Jamming with strawberries!

I live half a mile from a strawberry grower, Ouki Strawberries. I look forward to their opening day each year in late March, and mourn their closing after Labor Day weekend. But in between opening and closing, I get to enjoy the biggest, sweetest, and prettiest strawberries around. 

Of course, I make jam! This year I picked up a full flat and immediately set about washing and hulling those delicious red berries, flash freezing half for making smoothies, and cooking the other half with sugar and lemon and cinnamon for a delicious jam to enjoy throughout the year, and to share with friends! 

I have improvised over the years, but by now I have a real canner stock pot with a canning rack, plus a wide funnel, and jar lifter, magnetic lid lifter, and tool for knocking downthe bubbles and measuring headspace, and the very best tool... a strawberry huller! I also found some Pioneer Woman brand jar labels that stick well, yet are easy to remove later. 

I also use the strawberries and a variety of other ways, like making strawberry pie. I have also tried dehydrating them in my food dehydrator. Dried strawberries are really dangerous because you can actually eat about a pints worth of strawberries without even thinking about it. I also freeze whole strawberries on a cookie sheet, then put them in a ziplock bag and enjoy them all year long in my smoothies.