Saucy Strawberry Jam

Walking past the fruit shop the strawberries jumped out at me.  The sign said two 500gm punnets for $4.  What value!  The sign also said 'strawberry season over".  I thought I should buy some and turn them into a jam.  The 'Bake, Make and Grow Day' is the last day of October and I figured what better item to donate than homemade jam.  I grabbed two punnets.

I made some strawberry jam for the show earlier this year.  Three small jars are still left.  I was really pleased with how that jam turned out, chunky pieces together with a very good jell set.  How about being a bit adventurous?  Let's do something slightly different  this time.  How else do you know, if you don't have a go?  Okay.

I pretty much made my own rules.  By the time I cleaned and hulled the strawberries, I had 840gm of strawberries to work with.  The bottom of the punnet revealed some spoilt fruit - typical.  Discard those.

Now for my version.

Mariana's Latest Strawberry Jam Version.

840gm strawberries, hulled, cleaned and cut into smallish wedges
680gm castor sugar
juice of 1 freshly picked lime
6 tablespoons of Celia's home-made pectin stock
1/4 cup water

Place the strawberries, lime juice and water into a large pot.  Cook over a low heat for about 10 or 15 minutes till the strawberries have softened to the point where they could fall apart quite easily.  Pour the sugar directly into the middle of the mixture.  Carefully mix into the strawberries.  Add the pectin.  Stir gently.  Stir over a low heat till the sugar has well and truly dissolved.  Increase heat, bring to boil, reduce a little and cook till you achieve preferred setting.  Be careful your mixture does not catch on the bottom of the pot.  Keep checking by putting your wooden spoon into the centre of the mixture from time to time.  Refrain from stirring. The cooking fruit and sugar should not be stirred whilst boiling.  You may need to skim foam and scum from surface of the cooking jam.

Allow the jam to sit for about five or more minutes before pouring into washed and sterilized jars.  Seal immediately.  I put my jars into a water bath and boiled for about eight minutes.  Well and truly sealed now.

This recipe produced five lovely pots of strawberry jam

Verdict:    Fantastic!  Delicious!  Wonderful balance of sweet and tangy.  Not sickly sweet. The jam was more of a soft jell than I usually prefer.  A little saucy actually.  But I liked it.  Really liked it.  Gorgeous colour too.  Not cooking it for as long as usual has produced a lighter but more vibrant colour.

Mitch thought it was delicious.  He has almost eaten one whole jar.  Hang on - I'm supposed to be donating this lot.  Anyhow; be brave; discovering new ways can be exciting and soooo rewarding.  Especially if it goes well.  Cup of tea and scones with cream and saucy strawberry jam anyone?