Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate (canned)

This recipe is delicious and so refreshing! If you like lemonade, this recipe is for you!

For this recipe, you only need 3 ingredients! I am going to make this short and sweet, straight to the point!

Once you are completely done making this recipe, in order to make the concentrate into a delicious drink, you must mix 1 part concentrate: 1 parts water. 1:1 ratio was what we liked (made a total of 1 quarts prepared, chilled for better taste), but I recommend you adjust to taste. A few other things you can mix this with (again to taste) is ginger ale or seltzer water, get creative with it and let me know your favorite mix!!

Strawberry Lemonade Concentrate

Yield: 6 Pint Jars of concentrate

Ingredients:

• 6 pureed cups of fresh strawberries (tops removed)

• 4 cups lemon juice (fresh squeezed)

• 4 cups sugar

Instructions:

1. Begin heating your water-bath pot. I tried out a new method for heating my jars this time, I will post tips below this recipe.

2. Puree strawberries to equal 6 cups of "liquid" using a blender or food processor. Some seeds may remain, but there should be no berry chunks.

3. In a pot combine, and stir, pureed strawberries, lemon juice and sugar. I used all bottled lemon, but I recommend using at least half bottled and half fresh lemon juice.

4. Heat mixture to 190-200°F. DO NOT BOIL. If you have an excess amount of foam you can skim it off the top with a large spoon.

5. Fill your clean, hot pint jars with the concentrate, leave 1/4 inch of headspace. Dab a clean rag into your hot water and wipe the rims clean, then put hot lids onto each jar. Then tighten on rims to fingertip tight.

6. Put your hot jars back into the water bath and turn up the heat to a boil and set a timer for 15 minutes. Once the time is complete, take your jars out of the bath and gently set on a towel on the countertop. Let cool completely overnight or 24 hours! If any jars did not seal you can place in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Sealed jars are good for up to 2 years!

TIPS:

• TIP #1: For this water bath session I put my jars into my water bath pot to heat up while I made the concentrate. I took a jar out, filled it, then put it back in. This made sure all my cans were proper temps and I would not risk bursting one. Remember that jars need to be similar temperature to the contents going in and then going into the water pot.

• TIP #2: I like to put my lids in a pot with hot water, NOT BOILING, to heat the seals so they will mold to the jar better, I haven't had any issues yet!

• TIP #3: Make sure that the rims are "fingertip tight" going into the water bath for this recipe. If they are too loose the insides will come out. If they are too tight then the air won't be able to escape, and it may not seal or can create a false seal!!

• TIP #4: Once your jars are completely cool, you must take the rims off to store. A good way to check the seal, all nipples must be indented and do not have any wiggle when you press on them. Also, you can pick a jar up by the edges of the seal and if it doesn't pop off then it is sealed!!

To prepare a drink, mix 1 part concentrate for 1 part water or whatever mixer you wish. 1:1 ratio is what my family liked, but you should adjust to your taste!!

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family does!!!