Strawberry Jam

I recently became interested in canning. No doubt something that most of our grandmothers knew how to do but somehow the baby boomers thought the store bought stuff was good enough. I made some strawberry jam a couple of days ago and I didn't get around to canning it. It's too tasty and I am sure it wont last a week.  

It takes time to learn how to live with the seasons. At least 1 year until all the seasons passed the review. And if you don't watch out those few weeks that your favorite produce is in peek season might slip by unnoticed. I have been waiting for strawberry time and I am very excited to see it is here. Ill just have to make sure that I make some larger batches of jam to get through the winter.

In jam and jelly making what happens is that the pectin in the fruit works together with the sugar and the acidity to form a gel when the mixture is left to cool. Some fruits are low in pectin, strawberry being one of them. The solution is to add pectin derived from another fruit. You can buy a processed pectin in the store, but I really don't see the point since lemon peel is packed with it. Add the peel, including the pith, of half a lemon for every 4 cups of strawberries. Some people add the juice of half a lemon or some apple instead, but that will obviously change the flavor. The lemon peel can be fished out before the jam is jarred. 

Some recipes call for normal granulated sugar, others for dusting sugar. I am not a big fan of either. I like to use raw, unrefined sugar. If I need it finer I just pulverize it in the mortar. You can even make dusting sugar this way, it will just be slightly darker in color, which I certainly don't have a problem with.

Mix the strawberries, lemon peel and sugar in a heavy bottomed, enameled dutch oven. When working with fruits it is best to use a non reactive pot. When using a metal pot, the acids will interact with the metal and actually alter the flavor. let the mixture sit for about two hours. The sugar will start to work the strawberries, this will enhance the flavor, and create more complexities then if you just start cooking them right away.

After the strawberries have been allowed to sit, give them a quick mash with a potato masher. Here you have the option to control the consistency you prefer. Whole berries, chunky, fine. I went for chunky.

Turn the heat on medium heat, stir every minute or so and let it reduce for about 10 minutes. You will see small bubbles indicating a simmer. A rolling boil means you need to turn the heat down. No bubbles means you need to turn the heat up.

After about 10 minutes, you will see the juice is becoming thicker. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. When the jam cools down it will actually get a lot thicker, so don't overdo it here.

For a small batch like this you will need 4 cups of quartered strawberries, peel of half a lemon and 3/4 cup of fine sugar.

References:
The lost art of real cooking
bon appetit june issue
river cottage preserves handbook