Strawberry Pie Filling

 


Strawberry season is still in full swing, and the berries are delicious at this time of year. The Bible says that the Lord put everything on this Earth we need to live (Gen 1:29), and strawberries have to be one of my favorite ways He did this. One of my favorite ways to preserve them for the rest of the year is to make pie filling with them. From the basic pie filling, I can make cheese cake topping, fried pies, top pancakes and of course I can make strawberry pie. 


To make strawberry pie filling, I use a product called Clear Jel. This is a modified corn starch that can withstand the extra heat of canning. It comes in different sized containers, but I usually buy it by the pound. I haven't been able to find it in any local stores, so I buy it online, but if you are lucky enough to find it locally, that would be better. 




Some of my jars didn't take on that smooth red consistency that store-bought fillings have, with this recipe, so I think next time I will use some of the sugar to coat the strawberries before adding them to the hot mixture. I used 6 quarts of cleaned strawberries with the tops cut-off them. While I prepared my strawberries I had my pint jars in my waterbath canner to be sterilized. Some people use their dishwasher to sterilize their jars, and that is great, but I don't have a dishwasher, so I can't do that. 




After I had my strawberries cleaned and prepped, I put six cups of sugar and two cups of Clear-Jel into a heavy bottom pot.   I didn't have my regular pot on hand, so I used my pressure canning pot, without the lid. This made things a little tricky to keep everything smooth. Next time I will use my regular pot. I used a whisk to mix the dry ingredients. I added seven cups of water, turned on the heat and began stirring. 

Once the sugar mixture started to thicken, I added 1/4 cup of lemon juice and stirred it thoroughly. Then for kicks I added 1/2 cup of rum. It brough all my jam together, so I thought it might bring my pie filling together as well. I folded in the strawberries, and then started ladling hot pie filling into my sterilized jars. Process for 30 minutes for quarts, but since I wasn't certain how long for pints I just went with 30 minutes for pints as well. Err on the side of caution, right? 



This recipe was supposed to make seven quarts of filling, but it only made six and a half quarts, or in my case, 13 pints.     


Remember...Talk to your creator, it changes things, including your perception. There is a playground outside, filled with creeks to play in, mountains to climb, and forests to explore. Go play for a while today. This will help you to go be physical today. Tomorrow may be too late. 

Peace!!            

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