Canning Honey Sweetened Strawberry Limeade and Strawberry Lemonade

We picked 38 lbs of strawberries this weekend. I love strawberry season. Locally strawberry season marks the beginning of warm weather that is here to stay. Thirty eight pounds of strawberries took us an hour and half to pick with two young kids which is not bad. The downside to strawberries is that you have to process them very quickly because they can spoil quickly. After we pick strawberries we come home and start processing them as soon as possible. We trim the nicest looking berries for freezing first then we starting chopping berries for pie and jam. The least attractive berries become syrup for pancakes and juice.

This year we made strawberry lemonade concentrate and strawberry limeade concentrate. Dr. Lazy Plate is a big fan of strawberry lemonade so he is very excited about this new addition to our canning pantry this year. I am excited about the strawberry limeade concentrate. I seem to crave strawberries a few weeks before they actually come in season so this will help to tide me over until fresh berries are available locally.

I used honey to sweeten the juice concentrates for canning. I used about ¼ cup more honey for the strawberry lemonade concentrate than the strawberry limeade concentrate since Dr. Lazy Palate likes things sweeter than I do. You can adjust the sweetness level to your taste. To serve this concentrate, make a 1:1 solution of juice concentrate to water.

Ingredients (makes approximately 3 ½ pints)

• 4 cups strawberries, hulls removed
• water
• 1 cup fresh lemon or lime juice
• ¼-1/2 cup honey

Special equipment

Strainer (fine mesh strainer or strainer with a coffee filter)

Canning equipment

Directions

1.       Place the strawberries in a large pot. Add enough water to just barely cover the strawberries.

2.       Boil the strawberries for 5 minutes or until the strawberries turn from red to pale pink.

3.       Strain the berries out of the juice with a fine mesh strainer or a strainer lined with a coffee filter.

4.       Add the berry juice and lemon/lime juice to a large pot.

5.       Add the honey. When adding the honey start off with a smaller amount and taste your juice before adding more keeping in mind that you are tasting concentrate.

6.       Bring the concentrate to a boil.

7.       Add the juice to hot, sterile jars leaving ¼” headspace.

8.       Place lids that have been simmering in hot water on the jars. Screw on the second part of lid.

9.       Process for 15 minutes in a boiling water canner.

Posted on Simple Lives Thursday