Very old fashioned strawberry jam

I have not been keeping up with this at all but have decided I need to turn over a new leaf. I'm starting with a strawberry leaf. :-) Strawberry season is almost over here so after freezing 70 medium freezer bags of berries I decided it is time to do jam. I should explain that I try to eat local foods as much as possible. A few years back, I read a story in the local paper about peach trees being ripped out on the Nigara Penninsula. There are no commercial canneries left in Canada that I am aware of which means that all of our canned peaches, etc. come from overseas. I find this unacceptable so I decided to do something about it. By October, I will have a year's supply of local (mostly organic) food squirreled away in my coldroom and two freezers. This is my fourth year of this mission and it gets a bit bigger each year.

Back to strawberry jam. I have had many people ask me how to make strawberry jam using no commercial pectin. All jams were originally made this way but these days people have become dependant on the pectin purchased in grocery stores. I don't like to use these products because I am nervouus about the pesticide content in a product often made from citrus skins.

Here is a very simple recipie for strawberry jam. It works for raspberries as well.
The product is usually a bit runnier than the store bought kind but much tastier! If you want a thicker jam, you can add the juice of one lemon or a couple of teaspoons of apple cider vinegar to increase the acidity as well as cook the jam a bit longer. The longer you cook the jam, the more carmalized it will become.

9 cups of ripe hulled strawberries
3 cups of hulled unripe (white to pink coloured) berries
8 cups of organic evaporated cane juice
OR 6 cups of local honey (for true 100 milers)

Place the berries in a pot with a thick base and crush with a potato masher. Add the sugar. Cook on medium low until the mixture comes to a boil. Let the mixture simmer for about 15 minutes stirring regularly. Skim the foam off the top of the pot
as needed. At 15 minutes test the jam for set using the method of choice. I usually put a small plate in the freezer for 10 minutes. Draw a streak through a bit of jam placed on the plate and tip the plate sideways. The jam should not run into the streak.

Place the hot jam into sterile jars. I sterilize mine in the dishwasher with the Sani wash and rinse cycle on. Put the lids on and place in a hot water bath. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Enjoy your jam all year!