Place the strawberries in a large colander and rinse under cold running water.

Blanch the sliced strawberries by plunging them into a large pot of boiling water, drain and place the strawberries in a covered bowl to keep warm.

Mix the ClearJel starch with the sugar in a large heavy bottomed pot.

Add the water or strawberry juice to the pot and whisk until all lumps are gone.  Heat on medium high until the mixture starts to thicken and begins to bubble. (Will be very thick)

Once bubbling add the 3 and ½ teaspoons of lemon juice, stirring constantly and remove from the heat.

Fold the blanched strawberries into the hot liquid and fold gently to combine.

Add a drop of bright red gel food coloring, if desired.

Using a wide mouth funnel fill the jars leaving a 1 inch head space. Remove the bubbles from the jar using a canning bubble remover or a wooden chopstick. Check the head space after removing the bubbles and add more pie filling if needed.

Wipe the rim of the jar with a damp paper towel, place a flat lid on the jar and screw on a band just until finger tight. Place the filled jar in the water bath canner as you fill other jars.

Once all jars are filled process in a hot water bath canner for 30 minutes.

Turn the hot water bath canner off or remove the canning pot from the heat. Allow to cool for 10 minutes. Remove the processed jars from canner, place on a towel on the counter and allow to cool over night.

Makes 1 quart of strawberry pie filling.