Farmers market Baked Strawberry Preserves

6 cups hulled and quartered very ripe strawberries, divided

1¼ cups sugar, divided

¼ cup orange juice

Heat oven to 225 degrees.Select 2 cups of the ripest cut berries and place in blender. Add 1 cup sugar and orange juice and puree until smooth. Pour strawberry mixture through sieve set over bowl to strain seeds. Pour strained mixture into a 10-by-15-inch heat-proof glass baking pan.Add remaining 4 cups cut strawberries to the pan and stir gently to coat well. Sprinkle with frac14; cup sugar and stir gently. Bake 2frac12; to 3 hours or until mixture has thickened and appears deep red in color. Gently stir at 1 hour mark. Cool in baking pan to room temperature, 2 to 3.Transfer to jar or bowl and refrigerate until service. Warm to room temperature for best flavor. Preserves will keep 2 to 3 weeks refrigerated.Serves 25.Baker#146;s hint: Two smaller, 9-by-9-inch or 7-by-11-inch glass dishes can be used in place of the larger pan. Baking time will be about 1frac12; to 2 hours. For a firmer, jam-style texture omit the orange juice and add 1 tablespoon orange liqueur, 1 teaspoon orange extract or frac12; teaspoon finely grated fresh orange zest.@Recipe nutrition:Nutrition values per 2 tablespoons: 52 calories; trace amount fat (0 saturated), 13 g carbohydrates, 1 g fiber, trace amount protein, 0 cholesterol, 1 mg sodium.