The First Fresh Strawberry Jam of the Season
There are times during the year when if you wait, you miss out. So often life is fleeting, and never more so than with spring’s fresh produce, like fava beans (oops, you missed them!) , strawberries, certain stone fruit, spring garlic, scapes, spring onions, and well you get the picture. Strawberries sort of fit into this category, the perennial plant’s early presence seems to mark the transition from spring to summer, letting us know sweetness is on its way. Why do there seem to be strawberries all year long? There are three basic kinds of strawberry plants; June bearing, producing one crop, Everbearing, producing 2-3 crops and Day Neutral, producing smaller fruit throughout the season. Last weekend, I experimented with a couple of strawberry jams and my mother brought it to my attention that the batch that had more sun was tastier than the batch without sun. Watch for sunny ripening days!
My first jam was a bit of a disaster as it turned out not to be jam, but thankfully, ended up being a delicious sauce that we spooned over our French toast in the morning, and ice cream at night. The next day it became an elixir to our Lemonade for the most luscious strawberry lemonade we have ever had. My son just asked me this morning to "mess up" another batch of strawberry jam so we could have more of that elixir.
If I owned a patent on strawberry jam, it would be my grandmother’s strawberry jam. Food memory being what it is, hers was best. She always had a few jars in her cupboard no matter the season. Her method of making jam was precise, allowing the pectin to thicken, along with the sweet sticky fruit darkening as it cooked. She topped the jar with paraffin wax that helped to seal in the goodness of the season and helped keep the air out. Knowing you had your own tasty, homemade items from the previous season was a gift.
This recipe is inspired by Ina Garten’s Strawberry jam. For starters, the amount is just right, as it only makes 2 pints. My guess is you won’t buy store bought jam again. If it turns out a little runnier than you expected (like my first batch), don’t be afraid to keep it and use it over ice cream. Repeat recipe as your pantry supply demands.
Our warmer, sunnier weather will come and with it, the most delicious fruits of the season ~ so enjoy them while you can. Moment-to-moment.
Fresh Strawberry Jam
1 ½ pints fresh organic strawberries, cut in half or quartered depending on size
1 lemon, zest and juice of
2 cups sugar
Combining the sugar, zest, and lemon juice in a small saucepan, cook over low heat for 10 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved. Add the quartered strawberries and continue to cook over very low heat for about fifteen minutes, or until the strawberries release their juice and the mixture starts to gently boil. Cook until a small amount of the juice gels on a very cold plate, about 20 minutes. Pour carefully into 2 pint jars, seal or keep refrigerated. Use immediately or follow proper canning guidelines at http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html
Sterilizing tips:
Using only glass jars, make sure they are not chipped or cracked. Using a lid that has a rubber seal, or two seals (glass and rubber), will form a vacuum seal when processed (processing is when you boil a jar in a water bath to form a suction, this takes air out of your jar and will help to keep your product safe for years).
There are a few ways to sterilize your canning jars. You can use your dishwasher, boil them for fifteen minutes in water or warm them in the oven for 25 minutes at 200 degrees and then placing the jars lid side up on a clean towel until ready to use. Use sterilized tongs when handling the hot jars and lids. After the jars are sterilized, you can preserve the food. As a rule, hot preserves go in hot jars and cold preserves go in cold jars. If you have any hesitation about safety, please follow canning instructions from the USDA guidelines above. Happy Jam-Making!
 |
| Watmaugh Rd Strawberries |
My first jam was a bit of a disaster as it turned out not to be jam, but thankfully, ended up being a delicious sauce that we spooned over our French toast in the morning, and ice cream at night. The next day it became an elixir to our Lemonade for the most luscious strawberry lemonade we have ever had. My son just asked me this morning to "mess up" another batch of strawberry jam so we could have more of that elixir.
If I owned a patent on strawberry jam, it would be my grandmother’s strawberry jam. Food memory being what it is, hers was best. She always had a few jars in her cupboard no matter the season. Her method of making jam was precise, allowing the pectin to thicken, along with the sweet sticky fruit darkening as it cooked. She topped the jar with paraffin wax that helped to seal in the goodness of the season and helped keep the air out. Knowing you had your own tasty, homemade items from the previous season was a gift.
This recipe is inspired by Ina Garten’s Strawberry jam. For starters, the amount is just right, as it only makes 2 pints. My guess is you won’t buy store bought jam again. If it turns out a little runnier than you expected (like my first batch), don’t be afraid to keep it and use it over ice cream. Repeat recipe as your pantry supply demands.
Our warmer, sunnier weather will come and with it, the most delicious fruits of the season ~ so enjoy them while you can. Moment-to-moment.
Fresh Strawberry Jam
1 ½ pints fresh organic strawberries, cut in half or quartered depending on size
1 lemon, zest and juice of
2 cups sugar
Combining the sugar, zest, and lemon juice in a small saucepan, cook over low heat for 10 minutes or until the sugar is dissolved. Add the quartered strawberries and continue to cook over very low heat for about fifteen minutes, or until the strawberries release their juice and the mixture starts to gently boil. Cook until a small amount of the juice gels on a very cold plate, about 20 minutes. Pour carefully into 2 pint jars, seal or keep refrigerated. Use immediately or follow proper canning guidelines at http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html
Sterilizing tips:
Using only glass jars, make sure they are not chipped or cracked. Using a lid that has a rubber seal, or two seals (glass and rubber), will form a vacuum seal when processed (processing is when you boil a jar in a water bath to form a suction, this takes air out of your jar and will help to keep your product safe for years).
There are a few ways to sterilize your canning jars. You can use your dishwasher, boil them for fifteen minutes in water or warm them in the oven for 25 minutes at 200 degrees and then placing the jars lid side up on a clean towel until ready to use. Use sterilized tongs when handling the hot jars and lids. After the jars are sterilized, you can preserve the food. As a rule, hot preserves go in hot jars and cold preserves go in cold jars. If you have any hesitation about safety, please follow canning instructions from the USDA guidelines above. Happy Jam-Making!
No comments:
Post a Comment