Home canned strawberry pie filling is a tasty way to preserve a rich strawberry filling right on the pantry shelf. It’s perfect for pies, of course, but it’s also great for topping cheesecakes and other desserts.
PREPRATION TIME:
prep time: 20 MINUTES
cook time: 10 MINUTES
canning time: 30 MINUTES
total time: 1 HOUR
NGREDIENTS
FOR A SINGLE QUART:
- 3 1/2 cups of cleaned, sliced strawberries (from 1 quart of fresh fruit, about 2 lbs)
- 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. Sugar
- 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp. Clear Jel
- 1 cup water (or juice)
- 3 1/2 tsp. Bottled lemon juice
FOR A 7 QUART CANNER BATCH:
- 6 quarts of cleaned, sliced strawberries (from about 7 quarts of fresh fruit, or about 14 to 15 lbs)
- 6 cups Sugar
- 2 1/4 cups Clear Jel
- 7 cups Water (or juice)
- 1/2 cup Bottled Lemon Juice
INSTRUCTIONS
- Before you begin, prepare a water bath canner, jars, and lids.
- Start by washing and draining the strawberries. Thaw them in a colander over a bowl and reserve the juice if using frozen fruit.
- Hull the strawberries and slice them. The size of the slices is up to you, I tend to halve the smaller strawberries and quarter the larger ones. Leave them a bit on the large side, as they shrink during canning, and very small pieces will fall apart during cooking.
- Bring a few quarts of water to a boil on the stove and blanch the strawberries for 30 seconds to 1 minute until they’re heated through. Work in batches, and be gentle with the fruit so it doesn’t fall apart. Remove them with a slotted spoon and keep them warm while making the clear gel mixture.
- Combine sugar and clear jel in a large pot, big enough to hold all the fruit comfortably. Add cold water or cold juice to the pot and whisk to dissolve the clear jel completely. This is important! Do not turn on the heat until the clear jel is fully dissolved into the water.
- Turn on the heat to medium-high and whisk continuously until the mixture begins to bubble and thicken. As soon as it bubbles, add lemon juice and cook for 1 additional minute.
- Turn off the heat and fold in the drained berries.
- Immediately fill the canning jars with the mixture, taking extra care to de bubble the jars as the mixture will be thick. Leave 1-inch headspace.
- Cap the jars with 2 part canning lids and twist on rings to finger tight. Process in a water bath canner for 30 minutes, adjusting for altitude. Canning times are the same for pints and quarts.
- Once the processing time is complete, turn off the heat and allow the jars to sit undisturbed in the canner for about 10 minutes. This reduces the risk of siphoning as you remove the jars from the canner. (If you skip this step, there’s a good chance the thick mixture will siphon out of the lid as the jars cool. That’s not a safety issue, and the jars are still fine to eat if they do still steal, but it makes a big mess, and you lose some of the contents of the jar.)
- Remove the jars from the canner with a jar lifter and allow them to cool on the counter for 12 to 24 hours. Check seals, and store any unsealed jars in the refrigerator for immediate use.
- Properly canned and sealed jars of strawberry pie filling will maintain peak quality on the pantry shelf for about 12 months. Refrigerate after opening.
NOTES
It’s incredibly important that the clear jel is dissolved in cold water, as it’ll clump quickly in hot water, and you’ll have something that looks like tapioca pudding with lots of little white clumps of powder. Trust me on this one; it’s really not usable when that happens.
It’s also important that the fruit are pre-blanched to be partially cooked and hot when they go into the clear jel.
Be sure to follow the instructions carefully for the best results.
Altitude adjustments for canning are as follows:
- 0 to 1,000 Feet in Elevation: 30 minutes
- 1,001 to 3,000 Feet in Elevation: 35 minutes
- 3,001 to 6,000 Feet in Elevation: 40 minutes
- Above 6,000 Feet in Elevation: 45 minutes
After the canning time is complete, turn off the heat and allow the jars to cool slightly in the canner before removing. (Wait at least 10 minutes.) You have a greater chance of siphoning if you skip this step as the jars cool too rapidly on the counter.
