I am sure if you asked 100 people what their favourite jam was then strawberry would be up there in the top three. However for makers of home-made jam, they will know it is one of the harder jams to make as it is a devil to get to set. To make a jam that sets easily the fruit in it needs to have high levels of pectin and strawberries do not. You can of course add commercial pectin but that puts up the cost. You can also add lemon juice but I have found that often this flavour of lemon overpowers the strawberries or redcurrant juice, but this is not always available. If you have an excess of strawberries crying out to be turned into jam here's how you can make strawberry jam that sets every time with nothing more than strawberries and sugar!
Strawberry Jam - that sets every time!
Ingredients
- Strawberries
- Equal weight of white sugar
Method
- Remove the hulls from the strawberries then cut the bigger berries into 4 and smaller ones into 2.
- Mix together the sugar and strawberries in a large bowl
- Cover with a tea towel and leave in a cool place for 24 hours
- After 24 hours the strawberries will be swimming in a sea of juice, drawn out by the sugar. Add to a large pan with plenty of space to rise up and bring slowly to the boil, ensuring the sugar dissolves before boiling point is reached
- Boil for 5 minutes.
- Return to a cool place, cover and leave for 2 days.
- After 2 days bring to boil and fast boil (rolling boil) until setting point is reached* - usually 15-20 minutes.
- Spoon into hot, sterilised jars and add lids whilst hot.
* To Test for Setting Point
Place a china plate in the freezer. Place a very small amount of jam on the cold plate where it will quickly cool. When cold push it with your finger and if setting point is reached the jam will wrinkle slightly when pushed. If no wrinkles appear, continue to boil for a few more miutes and test again. |
| Strawberries and sugar after 24 hours |
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| Jam just about to reach a rolling boil |
Are you a jam maker - have you any tricks to get strawberry jam to set?
#NoWasteFoodChallenge
#NoWasteFoodChallenge
That looks yummy! I've never been brave enough for jam
ReplyDeleteWhen you say leave in a cool place, can that be the fridge, or is that too cold? I ask because there is NOWHERE cool here right now! The bedrooms are a sultry 31°, outside is around 40° and even the cave is 27° (which feels cool but I don't suppose can be considered cool by jam standards!) #TastyTuesdays
ReplyDeleteI am sure it would probably work in the fridge but I cannot say for sure. What you can do is hull and cut the fruit ready, weight it and then freeze it to make the jam when the weather is cooler for you. A friend has successfully done this but you do need to prepare the fruit first as it is difficult to cut once defrosted.
DeleteWe have so many homegrown strawberries here so will have to make some jam. Fab recipe. Thanks for linking up to #tastytuesdays
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! Making jam is such a satisfying thing to do, isn't it. Thank you for sharing with the #nowastefoodchallenge :)
ReplyDelete