While I can walk into any supermarket
here in New England at any time of year and find strawberries in the
produce section, I've found the season for local strawberries is
about 4 – 6 weeks. Having “cut my teeth” on canning with
applesauce, salsa and one very long Sunday in October making grape
jelly, I cannot tell you how excited I was when I learned of KevinWest's Basic Strawberry Jam recipe.
Even though I needed to wait a year before
trying this recipe, I was grateful to have a recipe for jam which
didn't call for as much sugar as fruit. As local strawberry season
approached, I reviewed the hard copy I printed the prior year, noting
what ingredients I had, needed, as well as which pots, pans and
utensils were to be pulled out and used.
Donning my “canning clothes”,
clothes that I don't care if they get dirty or sticky, I went to my
local farmer's market and bought strawberries. Following the recipe,
I washed and mashed the strawberries, combined them with the other
ingredients and canned the end result.
It was only until after the last jar
had sealed with its distinctive “pop” sound that I realized the
jam consistency was soft-set at room temperature,--as is noted in the
recipe. My heart sank as I personally prefer a firmer-set. I also
scolded myself for not fully reading the recipe.
Looking at these jars of soft-set jam
my mind went to work on how to make a firmer-set jam. It took me 24
hours and having to open every jar of freshly canned jam as well as 3
seasons of local strawberries, testing and refining to bring this recipe to post.
If you like firmer-set jam, similar to
what you would find the supermarket, this is a recipe you might want
to try.
If you like your jam with a soft-set
consistency, then I highly recommend Kevin West's recipe for Basic Strawberry Jam.
Either way, I suggest wearing clothes
that can get dirty or sticky.
Strawberries ready to become jam
Strawberry Jam, Firm-set
yield: 1 ½ – 2 pints
2 pounds ripe strawberries
(approximately 4 cups)
2 ½ cups sugar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon
juice or 1 ½ tablespoons reconstituted lemon juice)
1 granny smith apple approximately, 2
1/4” - 3” in diameter, peeled grated and pressed
Rinse strawberries and remove their
caps. Depending upon size of strawberries and freshness, slice and
remove any “over ripe soft spots” (you'll know these when you see
them).
In a 3 quart pot combine strawberries,
sugar and lemon juice. Set aside.
Peel granny smith apple and grate using
box grater. Squeeze as much excess juice as possible from grated
apple. To squeeze the juice, I suggest one thick or two thin paper
towel sheets layered atop each other, placing grated apple in center,
folding up corners of towel in one hand, and squeezing and twisting
paper towel where apple is with the other.
Add grated pressed apple to strawberry,
sugar, lemon mixture, and crush with a potato masher or your hands.
On small burner on stove top, bring
mixture to boil over high heat. Boil and stir constantly on high
heat for 10 minutes, skimming off any foam.
Reduce heat to medium, continue to cook
and stir for another 10 – 15 minutes. Jam should be a deep ruby
red color and be half the amount you started with.
Turn off heat. If canning, ladle hot jam into
prepared ½ pint jars, leaving 1/4” head space. Seal, and process
in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes. Unsealed jars should be kept refrigerated.
If not canning, ladle hot jam into clean glass jars with well-fitting lids, leaving 1/4" head space. Cover and place in refrigerator to keep jam from spoiling. Uncanned jam should be good for two weeks if kept refrigerated.
If not canning, ladle hot jam into clean glass jars with well-fitting lids, leaving 1/4" head space. Cover and place in refrigerator to keep jam from spoiling. Uncanned jam should be good for two weeks if kept refrigerated.
Strawberry Jam, canned and processed,
ready for eating
