strawberry jam

We finally got a day of sunshine, after what seemed like a beautiful spring turned into an entire month of rain in June. Somehow, the strawberries managed to pull through. We've been getting quarts from our CSA share every week, and we picked over 20 pounds of strawberries in Concord last weekend. We ate so many both our fingers and mouths were red and sticky, and even my tummy was starting to hurt (only a little). I tried a new tart recipe that I was not very satisfied with. Then we made jam. I made two kinds of jam from a recently purchased book, Jams Jellies and Chutneys, by Thane Price. My first batch was strawberry-rhubarb, which I added fresh grated ginger to half of, and vanilla bean to the remaining half. Both of these tasted amazing, and of the moment I cannot decide which I like better. The larger batch was pure strawberry jam, and the recipe was interesting in that the sugar, berries and lemon juice were mixed, then macerated overnight. Following this first incubation, the mix was boiled, then incubated for 48hours. A friend recommended that I try Ball's no-sugar required pectin; I was extremely excited about this, since my major objection to many preserves is that they are just way too sweet for my liking, and that the sugar disguises the pure fruit taste. After purchasing the pectin, I noticed that the recipe enclosed called for some form of juice (mostly apple or grape, depending on the fruit); I had neither, and since I wasn't planning on going sugar-free, but just sugar-less, I chose to ignore this addition. All of the preserved set fine, and I used half the amount of sugar indicated. I may try less next year, but I didn't want to completely ruin my first shot.