This summer I’ve been working on canning a lot of the fruits and veggies in my garden. Strawberries are one of my favorite things to can and this recipe brings the taste of fresh strawberries and lemonade together with the soothing blend of vanilla.
I’ve been adding vanilla beans or extract to my lemonade for years, it adds a unique mouth comfort to the tangy juice.
This is one of my favorite recipes because you can make a big batch and you’ll have it whenever you want to throw together a batch throughout the year.
Canning Made Easy!
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What’s the trick canning strawberries?
One of the things you must remember in canning and I used to forget when I first started is to wipe around the top of the canning jar with a clean towel before placing the lid. Food can drip into this top and you might not even see it. But that can introduce a tiny germ or bacteria into your jar and spoil the whole process.
You also want to make sure you are getting all of the bubbles out of the jar with a plastic knife to make sure you have the right gap at the top of the jar.
Most people also recommend if you have foam in your jars, to remove it before placing your lid.
You can swap out other fruits for strawberries.
Some people prefer blueberries or raspberries in place for the strawberries in this recipe.
You can make this and freeze it instead of canning
This is an easy recipe to make and freeze. Make sure you are using a freezer-safe dish container with plenty of room for it to expand.
DEFROST before mixing. You will want to make sure you have the right blend, so we suggest completely defrosting before blending with water or soda.
Tools We Love:
A few of our friends have asked about our juicer. It comes from KitchenAid and it is the Citrus Juicer.
It is an attatchement for the stand mixer.
What I love about it, is that all of the pieces can go right into the dishwasher. I use it for making fresh lemonade and orange juice. And it catches all of the seeds in the strainer.
This one runs around $14 and it’s worth it!
Fun Topping Ideas:
- basil
- peaches
- rum
- mint
- pineapple
We discovered how easy it is to make large batches of strawberry lemonade in Seattle when we used to visit the farmer’s markets. It is a summertime pastime to visit the farmer’s markets and get Hawaiian lemonades.
It was so easy to make, that we would mix together a huge batch for parties and BBQing.
Prepare water bath canner. Make sure you put a rack on the bottom of your canning pot. Heat clean jars in simmering water until you are ready to use them. Do not boil. Wash the lids and bands and set aside.
In a large stainless steel pot, add your strawberries, vanilla, sugar, and lemon juice and bring to a low simmer. Stir constantly to mix sugar and dissolve. Bring to 120 degrees. Do not let this come to a heavy boil.
Remove from heat and with an immersion blender, puree until the strawberries are smooth. Then return to heat until you reach 190 degrees. Then turn off the heat.
Take your jars out of the hot water and set on a dishtowel on the counter. Bring your water bath to a full boil.
Then ladle the hot concentrate into the jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. ( Too much space and your canning process might fail and it could mold)
Wipe the rims, center the lids on the jar and apply the ring until fingertip tight.
Then place your jar into the boiling water.
Repeat until all of the jars are finished. If you can't fill a full jar, you can put what you have left in the refrigerator and use it when the concentrate cooled. It will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Process the jars in boiling water for 15 minutes. Adjust for altitude.
Remove the jars and cool. Listing for the canning “PING” as the jars cool.
Check the lids for seal AFTER 24 hours. Touching the lid before could result in a false seal. The lid should not flex up and down. It should stay down.
To Reconstitute:
Mix one part concentrate with three parts water, soda water, ginger ale. Adjust to taste.
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare water bath canner. Make sure you put a rack on the bottom of your canning pot. Heat clean jars in simmering water until you are ready to use them. Do not boil. Wash the lids and bands and set aside.
In a large stainless steel pot, add your strawberries, vanilla, sugar, and lemon juice and bring to a low simmer. Stir constantly to mix sugar and dissolve. Bring to 120 degrees. Do not let this come to a heavy boil.
Remove from heat and with an immersion blender, puree until the strawberries are smooth. Then return to heat until you reach 190 degrees. Then turn off the heat.
Take your jars out of the hot water and set on a dishtowel on the counter. Bring your water bath to a full boil.
Then ladle the hot concentrate into the jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. ( Too much space and your canning process might fail and it could mold)
Wipe the rims, center the lids on the jar and apply the ring until fingertip tight.
Then place your jar into the boiling water.
Repeat until all of the jars are finished. If you can't fill a full jar, you can put what you have left in the refrigerator and use it when the concentrate cooled. It will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Process the jars in boiling water for 15 minutes. Adjust for altitude.
Remove the jars and cool. Listing for the canning “PING” as the jars cool.
Check the lids for seal AFTER 24 hours. Touching the lid before could result in a false seal. The lid should not flex up and down. It should stay down.
To Reconstitute:
Mix one part concentrate with three parts water, soda water, ginger ale. Adjust to taste.
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