Strawberries
We love Strawberries
It’s officially strawberry season! Strawberries have a special place in our heart as one of the first seasonally available fruits, which is refreshing, especially emerging from the winter months. With season extending farming practices, strawberries have even become a staple that is often available all the way through October!
Strawberries are both sweet and nutritious, which adds to their overall popularity. Among our favorite varieties: Hood, Albion, and Shuksan, but we love them all! We have a variety of berry vendors that bring their favorites and we recommend that you try them all.
If growing strawberries is more your thing, then we do have vendors selling plant starts to get your garden started. Check out this overview if you wants some tips and tricks on growing strawberries.
To learn more about our strawberry vendors, check them out in our Available in May blog.
Preserving Strawberries
Canning
It is not recommended to can whole strawberries as they get mushy and lose their color when canned.
Freezing
Freezing strawberries is a great way to preserve whole berries for future use. You can use them for most recipes and grab them to make fresh jam in the winter!
Freeze them individually by first hulling the strawberries (remove the stems). Wash them and drain well. Using a cookie sheet, place one layer of strawberries on sheet and place in the freezer. Once firm, transfer to freezer containers and pull out when you need them!
Jams and Jellies
You can make jams and jellies from fresh or frozen strawberries! Strawberry jam is very versatile, can be done with or without pectin and can be made with low or no sugar added. Check out some of these jam favorites, or see our seasonal favorite below - strawberry rhubarb jam!
DEHYDRATED
Choose ripe, juicy red strawberries for dehydration. Wash them gently and hull them. Cut into 1/2 inch slices. Dry at 130 degrees until pliable to almost crisp.
Strawberry Rhubarb Jam Recipe
Adapted from Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving
Ingredients
2 cups crushed strawberries
2 cups chopped rhubarb
6 tablespoons pectin
1/4 cup lemon juice
5 1/2 cups sugar
Instructions
Wash strawberries and rhubarb, drain. Hull strawberries. Crush strawberries one layer at a time. Measure 2 cups crushed strawberries. Remove tops and ends of rhubarb, chop into 1/2-inch pieces. Measure 2 cups rhubarb.
Combine strawberries, rhubarb, pectin, and lemon juice in a large saucepan. Stir to blend. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Add sugar, stirring until sugar dissolves. Return mixture to a rolling boil that cannot be stirred down. Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Skim off foam in needed.
Ladle hot jam into a hot jar, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Remove air bubble. Clean jar rim. Center lid on jar and adjust band to fingertip-tight. Place jar on the rack elevated over simmering water (180 degrees) in boiling-water canner. Repeat until all jars filled.
Lower the rack into simmering water. Water must covers jars by 1 inch. Adjust heat to medium-high, cover canner and bring water to a rolling boil. Process half-pint jars 10 minutes. Turn off heat and remove cover. Let jars cool 5 minutes. Remove jars from canner, do not re tighten bands if loose. Cool 12 hours.. Check seals. Label and store jars.
