pectin

Directions:

If you have any very large strawberries then cut them in half.

Heat the strawberries and lemon juice and pectin in a heavy bottom saucepan on low heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the sugar and mix well.

Boil the mixture on low heat, with slow stirring, until the temperature is 214 degrees F, skimming off the foam as needed.

Pack the hot preserves in 8 ounce canning jars leaving 1/2" of space at the top.

Tighten the lids to seal the jars and allow them to cool to room temperature.

Enjoy!