Strawberry Jam progress: the outcome

Okay, I chickened out and added some pectin to the mix of strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice as I was boiling it for the final time. It just didn't seem thick enough to me to gel properly.

Even after that, the final product is somewhat runnier than normal jam. Perhaps it will thicken over night as it cools further. But then again, maybe not. Searching for a reason that all my jams do not gel the way they are supposed to, I poured over the directions in both books and those that came with the pectin. (Okay, TERRY reread all the directions. I'm a guy. We don't do directions. 'Kay?) In fine print off to one corner, Terry found this note: "Doubling of recipes may cause your jam/jelly not to gel properly." Of course I was doing far more than doubling the recipe which calls for just four cups of chopped berries, I had 28 cups for crying out loud! Doing this 7 times would have really, really stretched out the time needed, ya know?

Oh, and I didn't get the 24 pints I was expecting either. Far more liquid evaporated during the cooking process and sitting for 24 hours than I though might. I only ended up with 18 pints. Only one didn't seal properly even after a second run through the water bath. That one is in the fridge already. The other 17 will be heading into storage in the basement for future use on pancakes, waffles, toast, ice cream....