Canning: first time around

This week has been so busy! I'm sorry that I haven't updated as often.  Our wedding is less than four weeks away, and we're working hard to get all the details sorted out.

But, in the mean time, I have decided to try my hand at something new: canning!

Why, you ask?  Why on earth would I try a new activity when I'm supposed to be planning a wedding?

The answer is simple: I love strawberries.

We went to visit the local farm this weekend, and they had strawberries for sale! 

They were delicious and beautiful and I had to have some.  So, my wonderful fiance bought me some strawberries, took me to Ace Hardware to get a few canning supplies, and we headed home to bond over a sticky, boiling, canning experiment.

The recipe was simple:

2 quarts strawberries
6 cups sugar

Crush strawberries.  Put strawberries in big saucepot on the stove. Add in sugar gradually and slowly bring to boil.  When mixture is at rolling boil and reaches gelling point, take off heat, skim the foam, and put into hot jars (that you've had sitting in simmering water the whole time).  Then process 15 minutes in boiling water canner.

Seems simple enough, right?

Sadly, we let it boil for too long. I misunderstood how to tell the gelling point. Whoops!  The strawberry jam turned out too thick to give to anyone else, so we'll eat it all ourselves and try again soon.

Do you have any favorite jam canning recipes?  I'd love to hear them!

Attempt #2 will turn out much better, I'm sure.