Getting strawberries from my local grocery stores can be a bit harder now as the pandemic has somehow made them scarce.
So, when a friend suggested that we drive (separately of course) to a local "U-Pick" farm and gather (6 feet apart) our own, I jumped at the chance to get out of the house, support a local business, and get my fill of strawberries.
I literally came home with 8 lbs. of strawberries and jumped right into doing all sorts of great things with them.
I started with this easy Strawberry Jam recipe which I've had in my recipe book for quite some time now.
(You can find similar recipes here on Pinterest)
I love that this does not require pectin, wax seals, or cheesecloth strainers - things I remember my grandmother used when "putting up" her jams and jellies.
Let's get cooking.
After washing the berries, I cut off their tops and cut sway any bruises that may have been obvious on their skins.
I needed 16 ounces of berries, so using a scale, I kept cutting and adding my berries to a bowl until I was there.
I made sure to keep the cut-off tops to take down to our pond and scattered around for the turtles and birds to feast upon.
I made sure to cut the berries in quarters.
This helps them to break down evenly while cooking over the stove.
I cut a fresh lemon in half, placing one half in the fridge for my hot tea later on, and reeming the other half for this recipe.
I used 2 tablespoons of the juice.
FUN TIP: Take the used lemon half, fill it with table salt, and scour your kitchen sink. The combination of the abrasive salt and the acid from the lemon makes a great cleaner, especially in a stainless steel sink. Drop the lemon down the disposal if you have one and allow it to clean your blades and disposal cavity.
The third and last ingredient is 3/4ths to 1 full cup of sugar.
I recommend tasting one strawberry before cooking to see just how sweet they are. If you find them a bit tart, you can make it one full cup of sugar.
Easy peasy.
With your heavy saucepan on med heat, place all three ingredients in.
Remember, it's two tablespoons of lemon juice.
You can use prepared lemon juice if you like, I just had a lemon handy.
Stir the ingredients together, making sure to fully coat the berries with the sugar.
Don't worry that it may seem a bit "dry" at first, as the berries begin to heat up they will release their natural juices and create their own liquid.
See? This natural juice needs to mix with the sugar and help to fully dissolve it.
Just keep on cooking.
As more and more juice is released, keep stirring the pot (wink, wink) and checking to see if your sugar is all dissolved.
Once it looks like the juice will overtake the berries and your sugar can no longer be seen, increase your heat to medium-high and bring the whole mixture to a roiling boil.
The trick here is to keep an eye on it.
Don't walk away and come back to find the bottom bits have burned.
Using a masher, begin to pulverize the berries.
You want most, but not all, of the berries to be mashed into small bits.
We like our jam to have a little bit of substance, but you might like it to be smoother - resembling jelly.
The choice is yours.
Continue mashing as it boils.
You will notice that it will begin to thicken up.
Let it boil until the bubbles completely cover the surface. I keep mine boiling for 8-10 minutes.
The surface will now look whitish-pink and foamy.
This is exactly what you want!
Give it a good stir and you will see deep red, berry packed, delicious jam lurking just below those bubbles.
Turn off the heat and remove your jam to jar up.
While it's still hot, transfer to whatever glass container you are planning to keep it in.
I have those mini Ball Mason jars, but a recycled glass jar will work just as good.
Make sure to clean it out with hot water (or in the dishwasher) before placing your jam inside.
You should get about 3 mini jars out of one batch, so if you want to make more than that, double or triple up as needed.
Let the jam cool to room temperature before your place the lid on it.
This jam, because it has no preservatives, will need to be eaten in about 10 days if left in your refrigerator.
I'm sure it won't last that long, but just in case.
You can also freeze it for about 3 months.
You DO NOT have to have advanced kitchen skills to make this jam.
In fact, with adult supervision, this is an easy recipe to teach younger kids while allowing them to create it with you.
It also makes a great gift to share with others.
Leave a jar on a neighbors doorstep with a note that you are thinking about them during this time of self-isolation.
Throw one in your mailbox for your mailperson who is delivering during this time.
Gift it to a grandparent along with a grandchild's artwork to tell them how much you miss them.
The ideas are endless.
You can do this!
I know you can.
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