Strawberry Jam ... conjures up images of summer, sitting on the sun drenched patio, with a bowl of sliced strawberries and Ice cream. At least that's the memory from MY childhood anyway. Strawberries are such a summer kind of fruit.
So following on from my previous post, where I'd been googling how to make strawberry jam, and realizing how easy it seemed, I dutifully went out in the rain yesterday to buy canning jars. Once home, I took out the three quarts of strawberries we'd bought and set about hulling and chopping them. For the Jam, the strawberries need to be crushed, and the recipe suggested using a potato masher. People, let me put this simply. Use a bucket and crush the damn things with your feet! Only joking, but it would be much easier that way. Mashing strawberries with a potato masher just isn't easy!
Anyway, moving on ... I placed the crushed strawberries in the biggest pot I own, along with the sachet of powdered fruit pectin, mixed it well, then turned the heat right up to full. Once they were boiling and bubbling away, I added the sugar and began to stir in earnest. The recipe warned that the pectin would cause the mix to foam, and that you should skim it off as it forms. All went well at first, then it began to foam, and foam, and foam, right over the top of my pan, and onto the stove top. Cue panic from me!
I removed the pan from the heat, and skimmed off as much foam as I could, then set about filling the sterilized Jars, taking care to leave the recommended half inch space at the top of each. After placing the seals and lids on, they were placed in a water bath for 5 minutes, then pulled out, and I waited to hear the little 'pop' which would indicate that the jars had sealed properly. When I started hearing them, I giggled. Out of sheer joy. Or maybe idiocy. Or hysterics. By this time I was pretty frazzled lol.
After they had cooled sufficiently, they were placed in the fridge, simply a case of nowhere better to put them. Today came the taste test. I was a little worried about this, in case I'd forgotten to do something essential yesterday, or maybe there was some doubt in my mind that I was physically capable of making Jam. I needn't have worried. After struggling with the seal, which really did not want to give up it's luscious contents, I stuck a knife into the jar, mixed everything up, then carefully measuring out a little bit of a teaspoon, placed the spoon in my mouth and closed my eyes.
There were flashes of light, an angelic chorus, and an orchestra .... okay, so maybe not, but the flavor of the strawberries exploded in my mouth, soft bites of strawberries, and a smooth jelly made this an unforgettable experience. There was none of that too sweet taste you get from store-bought jams. It was pure strawberry flavored ecstasy. I kid you not when I say it was like a mouth orgasm! A double one!! Complete with aftershocks!!!
I am SO pleased that this experience was a (mostly) good one, though I did learn that I need bigger pans. I'm even more pleased that the taste is so good, much better than I imagined it would be. I know that Andy, and his mom, who are both reaping some of the rewards of this, will enjoy it as well. As I've been typing this, I had scones in the oven. They have been pulled out and are now cooling down. But they will be gently warmed through later tonight, as we have our cream teas for dessert whilst watching Hockey on TV.
Now for the recipe.
Ingredients.
- 5 ½ cups crushed strawberries
- 1 sachet powdered fruit pectin
- 8 cups sugar.
Method.
Bring quickly to a full boil, stirring constantly.
Add sugar; continue stirring; bring to a full boil, and boil hard for I minute. Remove from heat; skim.
Ladle into clean, hot, sterilized containers. Cap with 2-piece canning lids and process 5 minutes in a boiling water bath.
Makes 9 half-pints.
Try it people. Just try it. You will never again use store-bought jam.
Till next time, keep on cookin'!
Try freezer jam one of these times. Not as much work, although you have to have freezer space for it,which can be problematic. :-) But, to me it tastes fresher than cooked jam. Still a red raspberry fan though. lol
ReplyDeleteI've never had much to do with Raspberries before, though I do like the taste of them. Hrmmm, think I might have to try that next :-)
ReplyDeleteFreezer Jam would be a HUGE problem for us, because we live in an apartment building, and as such, we make do with the fridge/freezer supplied by the landlord. In our case, its a tiny freezer space that sits above the freezer.