Strawberry Freezer Jam (Shalene)

Ingredients:
3 12-oz bags frozen strawberries
1½ cups sugar
5 Ball Plastic (8 oz) Freezer Jars
1 Package Ball No Cook Freezer Jam Fruit Pectin

Directions:
Stir sugar and Pectin into a bowl until well blended. Let stand 10 minutes. Gradually Stir crushed strawberries into pectin and sugar. Stir 3 minutes longer. Ladle and store in Freezer for 1 year or in refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

Canned Apple Pie Filling (Shalene)

INGREDIENTS:
4½ cups white sugar
1 cup cornstarch
1 T + 1t. Cinnamon
½ t. nutmeg
¼ t. clove
¼ t. allspice
2 teaspoons salt
10 cups water
3 tablespoons lemon juice
6 pounds apples

DIRECTIONS:
1. in a large pan, mix sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and allspice. Add salt and water and mix well. Bring to a boil and cook until thick and bubbly. Remove from heat and add lemon juice.
2. Sterilize canning jars, lids and rings by boiling them in a large pot of water.
3. Peel, core, and slice apples. Pack the sliced apples into hot canning jars, leaving a ½ inch head space.
4. Fill jars with hot syrup, and gently remove air bubbles with a rubber spatula (metal may break the jar during processing.)
5. Put lids on and process in a water bath canner for 40 minutes.
Makes 7 quarts.

Karen Solomon's Strawberry Jam (Emlyn)

Wash, dry, stem, and slice (or chop) the berries. In a large bowl, toss them gently with the sugar and lemon juice; don’t bruise your fruit. Let them macerate for four to eight hours to release their juice. Tie up the lemon seeds in cheesecloth or an empty tea bag.

Transfer the strawberries and the lemon rinds and seeds to a very large stockpot. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil for three minutes, then turn the heat to medium and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Skim off the loads and loads of foam that will surface—this is best done with a large metal spoon. Remove as much of the foam as possible, as doing so will give your jam a clear, brilliant color.

Allow the jam to cool in the pot, then transfer to a wide-mouthed bowl or baking dish. Discard the lemon rinds and seeds.

Let the jam sit, uncovered, stirring occasionally, overnight. This will help the jam thicken and keep the fruit from separating from the syrup. If the jam is not to your desired thickness, allow it to sit for one more day.

Transfer the jam to jars, ensuring that the lip and threads of the jars remain clean and unsticky. You can refrigerate strawberry jam for up to four months. Want to can your jam? For that, you’ll have to read my book!

Pickled Beets (Emlyn)

1 1/2 C. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. salt
2 C. cider vinegar
3 C. reserved beet juice

Wash beets. Cut tops off beets leaving 2" greens. Leave tap root on.
Boil beets in water until tender (30-45 minutes), reserve juice.
Cool beets and pop skins off.
Fill pint bottles with beets; can cut (into fourths) to fit jars if needed.
Fill bottles with reserved hot juice and process* as desired. Makes 6-7 pints.

*For best results process according to steamer canner directions.
Can also process using a water bath or open kettle method(hot beets, hot juice, hot lids). These will keep in the fridge for quite a while if you're planning to eat them right away or process them later.