This is an easy enough jam to make, and can be cut in half if you just have a pound of strawberries in your fridge that need to be cooked up before they go bad, or you just want a little jam without having to go through the full canning process. The full-sized recipe will fill two pint-sized canning jars, or just one if you make the half recipe. Or, scale up if you really want to make a lot and can it. (If you do this, be sure to use a large stock pot, as a double batch can overwhelm a Dutch oven when it starts bubbling.) This recipe comes from AllRecipes.

At first, I hadn’t mashed the fruit enough before starting and it seemed to take a longer time to cook down, so I used a stick blender to help it along.

2 pounds fresh strawberries, hulled
4 cups white sugar
¼ cup lemon juice

In a wide bowl, crush strawberries in batches until you have 4 cups of mashed berry. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, mix together the strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice.

Stir over low heat until the sugar is dissolved. Increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a full rolling boil. Skim the foam as it forms on the surface — this is still delicious, but it creates bubbles that you won’t want in the jar if you are canning. Set it aside and use it within a few days.

Boil, stirring often, until the mixture reaches 220 degrees F (105 degrees C). You can use a meat/candy thermometer and measure the middle of the sauce (don’t touch the bottom or that will throw off the reading). Or, use the instructions below to test for jelling.

Transfer to hot, sterile jars, leaving 1/4- to 1/2-inch headspace, and seal. Process in a water bath. If the jam is going to be eaten right away, don’t bother with processing, and just refrigerate.

To test for jelling: Place a plate in the freezer. After about 10 minutes of boiling, place a tsp of the liquid of the jam onto the cold plate and put it back in the freezer for a minute. Run your finger through the jam on the plate. If it doesn’t try to run back together (if you can make a line through it with your finger), it’s ready to be canned.