This post will share a recipe that is a very simple recipe for strawberry syrup and I hope to remind you also that syrup is not just for pancakes.
Strawberry syrup is, of course, great on breakfast foods but it is very versatile in the beverage realm and after I read the suggestion for strawberry margaritas in “The All New Ball Book of Canning & Preserving” and I felt silly for not using the syrup that my kids love on Saturday morning in one of my favorite grown-up drinks.
Before you begin canning, download the super helpful canning cheatsheet I made for you!
I don’t strain with cheesecloth because I personally don’t care about things like tiny strawberry seeds and I am not interested in perfectly clear syrup. Feel free to strain of course as you wish.
To make the syrup, I will share my adaptation of the recipe from The All New Ball Book of Canning & Preserving. You should absolutely enter to win your own copy of this super valuable (367 pages!) resource for beginner and experienced canners alike.
You will need 3 ½ pounds of strawberries, stems removed
3 cups of water
6 cups of sugar
½ cup bottled lemon juice (I really like lemon + strawberry, but if it isn’t your favorite flavor, you can safely use a ⅓ cup.
Fill your processing pot with 5-pint jars, or more smaller sized jars and hot tap water. Bring to a boil.
Fill a saucepan with coordinating lids and rings and hot tap water and bring to a simmer.
Prepare your countertop with a towel (on which you will rest the hot jars), funnel, and lid lifter. Have a large bowl or a second preserving pan and a small-holed colander or sieve set on top of the bowl ready to strain the strawberries from their juice. If you desire perfectly clear syrup, have 2 layers of cheesecloth at the ready as well. Have a ladle ready as well.
Combine the strawberries and water in a preserving pan and bring to a simmer for about 20 minutes. Heat using the medium-low setting.
Pour carefully the strawberries and accumulated juice into the colander to drain. You can let it sit for up to two hours if you are patient and if you are me, you can use a spoon to gently encourage the berries to release more juice. You will get about 6 cups of juice as a result. The solids can be enjoyed with yogurt, or you can make delicious strawberry butter. I demonstrate how to make these two recipes at the same time in my canning course at www.startcanning.com .
Return the strawberry juice to the preserving pan and add the sugar and lemon juice. Stir to dissolve and heat to a full boil for a minute or two, stirring carefully.
Use your lid lifter to remove one jar from the boiling water bath and pour the water from the jar back into the pot, into the saucepan of lids & rings, or into the kitchen sink. Set the hot jar on the towel covered countertop and use the funnel and a ladle to fill the hot jar with hot strawberry syrup and leave a ¼ inch headspace (distance between the surface of the food and the top of the jar). Apply a lid and ring, tighten about as tight as you would the bathroom faucet, and use the jar lifter to return the jar to the processing pot.
Repeat the process with the remaining jars until you run out of jars or syrup. If you end up with not enough syrup to fill a jar completely, leave it on the counter to cool. You can use a new or used lid and a ring to lid it and store in the refrigerator and eat up as you would any leftover food. When this happens to me, it usually is enjoyed right away.
The jars will rest on the towel covered countertop until they are cool. Check lids to see if they have sealed and are firm to the touch. Label and store in a cool, dry place. Any unsealed jars can be eaten promptly; waffles for dinner, anyone?
To use this delicious, pretty syrup, you can make strawberry margaritas. Thank you Ball Brand for reminding me of this lovely variation on a classic.
You’ll need:
¼ strawberry syrup
¼ tequila
2 tablespoons lime juice
About 7 ice cubes, which is about 2 handfuls.
These ingredients are combined into a shaker, shaken, and poured into salt-rimmed glasses.
To blend, combine the ingredients plus 5-10 fresh strawberries in a blend in a blender until smooth.
I prefer mine on ice, in a wide mouth Ball Brand pint jar, rimmed with a sinful amount of coarse salt.
If the above process sounds appealing, and you’d love to make your own home canned syrups, tomato sauce, pickles, and more, but have no idea where to begin or think that you could never learn how I’m here to help. I have launched a canning course for busy beginners that SHOWS you in over 10 clear videos in a way a cookbook cannot how to start canning. The course comes with my Canning 101 ebook, a supportive Facebook community where you can share successes, questions, and recipes with like-minded learners and myself, printable cheatsheets and diagrams to have stove-side (away from the burner please!) and forever access to the course.
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[…] Strawberry Margarita Our girl over at The Domestic Wildflower knows a thing or two about canning. We are always blown away with her abilities and hope to attempt her easy-to-understand directions one day. In the meantime, maybe you’ll let us know how it goes. Here’s a link to not only her delicious looking Strawberry Margarita recipe but also instructions on how to can your own strawberry syrup to really kick it up a notch and impress your friends! https://thedomesticwildflower.com/strawberry-syrup/ […]