strawberry syrup

Last June (as strawberry season approached) I had the feeling I should make Strawberry Syrup. I'd recently looked more closely at the actual ingredients of the strawberry syrup you get at the store. I was sad to see it's basically made of high fructose corn syrup. So I found a recipe in my Ball Blue Book of Preserving recipe book and it worked great! Here it is!

If you're new to canning or need a refresher of how to prep your jars, lids, etc. read up over on this recipe.

Ingredients:
2 1/2 quarts strawberries
3 c. water, divided
1 2" strip of lemon peel
2 1/2 c. sugar
3 1/2 c. corn syrup
2 T. lemon juice

Directions:

1. Wash strawberries; drain. Stem and crush strawberries. (I LOVE tossing them in my food processor and giving them a whirl. SO easy!) 
2. Combine strawberries, 1 1/2 c. water and lemon peel in a medium saucepot. Simmer 5 minutes
3. Strain through a damp jelly bag or several layers of cheesecloth laid out over a sieve. After about 30 minutes of straining, I gather the cheesecloth up and twist it so I can get out ALL of the juice.
4.  Combine sugar and 1 1/2 c. water in a medium saucepot; boil to 230*F (took approx. 25 minutes to get to this temp. for me; may need to adjust for altitude). Add strawberry juice and corn syrup to sugar syrup. Boil 5 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. 
5. Ladle hot syrup into hot jars, leaving 1/4" headspace. Adjust 2 piece caps. Process 10 minutes in boiling-water or steam canner.

*Note: Fruit syrup is typically thin. If a thicker syrup is desired for serving, combine 1 c. syrup with 1 T. cornstarch in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, cooking until syrup thickens. Do not add cornstarch before canning!

We loved the Strawberry Syrup so much last year we used it all up and I had to make more! We just LOVE it! It's the only way Jackson will eat pancakes or waffles.