Strawberry Sweet Woodruff Preserves Day 1

This is my second summer of canning and preserving. Last year, I learned that what sells fastest at farmer's markets and makes the best gifts to friends, is berry preserves. That's what we use the most of in our house too. All winter long we bring jars up from the basement. We met our goal of no store-bought jam for a year, even after giving lots of jars away.
A trifle dish holds four pounds of strawberries.

I don't like commercial pectin, so I have learned the French method where you macerate the fruit in sugar overnight, then bring it to a boil and let it sit for another six hours or overnight. Then you boil only the syrup to the gelling point, and add the fruit at the end, so the fruit stays whole and doesn't overcook while you're boiling away to the gel point.This year for the first time, I'm adding the sweet woodruff while the berries macerate, instead of while they are cooking.

Sweet woodruff is an herb that's a natural accompaniment to berries. It tastes like vanilla and grass. We have it all over our backyard, and I am so grateful to whoever planted it years ago.