Homemade Strawberry Jam

I absolutely love this time of year.  The flowers are blooming, the trees are filling out, it's not too hot to enjoy lunch outside, afternoon rain showers, and of course, an abundance of sweet strawberries. 

I stocked up on strawberries this weekend and used half of them in this sweet homemade strawberry jam.  I found a recipe that doesn't use pectin and was very easy to make.  The original recipe called for 4 cups of sugar for 2 pounds of strawberries, and I just thought that was way too much.  I only used 1 cup of sugar and added 1/4 cup of honey.  It's still very sweet, but my girls said it was perfect.  We used it on buttery croissants, biscuits, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches this week. 

Ingredients:

2 pounds strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 cup
1/4 cup honey
2 tsp fresh lemon juice

In a large stock pot, add strawberries and mash with potato masher.  Add sugar, honey, and lemon juice.  Turn the heat on low and stir until sugar dissolves.  Increase heat to medium high and bring mixture to a full rolling boil.  Cook, stirring often, until mixture comes to 220 degrees, about 30-40 minutes. 

Note:  If you don't have a candy thermometer, you can do the frozen plate test to see if it has jellied.  Place a small plate in freezer for 10 minutes while strawberry jam is cooking.  After 30 minutes, add a teaspoon of jam to plate and put back in freezer for 1 minute.  If you can run your finger through the middle without it running back together, it is ready. The mixture should be nice and thick. It will thicken more when chilled.

Remove from heat and transfer to glass bowl.  Let come to room temperature, then refrigerate until ready to use.  We tested some warm jam on croissants and it was really good!  Enjoy!